Cockney Cookbook by Catherine Atkinson

Author:Catherine Atkinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cooking, cockney
Publisher: W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd

Sweet Treats

As fruit came into the London docks, any that was too ripe to be transported out of the city would be sold off cheaply. For the East End families, whose range cookers in the kitchen would be on all day in the winter, this meant that fruit pies and tarts and steamed puddings were everyday fare and as important a part of the meal as the main course.

Costermongers are street traders who sell fruit and vegetables. Their name was derived from a once-common variety of large cooking (tart) apple called a costard. To prevent others from taking their pitches and their trade, the costermongers evolved a system where a leading family would be responsible for protecting the interests of the rest. These families became the Pearly Queens and Kings and one of today’s great London sights is the Harvest Festival at the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, where the costermongers turn out in their wonderful pearl-button-encrusted suits.

Like all children, cockney kids have a sweet tooth. There were once many small sweet factories in the East End where hand-made treats such as humbugs and sticky toffees were made. Sadly they have all disappeared, as have the street sellers with their trays of gingerbread and muffins, but the old traditional recipes have remained and you can still buy these delights in local bakeries.

English Apple Pie

This is an all-time favourite, enjoyed not only in the East End, but also throughout Britain. In the filling, cooking apples are combined with flour, sugar and spices to thicken the juices as the fruit cooks.

Serves 6

For the pastry (paste):

350 g/12 oz/3 cups plain (all-purpose) flour

A pinch of salt

175 g/6 oz/¾ cup butter, cubed

75 ml/5 tbsp cold water

For the filling:

900 g/2 lb cooking (tart) apples, such as Bramleys, peeled, cored and thickly sliced

75 g/3 oz/scant ½ cup caster (superfine) sugar

2.5 ml/½ tsp ground cinnamon

A pinch of ground cloves

45 ml/3 tbsp plain flour

For the glaze:

1 beaten egg or egg white

15 ml/1 tbsp granulated sugar

Custard or whipped cream, to serve

1 Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the water over and mix to a firm dough. Lightly knead on a floured surface for a few seconds until smooth, then wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2 To make the filling, put the apples in a bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, spices and flour. Gently toss together to coat.

3 Put a heavy baking (cookie) sheet in the oven and preheat to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6. Roll out slightly more than half of the pastry and use to line a 23 cm/8 in pie dish, about 4 cm/1½ in deep. Spoon in the filling.

4 Brush the pastry edges with a little water, then roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid and place on top of the filling. Gently press the pastry edges together, trim with a sharp knife, then flute, or make a pattern around the edge with the back of a fork.

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