Today's story was inspired by a period drama, in which two characters from Dickens' Bleak House are offered a box of macaroons. The reference, however, is purely fictional because Dickens says nothing about macaroons in the book.
To find the approximate date of this fictional episode, we must remember that Bleak House is not set in 1827, as professed, but in the 1830s because there is mention of the railway plans. To find the approximate recipe for the macaroons, we should also note that Bleak House was published in 1852-1853, seven to eight years after Modern Cookery, Elizabeth Acton's famous work. In the mean time, A New System of Domestic Cookery by Maria Rundell, first published in 1805, had seen most of its 67+ new editions. This is likely the book to go to because even if Dickens' readers had already moved on to Elizabeth Acton, Bleak House characters probably followed Maria Rundell. (Incidentally, the actress who plays Honoria Barbary in the TV series is named Sophie Rundle.)
This is a combination of prequels to several of Dickens' novels, which aired on BBC in 2015-2016. The central idea is the mystery behind the death of Jacob Marley. At the same time, the lives of beloved characters from A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Bleak House, Great Expectations, The Old Curiosity Shop etc. are intertwined in a very plausible way. Lady Dedlock (Honoria Barbary) is portrayed young, while still living in the family house. She works in a boutique where she also models for rich customers, is in relationship with gambler Captain Hawdon and very good friends with (also young) Amelia Havisham from Great Expectations. In the end, Honoria saves her father from the debtors' prison by accepting to marry an old, ugly, and very rich baronet who offers the family a gift of macaroons on his first visit to their house. Meanwhile, Honoria is pregnant but when she gives birth, her elder sister Frances tells her that baby Esther is stillborn and gives her away to prevent a scandal. The relationship between Honoria and Frances and the changes it goes through is perhaps the most fascinating element of Dickensian.
MACAROONS vs. MACARONS
Macaroons are similar but not exactly the same as macarons, from Nancy or elsewhere. They are soft, bell-shaped and, in more recent times, filled with coconut and/or chocolate. In Britain, they were originally made with eggs and almond paste (as in Robert Smith's Court Cookery, or the Complete English Cook, dating from 1725) and sometimes with mashed potatoes and sugar. The potato variation gradually disappeared from the market because it could not be stored for long periods of time. The paste is typically flavored with almond extract but in old-fashioned recipes this was achieved by mixing a few bitter almonds with the sweet ones. Macaroons are sometimes confused with meringues but they are different in texture, especially because many recipes use a small amount of flour.
MACAROONS IN DICKENS' TIME.
From Maria Rundell, Modern Domestic Cookery, 1856 edition, pp. 560-561:
"783. -Blanch 4 oz. of almond, and pound with 4 tablespoonfuls of orange-flower water; whisk the whites of 4 eggs to a froth, then mix it, and 1lb. or sugar sifted, with the almonds to a paste; and, laying a sheet of wafer paper on a tin, put it on in different little cakes, the shape of macaroons.
Or: -Beat the whites of 4 eggs into a strong froth, add to it the juice of 2 limes or lemons, and 1/4lb. of pounded sugar; mix them up well together, then add 2 more whites of eggs beaten, another 1/4 lb. of sugar, 1lb. of almonds sliced, and 1/4 lb. of flour, which last must be sprinkled over the other ingredients after they have been well mixed together, which will take nearly an hour. Take up a sufficient quantity of the mixture in a spoon, drop it on paper sprinkled with flour, and bake on tins in a slow oven for 2 hours.
Or: -To 1lb. of blanched sweet almonds add 2 oz. of bitter almonds, with the juice of 1 lemon and a glass of ratafia."
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MACAROONS
These are Maria Rundell's first and second recipes, divided by 4. Both versions yield about 10 small macaroons. I was in some doubt regarding the egg whites: for almond paste, you normally just knead them with flour and sugar but the author here gives directions for beating egg whites into a 'strong froth'. Was this a meringue? Contemporary pastrymakers would likely deny it but Pellegrino Artusi, whose best-selling cookbook was published in the same century as Maria Rundell's own, has a recipe for amaretti that does use meringue.
I n g r e d i e n t s
version 1 (pictured on the left)
50g ground almonds
110g powdered sugar
1tbsp orange blossom water
1 egg white
version 2 (pictured on the right)
75g ground almonds
20g flour
50g powdered sugar
1tbsp lemon juice
1 egg white
M e t h o d
both versions
Combine the almonds, sugar, and flour (if using). Add the flavoring and mix well. Knead in the egg white, shape the mixture into tiny bells, place on a baking sheet (or in individual mini baking cups) and bake at 120C for up to 2 hours.
N o t e
Because of its higher percentage in sugar, version 1 results in a mixture which takes longer to bake.
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