The stress of present buying, the turkey is defrosted and the threat of family fighting is all done and dusted for another year, all you need to do is pack away the decorations before the 12thnight of Christmas in order to avoid bad luck for the rest of the year. However, 12thNight was once considered during the medieval and Tudor periods as a bigger time for celebration than Christmas Day with fruitcake and Wassailers.
The festival of the arrival of the three kings to Jesus, 12thNight, Wassail, Epiphany, Epiphany eve, Reyes are just some of the names depending on what region you are in and they all have their variations of how to celebrate, but they all have one thing in common – cake!
The King Bean and the Queen Pea
The Twelfth Night Cake is usually a rich fruitcake with a bean and a pea baked into it, although it has also been known to be replaced by a charm similar to the silver sixpence hidden within Christmas puddings. The tradition is that whoever finds the bean becomes King for the night and whoever finds the pea is crowned Queen for the night. Finding the hidden object is considered good luck for the next year, especially as for the night it comes complete with thrones, paper crowns and
This is a tradition that is fiercely upheld by the actors of the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, thanks to a £100 will donation from Robert Baddeley who wanted to ensure that the actors would always have cake and drink. The Theatre Royal tradition has evolved since the late 70’s to be themed to match the production currently running at the time. For example, during a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Twelfth Night fruitcake including a chocolate fountain as a centrepiece.
INGREDIENTS
225g butter
225g dark muscovado sugar
1 tablespoon black treacle
225g plain flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
4 large eggs
225g raisins
225g currants
225g sultanas
50g chopped mixed peel
50g glacé
50g ground almonds
1 tablespoon brandy
OVEN TEMPERATURE
Preheat the oven to 160℃
CAKE TIN SIZE
18cm/7inch round cake tin – greased and lined
METHOD
Mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and blend in the treacle.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, spice and salt. Then lightly whisk the eggs before adding them to the butter and sugar mixture and then include the mixture to the flour and blend thoroughly. Once mixed, stir in the fruits, nuts and brandy and then pile into a greased and lined round cake tin.
Place in the centre of the oven. Bake for approximately 1½ hours at 160℃, then for a further 1 hour or until the cake is golden brown and firm at 120℃
Leave to cool, then decorate as necessary.
DECORATION IDEAS
- Traditional Christmas cake style with almond paste or marzipan and sugar icing.
- Victorian Sandwich style by cutting the cake horizontally and filling the middle with cream, jam, etc.
- Turn the cake into King of the Night by decorating it as a crown
All hail the Wassail bowl
Wassail is celebrated around apple growing and cider making regions. The word ‘wassail’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon term ‘waes hael’, meaning ‘good health’, which is called to others with the reply of ‘Drinc hael’ meaning ‘drink and be healthy’.
Wassailers are similar to carol singers who visit house to house, orchard to orchard bringing good health to those that reside and blessing the trees for bountyful crops. Wassail songs often finish with a request for a penny, a piece of cake and a contribution to the bowl. The Wassailers carry a Wassail bowl filled with a hot cocktail made with either mulled ale or cider as an offering to the residents.
The Wassail drink mixture was orginally called the ‘Lamb’s Wool’, this was due to the inclusion of the roasted apple pulp made the drink look frothy.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup orange juice
¾ cup lemon juice
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
SERVES
8-10 persons
METHOD
Combine the juices, sugar and spices in a pan and stir until sugar and spices are
Places to Visit
12th Night Festival
Outside the Shakespeare Globe, Bankside, London
http://www.thelionspart.co.uk/twelfthnight/traditions.html
Stroud Wassail
http://stroudwassail.com/
