Traditional 18th Century
Raspberry Creams
and Happy Hens!
Monday 22nd August 2011
Lundi 22 Août 2011 ~ St Fabrice
One of my favourite hobbies is researching traditional old recipes, especially British and French ~ I have a bulging file full of such receipts, as they used to be called, along with local and regional stories relating to most of them. One such recipe is this wonderful Raspberry Cream, which dates back to the 18th Century and is British ~ a sort of a fool type dessert which was originally made with fresh whole milk, literally straight from the pail, and then whipped with cream and sugar; it remains a firm favourite of mine and I served it over the weekend to my friends who came for dinner on Saturday. Berries and fruit were often added to milk and cream in order to make desserts ~ fool, whim wham, syllabub and flummery to name but just a few, and of course let’s not forget fruit trifle too.
This recipe is just perfect for me right now as my rasps are ripening each day and I’m picking about 1/2 kilo (1lb) a day at present……I plan to make a cake with some of them, and jam too, but I also LOVE the pure unadulterated taste if freshly picked, uncooked raspberries, and this old English dessert is made for them. Which brings me to my hens ~ they also LOVE my rasps and have eaten most of the ones that are growing close the ground……but, I forgive them, as they have paid me in freshly laid eggs! The photos I have posted of my happy hens, are AFTER the great raspberry gorging session, when they needed a bit of a sit down and a digest, ah bless them……..
Back to the Raspberry Creams ~ I have changed some of the measurements to represent modern day taste and requirements; the original measurements were a trifle (sorry!) vague and rather gargantuan in serving size. This recipe serves 4 people instead of a banquet of people ~ much more manageable.
I served these little Raspberry Creams in glasses, the sort you might use for gin and tonic or a whisky sour…….once made, they happily sit in the fridge until you need to serve them ~ I made these on Friday night and served them Saturday night, they had firmed up nicely and were delightfully chilled and refreshing.
Serve these with some crisp biscuits in the side ~ I used palmier biscuits, but shortbread would be nice, or langues de chats….I also dobbed a bit extra whipped cream on top and scattered some whole raspberries over the top…….as you can see from the photos, it makes a beautiful looking dessert and my friends lapped it up.
Although I have never found another old cream recipe that uses other fruit and berries, other than the ones I mentioned before, I am sure that strawberries would be great served this way……or any fruit or berry that does not need to be cooked beforehand. I have substituted some of the cream with half fat crème fraîche to lighten this up a wee bit ~ if you want to make it the original way, use all cream in this recipe.Printable recipe here
18th Century Raspberry Cream
Recipe:
(Serves 4)
INGREDIENTS:
250g (9ozs) fresh Raspberries
200g (8ozs) Tub of half-fat crème fraîche (or double cream that has been whipped)
150g (6ozs) whipping cream
50g (2oz) caster sugar
Palmier biscuits or biscuits/cookies of your choice
200g (8ozs) Tub of half-fat crème fraîche (or double cream that has been whipped)
150g (6ozs) whipping cream
50g (2oz) caster sugar
Palmier biscuits or biscuits/cookies of your choice
whole raspberries for decoration
METHOD:
Place the raspberries in a small bowl and sprinkle in some caster sugar (to taste), crushing the raspberries slightly, but not totally. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it has soft peaks then fold in the crème fraîche (or whipped double cream) and some of the remaining sugar (again to taste).Lightly mix half of the crushed raspberries and sugar with the cream mixture until it is a pretty shade of pink; then pile half of the mixture into 4 glasses, then swirl through the remaining crushed raspberries and top with more raspberry cream mixture ~ chill until needed ~ then add a swirl of cream on top and scatter a few whole raspberries over the top; serve with biscuits or cookies of your choice.
I have entered this seasonal dessert in to Ren’s Simple and in Season August event over at her wonderful blog Fabulicious Food.
See you all soon, I am off to check if my happy hens may have laid some more happy eggs……
Karen
Simple desserts are the best aren't they. This looks delicious! xx
so so tasty! Picked the last of raspberries yesterday…what a treat!
The raspberry cream looks really delicious. And I adore the colour. I love that this recipe doesn't use gelatine either.
I have got to find me a raspberry patch… and what beautiful swirls in the photos… top notch
My mom would have loved this..especially with the little palmiers..they were a treat for her..
I wish I had hens:)
Marie ~ thanks! Yes, it's always the simple things in life that bring so much pleasure!
Karen
Adina ~ lovely to see you here, I have many more rasps to come…..they were late this year!
Karen
Shaheen ~ it is good that gelatine isn't used, yes I agree, and so simple too.
Karen
Dave ~ many thanks! Off you go to find those raspberry canes!
Monique ~ it is always lovely to see you here and thanks for your lovely comments…..my mum also loves palmiers ~ so elegant and crisp…..shall I send you some virtual hens?!
Karen
Karen
Just delicious!! This is exactly the sort of dessert you would need on a warm summer's evening. I love that you have a huge file of old recipes, what a lovely hobby to have. Your chickens look equally lovely and happy too! Thanks for entering this into Simple and in Season!
Your raspberry cream looks so delicous! Wish we have raspberries over here! And your hens are really cute, fresh eggs, envy..envy! 🙂
Gorgeous – the raspberries and the chickens. I love your historical receipts!
This looks like summer in a cup. It is a beautiful dessert. That it is also easy t omake makes it doubly delightful. Have a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
oh karen..you have WON MY HEART with this post, my friend
everything i ADORE !!!! and old raspberry dessert and hens !!!
simply charming
so happy to see you at farmhouse kitchen and Happy to stop by
sending love,
kary
xx
This looks divine! a lovely recipe and great pictures! x
Ren ~ thanks! They are perfect for hot days!
Kitchen Flavours ~ thanks! Hen envy! LOL! That made me laugh!
Jewel ~thanks, I knew you would appreciate the ancient receipts!
Mary ~ thanks, yes it is indeed summer in a cup!
Kary and Teddy ~ THANKS so much!
Working london mummy ~ thanks so much!
Karen
Oh, this looks so good and perfect for the end of summer. I love that you research and bring back old recipes. Its like 'anthropology of cooking.' I love it!~
Thanks Heather ~ I am a real history buff and love anything old!
Karen
Need one of these right now! They look so wonderful. A great use of fresh berries!
Your hens are lovely. The pudding is divine! Shared on Twitter: https://twitter.com/maisietoo/status/346142540996698113