Honiton Sponge Pudding -CLASSICS OF THE BRITISH PURITAN FAMILIES OF 1688
The Classic Grand Americana recipe. The popular pastry Honiton Sponge Pudding was recommended to all the Methodist families of the United States of America in 1908 all year. The original recipe of the Honiton Pudding.
HONITON is an ancient Parliamentary Borough and Market town situated in the south east of the county of Devon, six miles distant from the sea coast and nine miles from the borders of Dorset and Somerset.
The area of the parish in 1868 comprised 3,046 acres and contained a population by the census of 3,301 souls. The downtown of Honiton is of triangular in shape with the town lying at the extreme north; the soil of the city is varied heavy clay, and the land being closely associated with a light sandy soil.
The Town of Honiton we may fairly infer. was a British Station, which is explained by the name of the central street of the city- as the Inkeld-street, or British Highway runs through the parish. The Romans, from their camps being in the immediate neighbourhood, were also probably acquainted with the central street and the main road; there is however a total absence of either British Druidical or Roman remains in the parish of Honiton.
The origin of the name of Honiton seems to be involved in obscurity. In Domesday Book it is written "Honetone" in other records the city is mentioned as "Hunitone", "Hunniton" and "Hunnington". The most commonly accepted story about the ethymology of the name Honiton is of its derivation is from the word "Honey" and this theory is supported by an old local legend which tells us that in former years the town of Honiton has surrounded St Michael's Church, but on its being destroyed by fire, the inhabitants rebuilt it in the valley, below on its present site. Then a thick wood of the fence was frequented by bees who made much honey there hence the name of the city is Honiton.
Honiton Sponge Pudding you will need
3 eggs
the weight of flour of three eggs
the weight of fresh unsalted butter of three eggs
the weight of white granulated sugar of three eggs
1 lemon
To make this Honiton Sponge Pudding, you should take three eggs, and as much as their weight in shell in those: white all purpose wheat flour, fresh unsalted butter and white granulate sugar and the rind of one lemon.
Beat the butter to a cream (with the sugar maybe- original recipe- without sugar), and beat the eggs yolks (with the sugar maybe, but the original recipe- to beat without sugar, only yolks), and beat the whites of the yolks separately (with a sugar and a pinch of salt maybe, but the origina recipe, which dates 1688 tells only whites) and then mix them and beat the eggs and whites again together. Then add the butter to the eggs beaten a and keep on the beating, then add the sugar and then add flour and beat the whole batter till light. Put into a mold and boil (in water bath) for one and a half hours. Serve this tradional British Puritan pudding with any sauce or with the lemon sauce.
To my contemporary needs I would add some cream of tartar- for impeccable whiteness into the dough.
The recipe tells about much beating of the dough- so be very careful with the speed of your blender- this is an extremely subtle recipe- which dates 1688- blenders did not exist then and the eggs were beaten with the hand- do not overbeat your eggs- the foam will disappear.