Here at Taste the Wild we thought that you would like to try something different this shrove Tuesday (pancake day).
This delicious pie, flavoured with dried fruit, orange juice and brandy, is made from pancakes encased in a light puff pastry case.
Its origins can be sourced back to the early eighteenth century and Charles Carter’s book The Complete Practical Cook
To prepare this historical dish for you I headed to the Victorian kitchen in Pickard’s Cottage at Ryedale Folk Museum on the North York Moors, England.
METHOD & RECIPE PANCAKES
First you will need to make some pancakes. You can use your tried and trusted method, or this one.
250g Plain White Flour
A pinch of Salt
2 x medium Eggs, lightly beaten
600ml of Whole Milk
A little Sunflower Oil
Mix the flour, salt and eggs into a paste and slowly add the milk, whisking continuously. If you have time let this batter rest overnight and add a little melted butter just before cooking.
Add some sunflower oil to a hot skillet or frying pan and pour over a ladle of batter, gently rolling the pan so that your pancakes are equal to the size of your pie dish in diameter.
Once cooked on one side, flip over. When it is cooked through, remove from the pan and add to the growing pile of pancakes.
METHOD & RECIPE PANCAKE PIE (Banniet Tort)
You will need a pie dish around the size of your pancakes.
8 x Pancakes (approximately)
1 x block or a sheet of ready rolled Puff Pastry, all butter if you can get it.
100g Candied Orange Peel
100g Mixed Dried Fruit
100ml Fresh Orange Juice
50ml Brandy
1 x beaten Egg
Roll just over half of the pastry to cover the base of your pie dish.
Layer in a pancake and sprinkle over some peel, dried fruit, orange juice and brandy.
Continue this layering process until you have reached the top of your pie dish.
Roll out the rest of the pastry and make the top of your pie. Crimp the edges and decorate as you wish with pastry trimmings from around the edge, finishing with a generous egg wash.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees centigrade / 350 degrees fahrenheit / Gas Mark 4 / a cooling Wood Fired Oven.
Keep an eye on your pie and remove when golden brown.
Slice and eat immediately, with cream, ice cream or your preferred accompaniment.
