Desserts

I have been at home today because I have fever. There is not much that I can do when I have fever… fortunately I have my smock and there are still some long seams not yet sewed. Sewing, if it is just sewing some long seams, are something that one can do in this situation. 

Last weekend we tried again some recipes from Cindy Renfrow’s book Take a thousand eggs or more: A collection of 15th century recipes. Both of the recipes are from the first volume and both of them can be used as sweet dessert. 

Creme Boylede

Take cream or milk, & bread of pandemaine, or else of tender bread, and break it in the cream, or else in the milk, and set it on the fire till it be warm hot; and through a strainer throw it, and put it into a fair pot, and set it on the fire, and stir evermore: and when it is almost boiled, take fair yolks of eggs, and draw them through a strainer, and cast them thereto, and let them stand over the fire till it boils almost, and till it is skilfully thick; then cast a ladleful, or more or less, of butter thereto, and a good quantity of white sugar, and a little salt, and then dress it on a dish in manner of mortrewys. 

My thoughts: (The recipe is for two)
2,5 dl milk (or cream)
2 slices white bread (whitout the crust)
2 egg yolks (beaten)
3 T sugar
pinch of salt
1 T butter
ginger

Mince the bread slices and put them into a small pot with milk (or cream). Place the pot over medium heat until it is warm but not boiling. Strain the milk and bread mixture through a strainer and return it to the pot. Heat gently. Add the beaten egg yolks and stir until the mixture is very thick. Add butter, sugar and salt. Taste and add more sugar if you want. Stir more and put the mixture into serving dishes. Garnish the dish with little ginger. You can serve this bread pudding cold or warm.

Pandemaine bread is, I think, somekind of white bread. I think that it is made by very fine white flour. I looked at the second volume of Take a thousand eggs or more to find what is “mortrewys”. At that volume there were three “mortrewys” recipes. All the recipes contain minced meat. And in the recipes ginger is used to garnish the dish. That’s why I choose ginger for garnishing. If you can, use cream because it will taste better than milk.

Creme Bastarde

Take the white of Eggs a great heap, & put it in a pan full of Milk, & let it boil; then season it so with Salt and honey a little, then let it cool, & draw it through a strainer, and take fair Cow’s milk and draw it withal, & season it with Sugar, & look that it be poignant & sweet: & serve it forth for a pottage, or for a good baked meat, whether that thou will.

My thoughts: (for two)
4 egg whites
0,5 dl + 2 T milk 
pinch of salt
1 T honey
1 T sugar
(currants or raisins for garnish)

Put egg whites and 0,5 dl milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and beware that the mixture is not taking colours. Add salt and honey. Remove the pan from heat as soon as the mixture solidifies. Let the mixture cool and add 2 tablespoon of milk to it. Press the mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Add sugar and stir. Pour into serving dishes and garnish with currants or raisins if you want. You can serve this dish cold or warm. 

The dish was very interesting. Maybe not my favourites but it was a good experience to try it. It might taste better with meat?