Twelfth Cake

[RichardB]

Hunter, writing in 1819, says that there was a tradition among the inhabitants of

Wadsley, near Sheffield,

"that the ancient owners of the hall were accustomed to entertain twelve men and their

horses every Christmas for twelve days."

There are men still living in the neighbourhood of Sheffield and Penistone

who remember the time when it was believed that the weather of the twelve months

of the year depended on that which prevailed during the first twelve days and

nights.

Accordingly farmers used to sit up at night and watch, the members of the family taking the duty in turn.

On the last night they had a pound cake called Twelfth Cake.

[duckweed]

This got me looking for a recipe for Twelfth Night Cake. It was a yeast based cake similar to the german stollen. Apparently if you kept a piece it kept the witches away for the year.

[RichardB]

This got me looking for a recipe for Twelfth Night Cake. It was a yeast based cake similar to the german stollen. Apparently if you kept a piece it kept the witches away for the year.

There is more history to this than what is currently known, I think ... possibly to do with Saturn but hopefully the experts will add to our knowledge.

[vox]

This got me looking for a recipe for Twelfth Night Cake. It was a yeast based cake similar to the german stollen. Apparently if you kept a piece it kept the witches away for the year.

It seems to work with custard creams as well. Definitely no witches near our house.

[duckweed]

It seems to work with custard creams as well. Definitely no witches near our house.

How do you know?

Another 12th night superstition is the burning of the mistletoe. Apparently if you don't its very bad lock for the people that kissed under it.

[RichardB]

Saturnia, Roman times has something to do with it ...

[DaveH]

There is more history to this than what is currently known, I think ... possibly to do with Saturn but hopefully the experts will add to our knowledge.

It depends what you mean by "Twelfth Night" Richard.

Do you mean, -

1 )

The Catholic Epiphany, celebrated on the 12th day of Christmas (January 6th)

This is a holiday which nobody seems to get any more!

...not even teachers, - we go back on January 4th.

...and apparently not even teachers in Catholic schools who go back the same day as us

Epiphany

2 )

Some more old rubbish written by Shakespeare

What You Will

[RichardB]

It depends what you mean by "Twelfth Night" Richard.

Do you mean, -

1 )

The Catholic Epiphany, celebrated on the 12th day of Christmas (January 6th)

This is a holiday which nobody seems to get any more!

...not even teachers, - we go back on January 4th.

...and apparently not even teachers in Catholic schools who go back the same day as us

Epiphany

2 )

Some more old rubbish written by Shakespeare

What You Will

Option 3) - something a lot older than either, not sure myself. But older.

[DaveH]

Option 3) - something a lot older than either, not sure myself. But older.

The Shakespeare plays dates from 1602AD

Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas, marks the visit of the 3 wise men to the Holy infant Jesus and therefore dates to the birth of Christ in 4AD (don't ask why!)

Older than that?

Roman?

Ancient Greek?

Hebrew scriptures?

Other ancient civilisations? (Egytian? Chinese?)

Just tied up in Mythology?

Things start to get a bit blurry between fact and fiction when you start going that far back.

[syrup]

http://www.christmasarchives.com/christmascake.html

TWELFTH NIGHT CAKE

But it was not a Christmas cake, but a Twelfth Night Cake. Twelfth night is on the 5th January, and has been for centuries the traditional last day of the Christmas season.. It was a time for having a great feast, and the cake was an essential part of the festivities. This was slightly different in different countries, and also at different social levels.

In the GREAT HOUSES, into the cake was baked a dried Bean and a Pea. one in one half and the other in the other half. The cake was decorated with sugar, like our icing, but not so dense, and ornamentation. As the visitors arrived, they were given a piece of the cake, ladies from the left, gentlemen from the right side. Whoever got the bean became King of the Revels for the night, and eveyone had to do as he said. The lady was his Queen for the evening.

In smaller homes, the cake was a simple fruitcake, with a bean in it, which was given to guests during the twelve days of Christmas. Whoever got the bean was supposed to be a kind of guardian angel for that family for the year, so it was an important task, and usually, it was arranged that a senior member of the family would get the bean! This was observed until recently in Poland in fact.

In Britain the cake was baked as part of the refreshments offered to the priest and his entpourage who would visit on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, to bless each house in the parish. this custom died out after the Reformation in the late 16th century.. In Mallorca, the main island of the Spanish Balearics Islands, they have a similar custom which takes place at Easter.

The festive cake in Britain was revived at the end of the 17th century, and became very much part of the Twelfth night partying again. It is recorded In royal households, that the cakes became extravagantly large, and the guests divided into two side could have a battle with models on the cake! One battle was a sea battle, and there were minature water canon on the cake which really worked!

[syrup]

http://www.christmasarchives.com/christmascake.html

TWELFTH NIGHT

This is the Church festival of Ephiphany. The traditional day when Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi or Three Kings at Bethlehem. It used to be the time when people exchanged their Christmas gifts. The feast was marked, as were all the old feasts, by some kind of religious observance. A visit to the church, a service or some kind, and then a folk observance which was tightly wrapped up as part of the Church activities. As we have seen, Twelve Day (the day following Twelfth Night) entailed the blessing of the home, and in some countries is still observed. But after the Reformation, these customs of the Church were banned by the Puritans, and fell into disuse. Without its religious overtones, Twelfth Night became a time of mischief and over indulgence. By 1870, Britains Queen Victoria announced that she felt it was inappropriate to hold such an unchristian festival, and Twelfth Night was banned as a feastday.

[syrup]

http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-twelfth-night-cake

Twelfth-night Cake Recipe

Origin: Britain Period: Traditional

How to Make: Twelfth-night Cake

The classic Twelfth-night Cake is a very rich British version of the pan-European King Cake that's more of a cross between a King Cake and a Dundee Cake

than anything else. It hearkens back to a time where the celebration of Epiphany (Twelfth night) was far more important than it is today.

Ingredients:

350g butter

350g caster sugar

6 eggs, beaten

75ml brandy350g plain flour

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cinnamon

700g mixed dried fruit

50g blanched almonds, chopped

45g apricot conserve or apricot jam

900g almond paste (or marzipan)

4 egg whites

900g icing sugar

3 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp glycerine

glacé fruit, candied angelica and silver balls, to decorate

Twelfth-night Cake Preparation:

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well after each addition then add the brandy. Fold-in the flour,

spices, fruit and nuts. Grease a deep 25cm cake tin and line the bottom and sides with greaseproof paper.

Tip the cake mixture into this and tap to remove any trapped air. Place the cake in an oven pre-heated to 150°C and bake for about 2.5 hours, or until the cake is firm to the touch.

If the top of the cake darkens too quickly cover with a sheet of folded greaseproof paper about half-way through the cooking. Remove the cake from the oven,

allow to cool in its tin for 30 minutes then tip onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Once cold cover the surface of the cake with the apricot preserve or apricot jam. Roll out the almond paste and cut just enough of the paste to go around the side of the cake.

Then roll the remainder of the paste out and use to cover the top of the cake.

Allow the cake to set for at least two days then prepare the icing by lightly beating the egg whites and incorporating the icing sugar into this to form a stiff paste.

Add the lemon juice and glycerine and incorporate well. Then, using a palette knife spread the icing all the way around the sides and top of the cake.

Place in a tin and allow to set for at least two days. When ready form a crescent of the candied fruit and anjelica on top of the cake and decorate with the silver balls.

[DaveH]

In the GREAT HOUSES, into the cake was baked a dried Bean and a Pea. one in one half and the other in the other half. The cake was decorated with sugar, like our icing, but not so dense, and ornamentation. As the visitors arrived, they were given a piece of the cake, ladies from the left, gentlemen from the right side. Whoever got the bean became King of the Revels for the night, and eveyone had to do as he said. The lady was his Queen for the evening.

In smaller homes, the cake was a simple fruitcake, with a bean in it, which was given to guests during the twelve days of Christmas. Whoever got the bean was supposed to be a kind of guardian angel for that family for the year, so it was an important task, and usually, it was arranged that a senior member of the family would get the bean! This was observed until recently in Poland in fact.

This practice sounds a little bit like that which was practiced in our youth with Christmas pudding where a small quantity of money, a coin, usually either 3d or 6d, was hidden in the pudding for someone to find.

Doing this seems to have died out in recent years, allegedly for health and safety reasons (dangers of swallowing or choking on a coin, damging teeth on a hidden hard object, toxicity of metals, basic food hygene, etc) although I can remember it being done up to as recently as 1970 I cannot remember it ever been done with post decimal coins, a 5p piece for example.

I don't know the significance or origin of putting money in Christmas puddings or if it is connected with putting dried beans and peas in the twelfth night cake.

[DaveH]

But after the Reformation, these customs of the Church were banned by the Puritans, and fell into disuse. Without its religious overtones, Twelfth Night became a time of mischief and over indulgence. By 1870, Britains Queen Victoria announced that she felt it was inappropriate to hold such an unchristian festival, and Twelfth Night was banned as a feastday.

This probably explains why we are all back at work these days before we ever get to twelfth night

However my Catholic friends inform me that Epiphany is still a church service for them and that practicing Catholics do still attend church on January 6th (or 5th, - depends on where you measure the day from).

Even for non-Catholics and those with no Christian Faith at all twelfth night is widely regarded as the day on which you remove your Christmas tree, lights and other decorations and so is taken to mark the end of the Christmas festivities.

[duckweed]

That recipe seems a more modern thing than the ones I have found. The following site is a great site for Christmas traditions and music and various recipes.

http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey//wasfood.html

I think many of the Christmas traditions are pre Christian. Mistletoe has associations with druids I know as have holly and Ivy.

[RichardB]

Of course, our Hero, Shakespeare had it covered ...

Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, or What You Will was written to be performed as a Twelfth Night entertainment. The earliest known performance took place at Middle Temple Hall, one of the Inns of Court, on Candlemas night, 2 February 1602.^[5] The play has many elements that are reversed, in the tradition of Twelfth Night, such as a woman Viola dressing as a man, and a servant Malvolio imagining that he can become a nobleman.

Source

[DaveH]

Of course, our Hero, Shakespeare had it covered ...

Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, or What You Will was written to be performed as a Twelfth Night entertainment. The earliest known performance took place at Middle Temple Hall, one of the Inns of Court, on Candlemas night, 2 February 1602.^[5] The play has many elements that are reversed, in the tradition of Twelfth Night, such as a woman Viola dressing as a man, and a servant Malvolio imagining that he can become a nobleman.

Source

Although I find this whole topic of twelfth night very interedting somehow the Shakespearian aspect of it I find totally boring and uninteresting.

I wonder why?

Perhaps it's just the lasting effect that the boring old rubbish turfed out by Shakespeare has on me.

[RichardB]

Although I find this whole topic of twelfth night very interedting somehow the Shakespearian aspect of it I find totally boring and uninteresting.

I wonder why?

Perhaps it's just the lasting effect that the boring old rubbish turfed out by Shakespeare has on me.

I've had many a happy night at The Shakespeare on Gibraltar Street; only pub I've ever been kicked out of.

[DaveH]

I've had many a happy night at The Shakespeare on Gibraltar Street; only pub I've ever been kicked out of.

That's a boozer that just happens to carry Shakespeare's name.

I think I can cope with that as long as the beer is OK ;-)