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Bermuda Witches
Spread strawberry, raspberry, apple jelly, or preserve of any kind without stones, over slices of Savoy or rice cake, which must be cut exceedingly thin and even. Spread unsparingly over the preserve finely-grated cocoa-nut; cover over with a similar slice of cake, and after pressing all together, cut them into any form desired. The square form is generally thought most suitable, and each slice of cake may be divided into the size desired before the preserve is put on, but they will always require some trimming. Send them to table arranged prettily on a napkin, and garnished with myrtle sprigs.
An assembly job rather than a cooked dish: thin sponge, jam, coconut, pressed and cut. Everything depends on the cake being dry enough to slice cleanly and the filling being stiff enough not to squeeze out.
- Savoy or rice cakeSavoy cake is the English name for gateau de Savoie, a very light whisked sponge raised on egg alone; rice cake here means a sponge made with rice flour or ground rice, which bakes drier and firmer. A firm genoise is the nearest modern equivalent, though both originals are lighter than a madeira. Day-old cake slices far better than fresh.
- Slice thin, and use a serrated knifeThe recipe gives no measurement; "exceedingly thin and even" means as thin as you can cut without the slice breaking, perhaps around 1/4 inch. A long serrated blade drawn in slow strokes, on cake that has been chilled for half an hour, gives edges that will not crumble when pressed.
- CoconutFresh grated coconut was assumed; desiccated coconut is the practical substitute but is much drier and will drink moisture from the jam. Unsweetened fine-shred desiccated, or frozen grated coconut thawed and squeezed, sits closer to the original.
- Preserve without stonesThe instruction is about texture, not safety: a whole-fruit damson or cherry conserve makes the sandwich impossible to cut. Use a thick, well-set jam or jelly. A loose modern low-sugar jam will run out under pressure.
- PressingLay the assembled slab between two boards or trays with a light weight and leave it 20-30 minutes in the fridge. Too much weight forces the filling out at the sides and compacts the sponge.
- Cut after pressingThe recipe suggests you may cut the cake to size first, then admits it will need trimming anyway. Simpler to build one large sandwich, chill it, then trim the edges square and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
- Myrtle sprigsA decorative garnish, not something to eat. Any small firm evergreen sprig or a few mint leaves serves the same purpose; keep it on the napkin rather than on the cakes.
- YieldNo quantities are given. A standard 8-inch sponge, split into two thin layers, will make one sandwich that yields a modest plateful of small squares once the edges are trimmed.
The name is one of the small unexplained pleasures of Victorian cookery books: nothing in the method is Bermudian, and no origin story is documented, though the coconut is the likely link, since grated coconut reached British kitchens through the Atlantic and West Indian trade in which Bermuda was a way-station. The dish belongs to a whole family of Victorian "made-up" tea-table sweets - cake already baked, cut down, layered with preserve and sent up in dainty shapes - which suited a household economy where a plain sponge could be turned into something ornamental a day later. Cookery books of the period collected hundreds of such small items, and the closing instruction about the napkin and the myrtle is as much a part of the recipe as the coconut: presentation was the point, and the cook was expected to know that a plate of trimmed squares only became a dish once it was arranged.