Fit for the Washington's, this special dessert came from Martha Washington herself and I can't wait to share this with you.
Dessert is a staple after a dinner to settle your stomach after a big feast, especially for the Washington’s. Now, this dessert was made for special dinner events and if you were presented with this dessert, then consider yourself royalty. This delicious custard was made with effort back in the day, today it would take a merely 20 to 30min at most. Back then it took a couple of hours to make. I’m not even kidding, being a cook back then took some skills and some patience, both which I don’t have. But this tasty custard is called “Orange fool”, fools today are made up of pureed fruit almost like jam, but it is not the case for this recipe.
This original recipe calls for 6 squeezed Seville oranges. These oranges are tart like and not very sweet (hint the crazy amount of sugar), but if you don’t have access to these tart oranges then you can substitute for regular oranges and add sugar to your liking. Back then when it came time to put this dish over the fire, you had to pick the coolest spot over the fire so it can be cooked slowly, all of which took about 40 to 45 minutes and you had to constantly stir it to make sure that the eggs and cream would not clump up and become a cottage cheese like texture instead of the creamy custard that we come to like. As soon as the mixture turns creamy, thick, and rich, take the pot off the fire and place it on the table and continue to stir for another 30 to 40 minutes until it is cool. I know this is a crazy amount of time to cook such simple dessert and it is time consuming.
Here's the recipe.........
Ingredients
(6) Juiced oranges
(6) Eggs (well beaten)
(1) Pint of heavy cream
(4) Ounces of sugar
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
(1) Tbsp Butter (approx)
Instructions
Take the juice of six oranges and six eggs well beaten, a pint of cream (Heavy Cream), a quarter of a pound of sugar, a little cinnamon and nutmeg; mix all together, and keep stirring over a slow fire util it is thick, then put in a little piece of butter, and keep stirring till cold.
After that is all said and done the Washington’s would serve this delicious custard in beautiful glasses (seen to the right) to their guests. It’s no secret that Martha Washington and her husband loved to throw big beautiful dinners; After all she was the first lady and she had to respectfully represent herself and her family. I hope you enjoyed reading this and if you try it out please let me know! I would love to see you guys try something from the past! It would be a great treat!
GOOD LUCK!
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