If you try this recipe and want to try your hand at other ancient Roman recipes, check out my free digital cookbook, the companion to my novel, FEAST OF SORROW. This article first appeared in the inaugural issue of the beautiful food history publication, EATEN Magazine. If any of the ancient myths are to be believed, the gods of ancient Greek and Roman antiquity loved a bountiful meal. Sugar was first refined from sugarcane in ancient India around 350 CE, centuries after this recipe was recorded. Some of their favorites were olives, olive oil, vinegar, fish sauce, honey, wheat, vegetables, and grapes, but no tomatoes. A traditional ancient Roman banquet would have begun with eggs and ended with fruit, and the final course was often accompanied by sweet desserts such as cake. I began my cooking research by trying dishes found in cookbooks by historians such as Andrew Dalby, Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa, Sally Grainger, Mark Grant and Francine Segan. The ancient Roman cookbook, Apicius , (named for the wealthy first century gourmand), has several sweet ( dulcia ) cake recipes that are possibly centuries older than the third or fourth century compilation. They call it a cheesecake. In fact, other than fruits like dates and figs, honey was the only Roman sweetener. Therefore, home bakers should not feel guilty thinking that white flour might not be authentic in this recipe. Tomatoes came from the Americas several years after the fall of the Roman Empire. pick their own toppings. Heat 5 tbsp of honey, mix with roasted hazelnuts and drizzle it over the cake. Add liquid ingredients The recipe was enriched with cheese, lavender and sometimes almonds (what an excellent idea!) Mix dry ingredients separately. As the Romans did not have sugar they used honey to sweeten their cakes. grocery store) is closest historically to the flour the Romans would have used, In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. If only I may be called the author of the best possible [students], so, when I pass, I may carry with me the hope that the foundations which I have laid down for them will remain under their feet.") Let diners pick their own toppings. Ancient Romans also made honey cake. Discover (and save!) Whisk in oil, 1 cup of honey, and the wine until well combined. Add chopped roasted hazelnuts. The apiary was huge (it would have accommodated over 100 hives in its time) and enabled the beekeeper to go behind the hives and easily remove the honeycomb from slats in the wall. 3) Serve the cooled grape and nut dessert topped with honey and sprinkled with pepper. Grease and flour a 9” cake pan. 3/4 cup milk This is a a sacrificial cake sometimes offered to household spirits when the Romans honored them. 1/2 cup oil (vegetable or olive or a mix of both) They're easy to make and very yummy. Soldiers and plebians would have eaten bread made from barley or perhaps acorn flour. The Egyptian specialty feteer meshaltet, which is a thin folded pastry (and might even be the precursor to the French croissant), is descended from these cakes. But it wasn’t long before my husband and I were testing out our own interpretations of foods such as roasted mushrooms, sweet and sour dill chicken and dessert treats like fritters. Remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes in tin, then remove from tin and … In nearly every religion food plays an important role when it comes to worship. Pour hemp seeds into a bowl and press each dough ball into the seeds, coating half of each ball. Horace tells us in his Epistles that the bees loved thyme and in his Odes, he praises the honey around the area of Tarentum, in Apulia in Southern Italy. Beat liquid ingredients together. *Spelt flour (available in the health food aisle of your local Discover (and save!) 1 egg. 2) Old Roman Apple Cake-This Ancient Roman dessert required the following ingredients-a) Take 3 cups of flour Store your pinenuts in the fridge for up to three months, or the freezer up to nine, to prevent them from going rancid. The lower classes ate bread with little bit of salt while wealthy Romans also ate it with eggs, cheese, honey, milk and fruit. In modern times, … When the cake is still warm, spread liquid honey over the top and sprinkle it with chopped hazelnuts. show what archaeologists think might be a type of folded honey cake, likely made from flour, eggs, honey, dates and nuts. - Suetonius, quoting Augustus. Cake is a dish that has been around for thousands of years, and was enjoyed by the ancient Egyptians well before the Greeks and Romans had their fill. Place a rack in the middle of the oven; heat to 177 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Farenheit. But I also wanted to stay true to the era. Jan 29, 2013 - This Pin was discovered by Ms Muldrew. 2) Heat the mixture until it boils. How to make Roman bread: a Roman bread recipe Bread was a staple food in Ancient Rome consumed by all social classes. I was relieved to discover that others had already done much of this interpretation for me. The Ancient Romans ate a wide variety of foods. It began as sacrifice—giving a gift to the gods to incur divine favor, give thanks, or avoid retribution. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. your own Pins on Pinterest The love for the honey cake was taken on another level in ancient Rome. Apicius 7.11.5 aliter dulciaPound pepper, pine nuts, honey, rue, and passum. Historian Sally Grainger translates two of them thus: Pound pepper, pine nuts, honey, wine, passum, and rue. Leavened bread and cakes were made from natural yeasts like a sourdough starter. A flavorful layered cheesecake, sweetened with honey, prepared with a very interesting technique. A home cook of today would have no idea where to begin when it came to extrapolating these vague lists into something edible. The cake will be a dark brown from the honey. One of the first printed recipes for honey cake appears in Athenaeus’ Deipnosophistae, published in Greece in 180 B.C.E.. gradually to dry ingredients and beat well. The ancient Roman cookbook, Apicius , (named for the wealthy first century gourmand), has several sweet (dulcia) cake recipes that are possibly centuries older than the third or fourth century compilation. That meant I needed to, quite literally, get cooking. Yield: 8 - 12 servings, 1 1/2 cups flour* For ease of removal, you can also add parchment paper to the bottom of the pan, but make sure to grease and flour the sides. Beat liquid ingredients together. Well, one of the most famous recipes that has survived from Roman times is this one for honey cakes. Birthday cakes are also ancient, as the first century poet, Ovid, wrote about in his elegiac letters, titled Tristia, which bemoan his exile to Pontus (now part of modern-day Turkey): Thou awaitest, I suppose, thine honour in its wonted guise: a white robe hanging from my shoulders, a smoking altar garlanded with chaplets, the grains of incense snapping in the holy fire, and myself offering the cakes that mark my birthday and framing kindly petitions with pious lips. One such apiary is still viewable in Malta, a little island off the coast of Sicily. Soda - Sodium bicarbonate was used by the ancient Egyptians for nearly three thousand years before the recipes in Apicius were written down, but used primarily for treating wounds, preserving meat and as a cleaning agent. Spain, then called Hibernia, was also a major source of honey. your own Pins on Pinterest soda Lesley and Roy Adkins, in The Dictionary of Roman Religion, tell us “a food offering might be shared between the gods and the people in a sacrificial feast, or the food might be given entirely to the gods by burning it all.” Animal blood sacrifices were common, but also gifts such as oil, wine, incense, honey and...cakes. Let cool completely before serving. For example, the bitter herb rue is not easy to come by in all regions, so it is substituted with another ancient and sweeter spice, coriander. It is actually more like a cheese bun/cake with honey on it. The ancient Romans did have white wheat flour, which was only available to the very wealthy. Serve slices of the honey cake with pure honey, plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, and jam or marmalade made from citrus and berries. Should be done by 55 minutes. From a Taste of Ancient Rome. Cook with milk and tracta (this was a thin pastry that the ancient Romans sometimes crumbled into dishes for starch). Why did the ancients offer up cakes to their deities? Serve drenched in honey and sprinkled with pepper. Pine Nuts – If you aren’t fond of pine nuts because of their aftertaste, look for Turkish or Italian pinenuts in specialty or gourmet stores (more expensive but worth it). Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites, RECIPE FOR AUTHENTIC ANCIENT ROMAN SPELT HONEY CAKE, "... ut optimi [discipuli] auctor dicar, et moriens, ut feram mecum spem mansura in vestigio suo fundamenta rei per quae iecero." Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. Still warm, spread liquid honey over the top and sprinkle it with Chopped ;. 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