After the recipes for M. Weston, M. Knightley & farmer Robert Martin, here is at last a dense fruit cake of brown colour. I thought a groom's cake in the Victorian style would be nice for Frank Churchill even though Emma was published several decades earlier. Of course, the cake featured below has nothing to do with the extravagant wedding cakes of times past (& present): though I was keen to get the flavors right, the shape didn't matter.
The groom
Frank Churchill is nearest to Emma's age (& disposition) than any of the novel's male characters. His intentions, however, are not so good as hers. Emma seeks to match her friends with someone nice while Frank thinks of no-one but himself. He even makes his fiancée unhappy with his tricks so that you wonder if Jane Austen named him Frank in order to pinpoint his total lack of frankness (& discretion). The person most affected by his game is Emma Woodhouse because Frank pretends to love her; the only reason why she is not offended after learning that he doesn't is that her interest in Frank is just as superficial.
A frivolous character such as his might not be so welcome in Highbury. Nevertheless, because of his relation to M. Weston (a very likeable man), Frank gets everyone's sympathy. People are disposed to like him even before they meet him. His youth and good looks also help, especially when it comes to ladies. The only person who doesn't care for him is M. Knightley: "Frank Churchill is indeed, the favourite of fortune. Everything turns out for his good. He meets with a young woman at a watering place, gains her affection, cannot even weary her by negligent treatment -and had he and all his family sought round the world for a perfect wife for him, they could not have found her superior. His aunt is in the way. His aunt dies. He has only to speak. His friends are eager to promote his happiness. He has used everybody ill -and they are all delighted to forgive him. He is a fortunate man indeed!" And, judging by the way Frank Churchill dances through the story, M. Knightley's opinion is probably correct.
The cake
The recipe adapted for Frank's wedding is dried fruit cake from Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cookbook (1886). All of her cakes were simple, of the kind you'd make at home today. Some were richer than others, including fruit cakes. The sweetener available until the late 19th century was molasses, which is also used in this particular recipe -to soften the dried apples. Cooking in molasses would give them a distinct flavor but, after that, a reasonable amount of sugar was added to the batter so the finished cake tasted like cake and not gingerbread. Here is the original recipe: "DRIED FRUIT CAKE. 3 cups of dried apples or any other dried fruit, 2 cups of molasses, 3/4 cup of butter, 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of soda, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoonful of cloves, 1/2 nutmeg grated. Soak the fruit over night in cold water. Then chop it slightly, and simmer in the molasses for two hours. Beat the eggs and sugar together until light, then add the butter; beat again, add the fruit, milk, spices, soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of boiling water, and sufficient flour to make a stiff batter that will drop from the spoon. Bake in a very moderate oven for two hours."
GROOM'S CAKE FOR FRANK CHURCHILL
The original has been enriched with dark ingredients -prunes (instead of apples), muscovado, rum & cocoa, which also give the cake a luscious texture.
The groom
Frank Churchill is nearest to Emma's age (& disposition) than any of the novel's male characters. His intentions, however, are not so good as hers. Emma seeks to match her friends with someone nice while Frank thinks of no-one but himself. He even makes his fiancée unhappy with his tricks so that you wonder if Jane Austen named him Frank in order to pinpoint his total lack of frankness (& discretion). The person most affected by his game is Emma Woodhouse because Frank pretends to love her; the only reason why she is not offended after learning that he doesn't is that her interest in Frank is just as superficial.
.jpg/800px-Hammond-Emma22_(recadr%C3%A9e).jpg) |
| The picnic at Box Hill (Sketch by C. Hammond, 1898) |
A frivolous character such as his might not be so welcome in Highbury. Nevertheless, because of his relation to M. Weston (a very likeable man), Frank gets everyone's sympathy. People are disposed to like him even before they meet him. His youth and good looks also help, especially when it comes to ladies. The only person who doesn't care for him is M. Knightley: "Frank Churchill is indeed, the favourite of fortune. Everything turns out for his good. He meets with a young woman at a watering place, gains her affection, cannot even weary her by negligent treatment -and had he and all his family sought round the world for a perfect wife for him, they could not have found her superior. His aunt is in the way. His aunt dies. He has only to speak. His friends are eager to promote his happiness. He has used everybody ill -and they are all delighted to forgive him. He is a fortunate man indeed!" And, judging by the way Frank Churchill dances through the story, M. Knightley's opinion is probably correct.
The cake
The recipe adapted for Frank's wedding is dried fruit cake from Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cookbook (1886). All of her cakes were simple, of the kind you'd make at home today. Some were richer than others, including fruit cakes. The sweetener available until the late 19th century was molasses, which is also used in this particular recipe -to soften the dried apples. Cooking in molasses would give them a distinct flavor but, after that, a reasonable amount of sugar was added to the batter so the finished cake tasted like cake and not gingerbread. Here is the original recipe: "DRIED FRUIT CAKE. 3 cups of dried apples or any other dried fruit, 2 cups of molasses, 3/4 cup of butter, 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of soda, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoonful of cloves, 1/2 nutmeg grated. Soak the fruit over night in cold water. Then chop it slightly, and simmer in the molasses for two hours. Beat the eggs and sugar together until light, then add the butter; beat again, add the fruit, milk, spices, soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of boiling water, and sufficient flour to make a stiff batter that will drop from the spoon. Bake in a very moderate oven for two hours."
GROOM'S CAKE FOR FRANK CHURCHILL
The original has been enriched with dark ingredients -prunes (instead of apples), muscovado, rum & cocoa, which also give the cake a luscious texture.
I n g r e d i e n t s
4 cups plain flour
3tbsp Dutch-process cocoa
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark muscovado sugar
1 cup milk
3tbsp dark rum
2 cups prunes, stoned and halved
1tbps molasses
M e t h o d
1. Preheat the oven at 180C. Line a baking sheet with greased parchment paper, adjusting a cake ring at 26cm. 2. Place the dried fruit in a bowl. Add the molasses, then cover with lukewarm water. Leave for 30 minutes, and strain. 3. Mix the flour with the cocoa and rising agents in a bowl. 4.
Cream the butter with the sugar, gradually adding the milk, rum, and flour. Stir in the dried fruit. 5. Pour the batter into the cake ring and bake for an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cover with aluminum foil halfway through baking, if necessary. 6. Transfer onto a wire rack and leave to cool for 2-3 hours.
Comments