Annie Gray’s Boodle’s Orange Fool and Chocolate Cake
In last week's On The Side column I reviewed Victory in the Kitchen by Annie Gray. My thanks to Annie, who has very kindly allowed me to reproduce a couple of the recipes which appeared in the book. These in turn came from notes left by Georgina Landemare, the subject of the biography. They have been updated by Annie Gray herself, who swears that they are both belters.
Boodle's Orange Fool
This dish almost certainly had its origins in Boodle's club, one of the many gentlemen's clubs in central London. It opened its doors in 1762 and exists to this day. Winston Churchill was a member. The dish is said to be a cross between a trifle and a traditional fool. You can do this as a large dish or make individual ones.
Ingredients (serves 6)
6 sponge cakes; 4 oranges; 2 lemons, unwaxed; 420ml cream; caster sugar to taste.
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Cut up the sponge cakes length wise (as you would do for a trifle) and place in a glass dish. In a separate bowl combine the grated zest of 1 lemon and 2 oranges with the juice of all the fruit. Combine with the cream and sugar to taste. Pour the mixture over the sponge cakes and leave for at least six hours before serving. (The recipe makes no mention of it, but I would refrigerate. Fridges were rare in those days and kitchens were much cooler places than they are today.)
Georgina Landemare's Chocolate Cake
You will need an 8 inch baking tin, lined and greased. Pre heat the oven to 140˚C.
Ingredients
225g unsalted butter; 225g good quality (70% cocoa) dark chocolate; 6 large eggs, separated; 225g caster sugar; 225g plain flour; 113g ground almonds; 1 tsp baking powder.
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Cream together the butter and the sugar. Melt the chocolate in a bowl, either over hot water or in a microwave. MIx together with the creamed butter-sugar mixture, flour, almonds and baking powder. Whisk the egg yolks until frothing, and the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the yolks into the cake mix, then the whites. Bake for about 90 minutes.