Category Archives: (Historical) Cooking Recipes

Homemade German Nougat From Scratch

German nougat – also called viennese nougat or gianduja – is made with three ingredients: hazelnuts or almonds, chocolate and sugar. While store-bought nougat contains dairy – this homemade German nougat is dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free and vegan!

Homemade German Nougat From Scratch

German nougat is so delicious – it’s used as baking ingredient, as cake or praline filling, for ice creams and desserts or eaten as it is. I always wanted to make German nougat at home – especially since I can’t eat dairy (and therefore store-bought nougat) anymore. However, all recipes that I tried produced more a chocolate spread – not real German nougat!

But, finally, after years of research and trial and error I found an old recipe for traditional homemade German nougat. Yay! I adapted the recipe slightly because the nougat was made with too much chocolate. I’m so pleased with the recipe: This homemade German nougat is even better than store-bought German nougat! I never thought that it’d be so easy to make German nougat from scratch at home.

You can make German nougat with almonds or hazelnuts. Hazelnut nougat is darker than almond nougat. They taste different too but both are delicious! Continue reading Homemade German Nougat From Scratch

Sloe Berry Yogurt Cake – Dairy-Free

This unusual sloe berry yogurt cake is dairy-free, easy to make and simply delicious!

Sloe Berry Yogurt Cake Dairy-Free

If you take a stroll in the country at this time of the year, you probably pass by bushes full of large blue-black fruits: sloes! Sloes are astringent fruits when eaten raw but they’re delicious in jams and cakes! Continue reading Sloe Berry Yogurt Cake – Dairy-Free

Christmas Tree Cookies – Naturally Colored With Kale

These green Christmas tree cookies are naturally colored with kale and decorated with cranberry pieces.

Christmas Tree Cookies - Naturally Colored With Kale

These festive red and green Christmas cookies taste as delicious as they look. And what’s best: they’re made without artificial dyes – they’re all naturally colored with curly kale leaves.  And even if the Christmas tree cookies are brilliant green, they don’t taste of kale – they taste just like classic Christmas sugar cookies! Continue reading Christmas Tree Cookies – Naturally Colored With Kale

Salted Almonds – Historical Recipes

Roasted salted almonds – an easy, satisfying snack – were already popular in the Victorian and Edwardian era.

Salted Almonds - Historical Recipes

‘At intervals about the center were cut glass and fancy china dishes of pimolas, salted almonds, and pecans, and pink and green confections, with little fancy Venetian salt dishes conveniently near the plates.’ (The Home Science Cook Book, 1902)

In the Victorian and Edwardian era, salted almonds were served at formal dinners, such as at Christmas dinners: ‘Salted almonds make a nourishing side dish at luncheon, or for dessert.’ (Meals Medicinal, 1905) Continue reading Salted Almonds – Historical Recipes

Victorian Quince Paste – Homemade Quince Jelly Candy

Made with just three ingredients – quince paste is a traditional Christmas candy popular since the Victorian era.

Victorian Quince Paste - Homemade Quince Jelly Candy

Quince paste – also called quince candy, quince cheese and quince jelly candy – is an old-fashioned Christmas candy. It has a beautiful reddish color and tastes like a sweet version of quince jelly. It takes some time to make quince paste at home but it’s so worth it and you’ll only need three ingedients: quinces, sugar and lemon juice! Continue reading Victorian Quince Paste – Homemade Quince Jelly Candy

Sloe Berry Meringue Pie – Wild Foraging

Sloe berry meringue pie – an unusual twist on the traditional lemon meringue pie!

Sloe Berry Meringue Pie

A flaky, buttery pie crust topped with meringue and filled with sloe berry custard with freshly picked sloe berries – doesn’t this sound delicious? 😀 Sloe berry meringue pie tastes sweet and fruity and simply delicious! And don’t wory the sloe pie doesn’t taste astringent like raw sloes! 😉 Continue reading Sloe Berry Meringue Pie – Wild Foraging

Edwardian Spice Marble Cake

This Edwardian spice marble cake is so delicious – a perfect Christmas cake!

Edwardian Spice Marble Cake

The traditional marble cake wasn’t the vanilla and chocolate marble cake. In the Victorian and Edwardian era, marble cakes were usually flavored with spices and colored with brown sugar and molasses. This Edwardian spice cake recipe was published in Three Meals A Day in 1902. Continue reading Edwardian Spice Marble Cake

24 Free Old-Fashioned Christmas Crafts & Recipes – Advent Calendar 2018

Welcome to the Advent Calendar 2018 with 24 free, old-fashioned Christmas crafts and recipes!

24 Free Old-Fashioned Christmas Crafts & Recipes - Advent Calendar 2018

It’s time for my traditional Advent Calendar! This year it’s the third year that I run the Advent Calendar on my blog. For those of you who are new to my Advent Calendar: The Advent Calendar works like an ordinary Advent calendar, each day you can open a new door. Behind the doors are free vintage Christmas and winter crafts, old-fashioned Christmas and wild foraging recipes and Victorian and Edwardian winter- and Christmas-related posts. The Advent Calendar 2018 starts on December 1. Continue reading 24 Free Old-Fashioned Christmas Crafts & Recipes – Advent Calendar 2018

Kiwi Curd Meringue Pie

Creamy kiwi curd topped with fluffy meringue and a flaky pie crust. Kiwi curd meringue pie makes a delicious, refreshing summer dessert!

Kiwi Curd Meringue Pie

A while ago, I made homemade kiwi curd – it was so delicious! So I thought I’d make it again as filling for meringue pie or rather tartlets because I wanted to try out different vegan pie crust recipes. Below you’ll find recipes for a buttery pie crust and 10 vegan pie crusts – aquafaba pie crust is my favorite! Let me know in the comments what’s your favorite pie crust. Continue reading Kiwi Curd Meringue Pie

Sprouted Sourdough Bread From Scratch – No Flour & No Yeast!

This 2-ingredient sprouted sourdough bread from scratch is made without flour! Yes, you read that right! You’ll only need grains and water for the sprouted sourdough bread!

Sprouted Sourdough Bread From Scratch - No Flour No Yeast

After reading about bread history – wild yeast bread, fermented grain drinks, flatbread and sourdough bread – I was interested in trying to make sourdough bread with just grains and water. This sprouted sourdough bread is basically a baked soured grain porridge just like a prehistoric human might have made it.

I couldn’t find a recipe for sprouted sourdough bread made with just grains and water – without yeast and flour – so I came up with this recipe. While the prehistoric human would have used two stones or a mortar to crush the grains I used a blender! 😉 Continue reading Sprouted Sourdough Bread From Scratch – No Flour & No Yeast!