A Flaune of Almayne

Recipe by Daniel Myers

This recipe is a bit of an oddity. It seems to be a cross between a fruit tart and a custard. The result is a sort of fine, apple-flavored, bread pudding in a pie crust. The apple flavor seems to be stronger when it is served cold, and is really brought out by adding the cinnamon-sugar at the end.

1/4 cup currants
4 apples
1/2 cup cream
6 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 slices bread, ground
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch saffron

Short Paest for Tarts

Peel, core, and quarter apples. Grind with currants in a mortar (or in a food processor). Beat eggs well and add remaining ingredients. Pour into pie shell and bake at 350°F until it rises at the center - about one hour. Allow to cool, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, and serve.

Source [Ancient Cookery, R. Warner (ed.)]: A flaune of Almayne. First take raysins of coraunce, or elles other fressh reysins, and gode ripe peres, or elles gode appuls, and pyke oute the cokes of hom, and pare hom, and grinde hom, and the reysins in a clene morter, and do then to hom a lytel swete creme of mylk, and streyne hom thurgh a clene streynour, and take x egges, or as many mo as wol suffice, and bete hom wel togedur, bothe the qwyte and the yolke, and draw hit thurgh a streynour, and grate faire qwyte bred, and do therto a gode quantitie, and more swete crem, and do therto, and do al this togedur; and take saffron, and pouder of ginger, and canel, and do therto, and a lytel salt, and a quantitie of faire swete buttur, and make a faire coffyn, or two, or as many as needes, and bake hom a lytel in an oven, and do this bature in hom, and let bake hom as thow woldes bake flaunes, or crustades, and when thay byn baken ynogh, strawe upon hom pouder of canel, and of qwyte sugur. And this is a gode maner of crustade.

Published: November 18, 2012

Source:

England, 15th c.