Pies, Puddings and Pottages
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Pies, Puddings and Pottages
@piespuddings.bsky.social
92 followers 35 following 60 posts
By Caroline Gordon

Weekly recipes and stories of British food from the Iron Age to the Victorians.

https://piespuddingsandpottages.com
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Irish Barmbrack is a fruit bread and, although it is eaten throughout the year, it is particularly associated with Halloween (Samhuin) and New Year’s Eve.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #fruitbreads
Blue plate with barmbrack on greaseproof paper with two slices cut. Small blue plate with slice of barmbrack spread with butter. Cup of tea.
November 13, 2025 at 11:25 AM
piespuddings.bsky.social
The steak and kidney pudding became highly popular in the nineteenth century and was a staple dish in eating houses, restaurants and in the home.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #puddings #recipe #steakandkidney
Steak and kidney pudding on a silver dish partially covered with a white napkin, silver serving spoon, glass of red wine and brass candlestick all on a white damask tablecloth.
November 10, 2025 at 10:04 AM
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Diplomat pudding was first created by Talleyrand during the Congress of Vienna in 1814 who invented a dessert made of sponge cake, custard, candied fruit and cream.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #puddings #recipe #desserts
Dessert bowl of Diplomat pudding with silver spoon, large baking dish of Diplomat pudding, silver jug of cream, hydrangea flower head, all on dark brown linen cloth.
November 6, 2025 at 11:55 AM
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Find information, recipes and activities for Bonfire Night at piespuddingsandpottages.com/festivals/bo...

#britishfood #foodhistory #festivals #recipe #bonfire night
November 4, 2025 at 11:01 AM
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Blackburn cakes are similar to Eccles cakes but are filled with apples and spices rather than currants.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #pastries #apples
Large decorated plate of Blackburn cakes, small decorated plate with a Blackburn cake cut in half with silver knife, cup of tea and three apples alll on a dark brown tablecloth.
November 3, 2025 at 11:30 AM
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Find information, recipes and activities for Hallowe’en at piespuddingsandpottages.com/festivals/ha...

#britishfood #foodhistory #recipe #Hallowe’en
Illustration of witch at cauldron and skeleton rising from grave A pile of Fat Rascal biscuits Pewter plate with Soul cakes and illustration of witch Three toffee apples on wooden plate with two carved swedes lit with candles in background
October 30, 2025 at 11:07 AM
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In the 18th century squabs (young pigeons) were eaten by the wealthy, often in pies. For those who couldn’t afford them, prunes were added to a lamb pie to imitate the fruity flavour of squabs.

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#britishfood #foodhistory #pies #recipe #lamb #prunes
Squab pie with silver spoon. Decorated plate with serving of squab pie. Small dish of prunes and silver dish of clotted cream. Beige linen cloth.
October 27, 2025 at 1:02 PM
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The name pikelet derives from the Welsh ‘piglyd’ where griddled breads are common. Eat them straight from the griddle or store in a container and toast them before serving.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #griddling #recipe #bread
Small green and white plate with two spikelets spread with butter and jam with a silver knife surrounded by a griddle with pikelets, a larger plate with spikelets, a glass jar of jam and a dish of butter on white tablecloth.
October 23, 2025 at 11:20 AM
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So popular to the British in the 19th century, Dundee cakes were even made commercially in India to enable members of the Raj to eat their favourite cake for afternoon tea.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #cakes
Dundee cake on decorated plate with tartan ribbon. Small plate with piece of Dundee cake and silver fork. White napkin. Wooden surface.
October 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
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Macaroons were popular biscuit in eighteenth century England. Unlike the French macarons, English macaroons are flatter and less delicate in texture.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #biscuits
Large decorated plate with five macaroons on it, small decorated plate with macaroon broken in half. Cup of lemon tea. White embroidered tablecloth.
October 16, 2025 at 10:39 AM
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Brown Windsor soup became unpopular in the 20th Century due to the bland version eaten on trains. This recipe, based on Mrs Beeton’s, is tastier than its reputation suggests.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #soup #recipe #pottages
Decorated bowl of Brown Windsor soup with silver spoon and postcard of Windsor on white tablecloth with napkin.
October 13, 2025 at 12:11 PM
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This is the perfect time of year to settle in front of a cosy fire with tea and a slice or two of Bara Brith meaning speckled bread in Welsh.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #fruitbread #recipe #welsh #cakes
Bara brith fruit loaf on wooden board with 2 slices cut. Two other slices of Bara Brith on decorated plate with butter knife. Small pot of butter and a cup of tea. Embroidered tablecloth.
October 6, 2025 at 11:49 AM
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Pigeon pies had been popular from the sixteenth century and the gentry often included a dovecote on their estates. It's a very good pie to serve during the autumn months.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #pies #recipe #pigeon
Pigeon pie on a dark blue background with silver spoon.
October 2, 2025 at 9:42 AM
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Syllabubs, a concoction of cream, sugar and alcohol were particularly popular in the seventeenth century. This syllabub uses cider and is very good served with brandy snaps.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #desserts #recipe #cider
Crystal bowl of cider syllabub, silver plate of brandy snaps on white tablecloth.
September 29, 2025 at 11:28 AM
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Monday is Michaelmas when the defeat of Lucifer by the Archangel Michael is celebrated. You can find information, recipes and activities at
piespuddingsandpottages.com/festivals/mi...

#britishfood #foodhistory #festivals #recipe #michaelmas
September 27, 2025 at 10:16 AM
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Kent is famous for its cobnuts, a cultivated variety of hazelnuts, which are harvested in the Autumn. This cake is lovely served with an autumn tea by a roaring fire.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #cakes #cobnuts
Ginger cobnut cake with one slice horizontal on wooden plate surrounded by cobnuts and oak leaves.
September 25, 2025 at 11:18 AM
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Oats were cultivated throughout the British Isles from ancient times. With the inclusion of honey oat bread would have been an important food in Anglo-Saxon times.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #bread #oats
Oat bread with 2 slices next to it on wicker surface with bramble flowers and hawthorn leaves.
September 22, 2025 at 10:11 AM
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Lardy cake, originated in Wiltshire and its ingredients of lard, sugar and dried fruit layered with yeasted dough provided farm labourers with an energy boosting treat.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #cakes #lard
Lardy cake on tea cloth, slices of lardy cake on wooden plate, large red mug of tea. Wooden surface.
September 18, 2025 at 10:51 AM
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In England most apple producing counties have their own version of the cake. The Dorset version is a particularly moist and delicious one.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #cakes #apples
Dorset apple cake on decorated plate surrounded by apples, autumn leaves and cinnamon sticks. Wooden slatted surface.
September 15, 2025 at 10:23 AM
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For the Celts, the killing of a wild boar demonstrated courage and strength. It was therefore regarded as sacred and was a central ingredient to ceremonial feasts.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #stews #recipe #wildboar
Wild boar stew in cast-iron casserole showing meat, carrots, pearl barley and cabbage.
September 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM
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Barm cakes, bread rolls originating in the north west of England, are often filled with chips and known as chip barms rather than butties.

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#britishfood #foodhistory #bread #recipe #barm
Barm cakes on a cooling rack. A barm cake stuffed with chips. Chips on newspaper. Tea cloth. Wooden surface.
September 8, 2025 at 9:34 AM
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Dauce egre – a dish of fish with a sweet and sour sauce served in wealthy dining rooms in medieval England.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #haddock #recipe #sweetandsour #medieval
Haddock with a dark red sauce on pewter plate on a slatted wooden surface.
September 4, 2025 at 10:57 AM
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This simple sponge cake with caraway seeds became a particular favourite in the eighteenth century, served in the afternoon with an increasingly popular drink - tea.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #cakes
Seed cake on blue Spode plate. Slice of cake on small blue plate with knife. Cup of tea. Silver vase with sedum. Dark blue background.
September 1, 2025 at 11:40 AM
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A manchet was a bread made with twice sifted flour and only eaten by the wealthy in the 16th and 17th centuries.
You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #breads
Manchets arranged on a wooden surface with one cut in half and spread with butter.
August 28, 2025 at 11:28 AM
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Originating in northern Europe in the 18th century the Pound cake uses lb each of just four ingredients: flour, butter, sugar and eggs.

You can find the recipe at piespuddingsandpottages.com/recipe-post/...

#britishfood #foodhistory #baking #recipe #cakes
Pound cake on wooden board on white tablecloth surrounded by plate with sandwich and slice of cake, sandwiches in greaseproof paper, picnic hamper with bottle of ginger beer and glass of ginger beer.
August 25, 2025 at 11:51 AM