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AMERICAN BISCUITS (or WAFFLES)
Pour two pints of good milk into separate vessels. In one put a quarter of a pound of butter, cut up and melted with a gentle warmth, and allow it to cool. In the other vessel put eight eggs, beaten up lightly; mix these with the milk gradually. To this add, also gradually, a quarter of a pound of flour, then the milk containing the butter. Stir in a large table-spoonful of strong new yeast, cover the pan, and set it near the fire to rise. When the batter is quite light, take what in America is called a waffle-iron, in which the batter can be shut in, baked, and turned over. This is greased, some of the batter is poured in, and it is put among the coals of a clear bright fire. The biscuits should be sent to table quite hot, half a dozen on a plate, with a little powdered cinnamon and white sugar. We have heard American ladies complain sadly of being unable to get these delicious biscuits made in England. Waffle-irons may be obtained at Jewish ironmongers. These biscuits, which are called waffles, only require a few minutes to bake, and the above ingredients will make sufficient for five or six persons. Probable cost, 1s. 6d.
A yeast-raised waffle batter of the sort Cassell's regarded as a foreign curiosity. One quantity in the ingredient list does not work as printed, so read the flour note before you begin.
- The flour is almost certainly wrongA quarter pound of flour (about one cup) against two pints of milk, eight eggs and quarter pound butter gives a thin custard, not a batter that will hold gas or set in an iron. Other Victorian waffle recipes generally use considerably more flour in proportion to the liquid; treat the printed figure as a probable misprint and build the batter to the thickness of heavy cream.
- Two pints, dividedThe milk is not doubled: one imperial pint (20 fl oz) goes into each vessel, two pints total, which is about 2 1/2 US pints. The split exists only so the melted butter can cool in one portion while the eggs are worked into the other.
- "Strong new yeast"This means fresh, lively yeast, sold moist by weight; in this period that often meant brewer's yeast or barm as well as baker's yeast. A large tablespoonful is roughly 3/4 oz fresh yeast, equivalent to about 2 teaspoons instant dried yeast.
- Setting it to rise"Near the fire" means a warm spot, not a hot one; much above about 100F the yeast begins to suffer. Expect one to two hours at room temperature for the batter to go visibly foamy and smell faintly of beer. A yeasted batter can also be left to stand overnight in the cold instead, which deepens the flavour.
- The ironThe original is a hinged cast-iron waffle iron on long handles, greased and set directly in the coals, turned once so both faces cook. On a modern electric iron use a medium-high setting; on a stovetop cast-iron iron preheat it well and turn it after the steam slows. Either way grease between each waffle, as a yeast batter with this much egg sticks readily.
- Baking time"A few minutes" is accurate: two to four minutes a side over coals, or until the steam stops escaping.
- Yield and servingThe book claims enough for five or six people, and the batter is meant to be baked and eaten in relays rather than held. Cinnamon and powdered white sugar, half a dozen waffles to a plate, is the finish given; no syrup is mentioned.
Waffles reached North America with Dutch settlers, and by the nineteenth century the yeast-raised waffle baked in a long-handled hinged iron was thoroughly domestic American food, which is why Cassell's files it under "American biscuits" and takes the trouble to explain what a waffle-iron is. The complaint from "American ladies" unable to get them made in England is telling: the dish was not unknown to British readers so much as unequipped for, since the specialised iron was not standard kitchen furniture here. The direction to seek irons at "Jewish ironmongers" is harder to account for, though it need not imply any connection between the dish and Jewish cookery.