Quick links: Gingersnaps | Strawberye/a> | Bread Pudding | Hippocras | Brussel Sprouts | Almond Roll | Rice Pudding | Sweet Potatoes | Cherry Berry Cake | Cake with and without wands | Verdict

My last encounter with the Sleeping Beauty universe was Maleficent. While the movie itself was entertaining, I hated that it completely ruined one of the greatest villains of all time. She was basically the devil-herself. She reveled in evil. She didn’t secretly watch after Aurora, and develop a bond for her. Her motive was revenge and hate.

Now that I got that out of my system, food isn’t a huge part of this movie. The most notable food in sleeping beauty is the horrendous cake Fauna tried to make. However, you may remember the feast the kings stand by when they drink and sing their “Skumps” song. We skipped over the ham, fish and the turkey that was shown in that scene, for those recipes, see Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, and Make Mine Music.

Merryweather Gingersnaps

The first food shown was soon after the first encounter with Maleficent (the actual evil one, not the Angelina Jolie look-alike). They are debating what to do with Aurora and Merryweather conjures tea and gingersnaps out of the air.

These were easy to make and delicious. Our dog loved them too.

Merryweather Gingersnaps Ingredients: 2¼ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1½ teaspoons baking powder 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup sugar 1 Extra Large Egg 1/3 cup dark molasses 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Make the dough. You can do this part up to three days in advance. SIFT the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside. PLACE the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. SWITCH the mixer to low speed and gradually add the egg, molasses and vanilla extract. Increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth. SWITCH the mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, pulsing the mixer to incorporate each addition before adding the next one. TURN the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead a few times to incorporate any crumbs. DIVIDE the dough in half. Roll each half into a log about 1½ inches in diameter and 12 inches long. As you roll, gently push the ends toward the center to prevent air pockets and to keep the logs at an even thickness. WRAP the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days. Bake the cookies. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Line the bottoms of two 12″ x 18″ sheet pans with parchment paper. REMOVE the logs from the refrigerator and unwrap them. Using a ruler and a sharp knife, cut each log into rounds ¼ inch thick. If the dough crumbles as you cut it, reshape each slice. PLACE the rounds on the prepared pans, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake on the middle shelves of the oven, rotating the pans 180° halfway through the baking time, until the cookies are set but soft enough to hold a slight indentation when pressed with a fingertip (about 7 to 10 minutes). LET cool completely on the pans on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Yield: 50-60 2-inch cookies. Source: http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cookies/cookies2/ginger-snaps-recipe.asp

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The Medieval Feast for Kings

Now onto the feast for the kings. It is really hard to identify lots of the food on the table. If anyone can tell what a certain food is, let me know and I’ll remake it. We scoured over a bunch of medieval recipes to try to find foods that fit. Even if they aren’t the exact food, it was really fun making some authentic 14th century food.



Strawberye

The first food is a dish of purple stuff on the far left.

I found a recipe for a food called Strawberye. It’s a fruity dish that’s kinda a mix between a jelly and pudding. I really enjoyed it.

Strawberye Ingredients: 2 cups strawberries 1 cup red wine 1 cup almond milk 2 tablespoons corn starch 1/4 cup Mixed berries pinch saffron 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/8 teaspoons pepper 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Clean and quarter strawberries. Simmer them in red wine until soft. Force berries and wine through a strainer to remove seeds and pulp. Add almond milk, currants, and spices, and return to low boil. Add in corn starch and stir until thick. Remove from heat, garnish with pomegranate seeds if desired, and serve warm. Source: http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/strawberye.html

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Bread Pudding

One of these white dishes could be bread pudding which was popular in the medieval times.

I made a mistake and used rolls to make it. The extra crusts make the pudding too tough. It still tasted good.

Bread Pudding Ingredients: 4 slices thick bread 1 cup red wine 1/2 cups honey 1/4 cup raisins or other dried fruits 1/8 cup sugar 1 egg white 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves Ground coriander and sugar (optional) Lightly toast the bread (the original recipe says to fry it – you can toast it any way you wish). Meanwhile, beat the egg white into the wine. Add raisins, honey, sugar, and spices and set to simmer on the stovetop. Simmer until the raisins plump and you can mush them with you whisk or spoon. Add the toasted bread (you may need to break it in half). Smash the bread into the syrup and let sit until the bread absorbs all the liquid. Serve in a dish and sprinkle with coriander/sugar. Source (changed to my liking): http://www.greneboke.com/recipes/paynefoundewe.shtml

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Hippocras for the Bard

During the Kings’ talk, they call in a servant to bring them wine.

I initially wasn’t going to bother with this, because I made the decision not to include alcohol in this blog, but I found a recipe for Hippocras or Spiced Wine, which was non-alcoholic. It had a very Christmas-y flavor to it.

Hippocras for the Bard Ingredients: 1 quart Grape Juice 1 cup honey 1 teaspoon whole cloves 1 inch fresh ginger 1-2 stick cinnamon 1 medium rosemary sprig 1/2 whole nutmeg, chunk Combine all ingredients in a two quart saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Simmer mixture until it is reduced by half. Strain mixture through fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove spice pieces. (Alternately, you might put all the spices into a cheesecloth or muslin spice bag at the start.). Mix the resultant syrup with water, to taste. Source (changed to my liking): http://www.food.com/recipe/hippocras-non-alcoholic-157091

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Surprisingly Good Brussel Sprouts

I’ve never been a fan of brussel sprouts, so when I saw a dish that was most-likely brussel sprouts on the table (toward the right side), I was half-tempted to lie and say it was something else.

But I succumbed and found a recipe that made some surprisingly good brussel sprouts!

Surprisingly Good Brussel Sprouts Ingredients: 1-1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, halved, stems and ragged outer leaves removed 3 tablespoons olive oil 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoons honey Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large bowl, toss brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Transfer the brussels sprouts to baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally to ensure even browning, until tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Place brussels sprouts back in bowl. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, then serve. Source: http://www.onceuponachef.com/2009/11/roasted-brussels-sprouts.html

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Almond Rolls with jelly

This one was kind of a cheat. In the scene, there are a few bowls that have a rolled up pastry of some sort in them. (See the left hand side of the screen)

I had a really hard time figuring out what they were. I did find a recipe for Almond Rolls that were popular in the middle ages. So I made those. I didn’t style them exactly to how it showed in the movie. So they might not be exactly what was shown. They were delicious none-the-less

Almond Rolls with jelly Ingredients: 3/4 cups granulated sugar 1/4 cups almond paste 1 1/2 cups 1-1/2 water divided 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (plus some for dusting) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoons salt 4 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup powdered sugar, divided 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam Preheat oven to 350°. To prepare cake, combine granulated sugar and almond paste in a blender or food processor; process until well blended. Set aside. Coat a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with wax paper. Coat paper well with cooking spray. Dust with 2 teaspoons flour; set aside. Lightly spoon remaining 2/3 cup flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place eggs in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Gradually add granulated sugar mixture and vanilla, beating at medium speed until smooth (about 3 minutes). Sift half of flour mixture over egg mixture; fold in. Repeat procedure with remaining flour mixture. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Loosen cake from sides of pan, and turn out onto a dishtowel dusted with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; carefully peel off wax paper. Sprinkle cake with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; cool 1 minute. Starting at narrow end, roll up cake and towel together. Place, seam side down, on a wire rack; cool completely (about 30 minutes). Unroll cake carefully; remove towel. Spread jam over cake, leaving a 1/2-inch margin around the outside edges. Reroll cake; place, seam side down, on a platter. Source: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/almond-jelly-roll-with-raspberry-filling

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Pistachio-Almond Rice Pudding

Another one of the white, greenish dishes.

Rice pudding was popular in the middle ages too. However, their rice pudding was more of a sweet rice.

Pistachio-Almond Rice Pudding Ingredients: 1/2 cup rice 2 1/2 cups water pinch saffron 1/8 cups sugar 1/4 cup rose water 2 1/2 tablespoons almonds, crushed 2 1/2 tablespoons pistachios, crushed Wash the rice several times and soak in water to cover for 30 minutes. Drain. Bring the water to a boil, stir in the rice and cook over low heat, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Stir in the sugar, saffron, rose water and almonds. For instructions on how to make rose water, see here. Simmer for 10 minutes. Fold in pistachios. Serve cold. Source (changed to my liking): http://www.godecookery.com/friends/frec63.htm

Sweet Potatoes

Sitting by the turkey were some potatoes.

Due to their shape, we deduced that they were sweet potatoes. So my wife made some amazing baked sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes Ingredients: 4 Potatoes Olive Oil to coat salt to coat Preheat the oven to 400F Stab the potatoes to let in air Dress the potatoes with olive oil and kosher salt Bake for 1 hr Serve with butter

Purple-ish Berry Cake

This was another recipe that I wasn’t quite sure on. There were little purple cakes that had cherries on top.

My wife found a recipe for a cherry cake that worked out well. I added some berries in it to give it a purplish color. I should have colored the icing on top too, but I failed to do so, sorry.

Purple-ish Berry Cake Ingredients: Cake 10 oz Maraschino cherries 1 cup self-raising flour 1 1/2 cups 1-1/2 water divided 3.5 tablespoons softened butter, plus extra for greasing 3/4 cups caster sugar 1 lemon, finely grated zest only 2 oz ground almonds 1/2 cup mixed berries 3 Large Eggs Icing 1 cup Powdered Sugar 1 Lemon, juice only 5 maraschino cherries, halved Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a 23cm/9in bundt tin or savarin mould with butter. Cut the cherries into quarters. Set aside five of the cherries (halved) for the decoration later. Measure all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for two minutes to mix thoroughly. Lightly fold in the cherries. Turn into the prepared tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until well risen, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out and cool on a wire rack. For the icing, mix the icing sugar together with the lemon juice to a thick paste. Drizzle over the cooled cake using the back of a spoon, place the reserved cherries. Source (changed to my liking): http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/marys_cherry_cake_17869

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Fauna’s Magical and Non-Magical cakes

Finally, this is the main edible attraction to the movie. On Aurora’s birthday, the fairies want to throw her a surprise party. They try (unsuccessfully) to prepare it without magic. Probably the most humorous attempt is Fauna’s cake. It looks ridiculous and starts to fall over.

She even gives a partial recipe as she makes it. After the fairies fail miserably, Merryweather decides to go get their wands. Fauna then makes a great cake.

The recipe she gives is slightly different when she directs the ingredients to make the cake themselves. I kind of combined both recipes shown and made 2 mini-cakes out of it. One was a leaning cake tower which actually burnt in the oven, so it was as failed as Fauna’s first attempt and the other was a nice-looking 3-tiered cake.

Recipe 1 Ingredients: 3 cups Flour 1 cup milk 3 eggs 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 package yeast 1 teaspoons salt 1 cup sugar (plus 1 tsp for the yeast) 4 tablespoons butter frosting Stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Combine the flour, remaining sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the yeast, milk, nutmeg and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the butter and beat vigorously until the batter is silky. Scrape down the sides, then cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes Lightly butter a 9-inch tart pan or cake pan. Stir down the dough, turn it onto a lightly floured counter and gently shape it into a disk. Set it in the pan and flatten it with your hands. Rub the softened butter all over the top, then cover with the sugar, using all of it. Let rise for 30 minutes. during the last 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake the cake in the center of the oven until well risen and the sugar has begun to melt and brown, about 20-25 minutes. The surface should be covered with cracks. When done, let it cool Frost when completely cool Source (directions only, ingredients taken from movie): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/yeasted-sugar-cake-14995

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Will it Give Your Worst Enemy a Touching Backstory?

I was very happy with all the meals made. My favorite were the Gingersnaps and the Almond Roll. But you can’t go wrong with any of the meals. I’d eat any one of them rather than watch Maleficent any day!

Verdict:

Gingersnaps – 10/10

Strawberye- 8/10

Bread Pudding – 8/10

Brussel Sprouts – 8/10

Almond Roll- 10/10

Cherry Berry Cake – 10/10

Sweet Potatoes – 8/10

Almond-Pistachio Rice Pudding – 7/10

Hippocras – 8/10

Cake – 9/10, Burnt Cake – 6/10