Winston Churchill and marmalade

Winston Churchill was a life-long devotee of both marmalade and marmalade cats (orange tabby, for my American readers). In 2006, F. Duerr and Sons Ltd., manufacturers of branded and private-label preserves in Manchester, England, released the world’s most expensive Seville Orange Marmalade to mark the company’s 125th anniversary. Priced at £5,000/kilo, it contained 62-year-old Dalmore malt whisky, a dash of vintage Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill 1996 Champagne, and gold leaf, in a handmade crystal jar.[1]

“The Winston Churchill champagne was chosen because of the British statesman’s predilection for both marmalade and fine champagne. In his own unique take on the breakfast of champions . . . legend has it that Churchill downed a glass of Pol Roger cuvee daily with his full English breakfast. He justified this exuberance by saying: ‘In victory, I deserve it; in defeat, I need it.’ Indeed.”[2]

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[1] Sheila, K. (n.d). Marmalade. Times, The (United Kingdom). Retrieved March 21, 2011 from EBSCOhost. 

2 Toast and marmalade for tea. (2006). Money Management, 20(37), 36. Retrieved March 21, 2011 from EBSCOhost.)

Marmalade-Making Tips from the Pros

On youtube.com there are more than 1,000 clips on how to make marmalade, which is a little overwhelming (for me at least). To get you started, here’s a great article by my friend and marmalade-obsessed counterpart, Jo Swinnerton, in London: http://www.fortnumandmason.com/c-536-the-pleasures-of-making-marmalade.aspx 


Jo has the enviable job of writing for Fortnum & Mason, one of London’s oldest and most beloved insitutions (since 1707), and she will soon be joining me in the blogosphere.   

Esther Bolick's Orange Marmalade Cake

American author Jan Karon’s popular Mitford books (about a small North Carolina town and its residents), include a character named Esther Bolick, baker of a famous Orange Marmalade cake that is so sought after that it is the prize in many raffles. Although there are many recipes available on the Internet for this famous cake, I believe this one, directly from Penguin’s website (Karon’s publisher) and Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader, is the most authentic (and looks the most delicious.) I invite anyone who has made this cake to post a comment, letting us  know what you thought of it.

Esther Bolick’s Orange Marmalade Layer Cake

(Courtesy, Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader)

Yields: 1 cake, 10 to 12 servings

Cake Ingredients:

3 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten lightly

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Orange Syrup:
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Filling:
1 cup orange marmalade


Frosting:
3/4 cup well-chilled heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup well-chilled sour cream

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment or waxed paper, and butter and flour the paper, shaking out the excess.

2. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter until combined, add the sugar, a little at a time, and beat the mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Beat in 1/3 of the dry ingredients alternately with 1/2 of the buttermilk until combined well. Add half the remaining dry ingredients and the remaining buttermilk and beat until combined well. Finally, beat in the remaining dry ingredients until mixture is smooth.

4. Evenly divide the batter between the pans, smooth the surface, rap each pan on the counter to expel any air pockets or bubbles, then transfer to the oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to racks and cool in the pans for 20 minutes.

To Make the Orange Syrup:
5. Meanwhile, make the orange syrup: In a bowl, stir together the orange juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved.

6. With a toothpick or wooden skewer, poke holes at 1/2-inch intervals in the cake layers and spoon the syrup over each layer, allowing the syrup to be completely absorbed before adding the remaining. Let layers cool completely.

To Make the Filling:
7. In a small saucepan set over moderate heat, heat the marmalade until just melted. Let cool 5 minutes.

To Make the Frosting:
8. In a bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the sugar until it forms firm peaks. Add the sour cream, a little at a time, and whisk until of spreading consistency.

To Assemble the Cake:
9. Arrange one of the layers on a cake plate, carefully peel off the waxed paper, then spread 2/3 of the marmalade over the top, smoothing it into an even layer. Invert the remaining layer onto the top of the first layer, peel off the waxed paper and spoon the remaining marmalade onto the center of it, leaving a 1 1/4-inch border around the edge. Frost the sides and top of the border with the frosting, leaving the marmalade on top of the cake exposed. Or if you prefer, frost the entire cake, adding the marmalade as a garnish on top. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Marmalade and Martha Washington

'Tis the season for marmalade: I have two Florida grapefruits bobbing up and down in boiling water on the stove, and much more to say . . . .this post is mostly of historical interest, but I will be talking about making marmalade, too, in future posts.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Martha Washington had her own orange marmalade recipe which she used at Mount Vernon, the home she shared with George (and more than a few children, grandchildren and servants), in Virginia. Actually, she probably used more than one recipe. Thanks to research historian Mary V. Thompson at Mount Vernon, I can now share some of them with you.

One cookbook that belonged to Mrs. Washington was a manuscript cookbook (as opposed to a published one), which she inherited from the family of her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis. The recipes were probably compiled in the 17th century, and at least some of them date back to the 16th century, indicating that the little book was probably thought of as an heirloom and was not used by her, because the recipes would have been considered old fashioned or out of date. It contains not one but 13 recipes for “marmalet”—most of which were made from quinces, as most marmalade then was made with that ancient fruit. But one shows how “To Make Marmalet of Orringes:

Lay yr orringes in water 9 dayes, yn boyle them whole in 3 or 4 waters till ye bitterness be gon. yn pare them & take onely ye pills & beat them in a mortar, yn take halfe a pound of it & halfe a pound of ye pap of scalded pippins. mix ym together & dry them in a dish over a chafing dish of coles a quarter of an houre, & stir ym well. then take a pownd & halfe of sugar & as much rose water as will wet it, then boyle it in a dish on coles till it is allmoste sugar agayne. then mingle ye orringes, ye pippin pap, & sugar alltogether & dry it in ye dish againe over a chafing dish of coles, till it is stiff enough.

(Karen Hess, ed., Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats, 1996, page 246.)

The recipes Martha most likely used came from The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse—the most popular cookbook in America in the 18th century. Published in England, it contains three recipes for marmalade: one for orange, and the other two for quince. This is the orange marmalade Mrs. Washington most likely used:

Take the best Seville Oranges, cut them in Quarters, grate them to take out the Bitterness, put them in Water, which you must shift twice or thrice a Day for three Days; then boil them, shifting the Water till they are tender, then shred them very small, then pick out the Skins and Seeds from the Meat which you pulled out, and put it to the Peel that is shred; and to a Pound of that Pulp take a Pound of double-refined Sugar. Wet your Sugar with Water, and boil it up to a candy Height, (with a very quick Fire) which you may know by the dropping of it; for it hangs like a Hair; then take off the Fire, put in your Pulp, stir it well together, then set it on the Embers, and stir it till it is thick, but let it not boil. If you would have it cut like Marmalade, add some Jelly of Pippins, and allow Sugar for it.

(Glasse, Hannah. Gale ECCO, Print Edition. 2010 reproduction of 1923 edition. The art of cookery, made plain and easy. To which are added, one hundred and fifty new receipts, a copious index, and, a modern bill of fare . . . .)