The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook (26 page)

Mrs. Patmore would appreciate the accident that brought about this tart. Legend has it that in the early 1800s the proprietress of an inn in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell left instructions for her cook to make a jam tart. The cook misunderstood the instructions, and voilà — the Bakewell Tart was created!

The rich dark chocolate and creamy, one-of-a-kind icing in this recipe are worthy of the lords and ladies of Downton Abbey. While later made famous by chef Julia Child, this cake was enjoyed in Europe — and made by chefs like Mrs. Patmore — for years before Mrs. Child came around.

4 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, melted

2 tablespoons ground coffee granules

1 stick unsalted butter, softened, cut into
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-inch cubes

1 cup granulated sugar

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract

3 egg whites

1 teaspoon kosher salt

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cup crushed almonds

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teaspoon almond extract

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cup cake flour, sifted

8 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1
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cups sour cream, at room temperature

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cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour one 8-inch round baking pan.
   
2. Place chocolate and ground coffee in the top of a double boiler. Stir until chocolate is thoroughly melted, then remove from heat.
   
3. Cream together the butter and sugar for several minutes until they form a pale fluffy mixture.
   
4. In a small bowl, beat together egg yolks with vanilla extract, then add to butter-sugar mixture and thoroughly combine.
   
5. In another small bowl, beat the egg whites and salt together until soft peaks are formed.
   
6. Pour the melted chocolate into the butter-sugar mixture and thoroughly mix. Then mix in almonds and almond extract. Immediately stir in a quarter of the egg-white mixture so as to lighten the cake. Then mix in the cake flour in small amounts, alternating with the rest of the egg whites.
   
7. Turn the batter into the cake pan, then bake in preheated oven for 25–30 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed and a toothpick inserted around the circumference comes out clean while another stuck in the middle comes out slightly oily.
   
8. Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes. Loosen cake rim with a knife, then reverse onto a cooling rack. Allow to thoroughly cool for 1–2 hours, then ice with icing.
   
9. To make icing: Mix together the chocolate and espresso powder in the top of a double-boiler. Stir until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and let chocolate cool until tepid.
   
10. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the sour cream, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla extract. Slowly add chocolate and stir quickly until the mixture is uniform. Let cool in refrigerator until the frosting is a spreadable consistency, no more than 25 minutes. Spread over cake with a spatula, then decorate with a design of chopped almonds.
    

While nowadays a child can leave the dinner table by politely asking to be excused, during the era of
Downton Abbey
it was unacceptable that anyone would dare leave the table during a dinner. Until the meal was finished, it was required by etiquette that everyone stay seated, which meant that any bathroom runs would have to be taken care of before or after the meal.

These delicate delights would be offered before or with the fresh fruits served near the completion of a meal at Downton Abbey. Light on the tongue, even those guests claiming to be full would find room for this fluffy treat.

4 egg whites, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2
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cups confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 185°F. Cover a baking sheet with greased parchment paper.
   
2. In a metal bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Add vanilla extract and sprinkle in confectioners’ sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whisk at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny (this may take up to 17 minutes depending on the temperature of your egg whites), stop mixing and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Using a large star tip, pipe the meringue out of the pastry bag and onto the greased parchment paper.
   
3. Place meringues in oven and bake for 2
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   –3 hours, or until the meringues are dry and can be easily removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
   

While originally a Swiss dessert, these treats were quickly co-opted by French and English haute cuisine chefs. Celebrated French chef Marie-Antoine Carême introduced the idea of piping meringues through a pastry bag. Previously, they had been shaped with spoons.

This is the basic crêpe recipe that all other crepes, such as Ethel’s Crêpes Suzette (both found in this chapter) are based on. Before Mrs. Patmore would teach Daisy how to make fancier crêpe dishes, Mrs. Patmore would likely introduce Daisy to this one.

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 eggs, room temperature

2 cups whole milk

1
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teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, stir together sifted flour, sugar, and salt.
   
2. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly add wet mixture to dry ingredients, beating until smooth. Add melted butter. Cover and chill mixture for 20–30 minutes.
   
3. Heat a 10- to 12-inch pan over high heat. Pour or scoop about 2–3 tablespoons of the batter onto the griddle, swirling or tipping pan so batter completely covers the bottom. Brown for 2–3 minutes on one side, then 1–2 minutes on the other. Stack crêpes on top of one another on a serving plate; serve hot.
   

The well-educated Crawley sisters would know the translation for the two types of crêpes —
crêpes sucrées
, or sweet crêpes, and
crêpes salées
, or savory crepes. Most of what we consider dessert crêpes would be
crêpes sucrées
. Perhaps, if the sisters felt particularly foreigner-friendly, they would know that crêpes are traditionally served in France on Candlemas (February 2), also known as the Virgin Mary’s Blessing Day or more recently as “Avec Crêpe Day.” Tradition had it that if you could catch a crêpe with a frying pan after tossing it in the air, holding the pan with your left hand and a gold coin with the right hand, you would become wealthy sometime that year.