The dessert from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Vol 4: Betrayer
I hadn’t really intended to have so many meal scenes in Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 4: Betrayer. However, at the time I was writing it, I was suffering from my IBS issues, and my diet had been (and still is) terribly bland, so I put every kind of delicious thing into the book that I could.
There was a scene later in the book when Laura kind of forces Sol to eat. He’s come to see her looking rather haggard, after he’s been dealing with some enemies trying to undermine him.
I didn’t intend to do it, but I ended up having them eat a full meal (rather than just tea and sweets). And since there’s something kind of cute about a manly-man enjoying a sweet dessert, I wrote a Floating Island dessert into the scene.
The Floating Island recipe was one I’d seen a few weeks earlier when I was looking through the PDF scans of some old cookbooks from the Regency era. The Floating Island stuck out to me because it was nothing like the French-style Floating Island dessert, île flottante, but was instead more like a trifle.
The original recipe is on pages 46-47 of the book, The Complete Confectioner by Frederic Nutt, published in 1807. The recipe calls for Naples Biscuits, which are on pages 14-15 of the same book. You can click here to download a free PDF of the scan of the original antique book.
Here’s the original recipes for Floating Island and Naples Biscuits:
No. 102 Floating Island
a pretty dish for the middle of a table at a Second Course or for a Supper.
Take a soup dish according to the size and quantity you would wish to make, but a deep glass dish is the best, put it on a china dish; first take a quart of the thickest cream you can get, make it sweet with fine powdered sugar; pour in a gill of fine mountain and rasp the yellow rind of lemon in; whisk your cream very strong as carefully as you can; pour the thin from the froth into a dish; take some Naples biscuits and cut them as thin as possible, lay a layer of them as light as possible on the cream, then a layer of currant jelly, again a layer of Naples biscuits, over that put your cream that you saved; put as much as you can make the dish hold, without running over; garnish the outside with sweetmeats and what else you like.
No. 4. Naples Biscuits.
Take one pound and a half of Lisbon sugar, put it into a little copper saucepan, and three quarters of a pint of wine measure of water in with the sugar, and one small cupful of orange flower water, and boil the sugar with the water till it is all melted; then break twelve eggs, whites and yolks together, whisk them well, then pour the Lisbon syrup boiling hot in with the eggs, and whisk them as fast as you can at the time of pouring in the syrup, or the eggs will spoil, and when you have poured it all in, keep whisking it till it is quite cold and set, and when it is cold, take one pound and a half of flower, and mix it as light as possible then put two sheets of paper on the copper plate you bake on, then take one sheet of paper, and make the edges of it stand up about an inch and an half high, and pour your batter in it, sift some powdered sugar over it, carefully, to prevent its burning on the top; do not leave the oven one minute when you think it is near baked enough; and when baked, take it out in the paper, and let it stand till cold, then turn it over, and wet the bottom of the paper, till the paper comes off with ease, then cut it to what size you like: you may bake it in small tins if you please.
I had to do some research to try to figure out what he meant by “a gill of fine mountain.” A British gill is approximately 142 mL, but figuring out “fine mountain” was harder. I think it might be referring to metheglin, which is supposed to be spiced or herb-infused mead.
When searching for substitutes for mead, most people recommend a dry white wine or a pale ale. I used the white wine since I can’t drink the pale ale, but if I didn’t have this darn IBS, I would have totally used the ale instead, because I think that might be closer to the flavor of mead. As it was, the white wine added a hint of dryness (flavor, not texture) to the whipped cream that was really quite pleasant.
Naples Biscuits are not really biscuits but more of an eggy cake. While there are a lot of things I can’t eat because of my IBS, I realized it was possible to adjust the Naples Biscuit recipe so that I could use sourdough discard instead of flour. I always have a jar of sourdough discard in my fridge, so the Naples Biscuits turned out to be a quick and easy recipe. However if you’d like, you can use flour instead, as per the original recipe.
I didn’t want to make full recipes, so I quartered the original amounts of the Floating Island recipe (for the cream portion) and it was about enough for 2-4 single servings of Floating Islands, depending on how much cream you added to each glass (I tended to add a lot of cream).
I quartered the original amounts of the Naples Biscuits recipe, and it still ended up being enough for 8-10 single servings of Floating Islands. So be aware that the Naples Biscuits recipe makes a lot of cake. I didn’t want to reduce the amounts of the Naples Biscuits recipe any more because I didn’t have any pans small enough that would fit the smaller volume of batter.
The recipe is also very easy to adjust for your tastes. It originally used currant jelly, but I substituted strawberry jam, and you can use whatever preserves you favor the most.
I made it twice, once whipping the cream into stiff peaks, and the second time stopping at soft peaks. I preferred the stiffer version, but either one tastes good.
The Floating Island was incredibly delicate and “elegant” tasting (is that possible?). The first time I made it, it went well with afternoon tea, but the second time, it tasted great with white wine after dinner.
If you make Floating Island desserts from this recipe, please do let me know! I’d love to see pictures!
You can also get a PDF of the recipe cards at my Patreon (you may need to create a FREE Patreon account if you don’t already have one).
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
36 mL dry white wine or pale ale
1/4 of the grated rind of a lemon
Naples biscuits (recipe is below)
currant jelly (or your preserve of choice)
Directions:
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the cream with the grated lemon rind and slowly pour the white wine or pale ale into the cream in a very thin stream, until the liquid is emulsified with the cream. Keep whisking until the cream is the stiffness you prefer, whether soft peaks or stiff peaks.
Cut the Naples biscuit/cake into thin slices. The first time I made this recipe, I laid the slices on my cutting board and then cut out circles using the rim of the glass tumbler I was going to put the dessert in. It created a nice perfect circle of cake that fit snuggly into the tumbler. The second time I made it, I didn’t bother to cut circular shapes and instead just layered the cake into the tumbler.
In individual glass tumblers, layer a little whipped cream, then Naples biscuit/cake, then spread some jelly/preserves. Keep layering until the tumbler is full and end with a dollop of whipped cream. You can sprinkle cocoa powder, candies, chopped nuts or chopped dried fruit on top.
To make Naples Biscuits with sourdough discard:
Makes enough for 8-10 Floating Islands. This is the recipe I followed with sourdough discard, but the original recipe using flour is below that.
170 g 100% hydration sourdough discard
88 g flour
1-3 teaspoons orange flower water (the original recipe called for 3 teaspoons, but I found the to be too strong for my taste and prefer only 1 teaspoon)
170 grams sugar
3 eggs
Mix sourdough discard with flour. (Optionally, let it sit overnight to let the starter bacteria ferment the raw flour.)
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs, sugar, and orange flower water. Keep whisking until it has tripled in volume and reached the “ribbon stage,” which was about 8-10 minutes on speed 4 on my KitchenAid stand mixer.
Add the levain in small spoonfuls while continuing to whisk until all the levain has been incorporated.
Use a nonstick springform cake pan or line a pan with parchment paper up the sides. Pour the batter in, and optionally sift sugar over the top. Then bake at 350ºF for about 15 minutes. Watch over it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Once it has cooled, you can peel off the parchment paper.
Naples Biscuits, original recipe:
Ingredients:
170 grams sugar
89 mL water
1-3 teaspoons orange flower water (the original recipe called for 3 teaspoons, but I found the to be too strong for my taste and prefer only 1 teaspoon)
3 eggs
170 grams flour
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt sugar in water with orange flower water until sugar is melted, and let it cool.
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and slowly pour the sugar water (called Lisbon syrup in the book) into the eggs in a very thin stream, until the water is emulsified with the eggs. Keep whisking until it has tripled in volume.
Gently whisk in the flour until combined.
Use a nonstick springform cake pan or line a pan with parchment paper up the sides. Pour the batter in, and optionally sift sugar over the top. Then bake at 350ºF for about 15 minutes. Watch over it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Once it has cooled, you can peel off the parchment paper.
There was a scene later in the book when Laura kind of forces Sol to eat. He’s come to see her looking rather haggard, after he’s been dealing with some enemies trying to undermine him.
I didn’t intend to do it, but I ended up having them eat a full meal (rather than just tea and sweets). And since there’s something kind of cute about a manly-man enjoying a sweet dessert, I wrote a Floating Island dessert into the scene.
The original recipe is on pages 46-47 of the book, The Complete Confectioner by Frederic Nutt, published in 1807. The recipe calls for Naples Biscuits, which are on pages 14-15 of the same book. You can click here to download a free PDF of the scan of the original antique book.
Here’s the original recipes for Floating Island and Naples Biscuits:
No. 102 Floating Island
a pretty dish for the middle of a table at a Second Course or for a Supper.
Take a soup dish according to the size and quantity you would wish to make, but a deep glass dish is the best, put it on a china dish; first take a quart of the thickest cream you can get, make it sweet with fine powdered sugar; pour in a gill of fine mountain and rasp the yellow rind of lemon in; whisk your cream very strong as carefully as you can; pour the thin from the froth into a dish; take some Naples biscuits and cut them as thin as possible, lay a layer of them as light as possible on the cream, then a layer of currant jelly, again a layer of Naples biscuits, over that put your cream that you saved; put as much as you can make the dish hold, without running over; garnish the outside with sweetmeats and what else you like.
No. 4. Naples Biscuits.
Take one pound and a half of Lisbon sugar, put it into a little copper saucepan, and three quarters of a pint of wine measure of water in with the sugar, and one small cupful of orange flower water, and boil the sugar with the water till it is all melted; then break twelve eggs, whites and yolks together, whisk them well, then pour the Lisbon syrup boiling hot in with the eggs, and whisk them as fast as you can at the time of pouring in the syrup, or the eggs will spoil, and when you have poured it all in, keep whisking it till it is quite cold and set, and when it is cold, take one pound and a half of flower, and mix it as light as possible then put two sheets of paper on the copper plate you bake on, then take one sheet of paper, and make the edges of it stand up about an inch and an half high, and pour your batter in it, sift some powdered sugar over it, carefully, to prevent its burning on the top; do not leave the oven one minute when you think it is near baked enough; and when baked, take it out in the paper, and let it stand till cold, then turn it over, and wet the bottom of the paper, till the paper comes off with ease, then cut it to what size you like: you may bake it in small tins if you please.
When searching for substitutes for mead, most people recommend a dry white wine or a pale ale. I used the white wine since I can’t drink the pale ale, but if I didn’t have this darn IBS, I would have totally used the ale instead, because I think that might be closer to the flavor of mead. As it was, the white wine added a hint of dryness (flavor, not texture) to the whipped cream that was really quite pleasant.
Naples Biscuits are not really biscuits but more of an eggy cake. While there are a lot of things I can’t eat because of my IBS, I realized it was possible to adjust the Naples Biscuit recipe so that I could use sourdough discard instead of flour. I always have a jar of sourdough discard in my fridge, so the Naples Biscuits turned out to be a quick and easy recipe. However if you’d like, you can use flour instead, as per the original recipe.
I didn’t want to make full recipes, so I quartered the original amounts of the Floating Island recipe (for the cream portion) and it was about enough for 2-4 single servings of Floating Islands, depending on how much cream you added to each glass (I tended to add a lot of cream).
I quartered the original amounts of the Naples Biscuits recipe, and it still ended up being enough for 8-10 single servings of Floating Islands. So be aware that the Naples Biscuits recipe makes a lot of cake. I didn’t want to reduce the amounts of the Naples Biscuits recipe any more because I didn’t have any pans small enough that would fit the smaller volume of batter.
I made it twice, once whipping the cream into stiff peaks, and the second time stopping at soft peaks. I preferred the stiffer version, but either one tastes good.
The Floating Island was incredibly delicate and “elegant” tasting (is that possible?). The first time I made it, it went well with afternoon tea, but the second time, it tasted great with white wine after dinner.
If you make Floating Island desserts from this recipe, please do let me know! I’d love to see pictures!
You can also get a PDF of the recipe cards at my Patreon (you may need to create a FREE Patreon account if you don’t already have one).
Floating Island
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
36 mL dry white wine or pale ale
1/4 of the grated rind of a lemon
Naples biscuits (recipe is below)
currant jelly (or your preserve of choice)
Directions:
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the cream with the grated lemon rind and slowly pour the white wine or pale ale into the cream in a very thin stream, until the liquid is emulsified with the cream. Keep whisking until the cream is the stiffness you prefer, whether soft peaks or stiff peaks.
In individual glass tumblers, layer a little whipped cream, then Naples biscuit/cake, then spread some jelly/preserves. Keep layering until the tumbler is full and end with a dollop of whipped cream. You can sprinkle cocoa powder, candies, chopped nuts or chopped dried fruit on top.
Makes enough for 8-10 Floating Islands. This is the recipe I followed with sourdough discard, but the original recipe using flour is below that.
170 g 100% hydration sourdough discard
88 g flour
1-3 teaspoons orange flower water (the original recipe called for 3 teaspoons, but I found the to be too strong for my taste and prefer only 1 teaspoon)
170 grams sugar
3 eggs
Mix sourdough discard with flour. (Optionally, let it sit overnight to let the starter bacteria ferment the raw flour.)
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs, sugar, and orange flower water. Keep whisking until it has tripled in volume and reached the “ribbon stage,” which was about 8-10 minutes on speed 4 on my KitchenAid stand mixer.
Add the levain in small spoonfuls while continuing to whisk until all the levain has been incorporated.
Use a nonstick springform cake pan or line a pan with parchment paper up the sides. Pour the batter in, and optionally sift sugar over the top. Then bake at 350ºF for about 15 minutes. Watch over it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Once it has cooled, you can peel off the parchment paper.
Ingredients:
170 grams sugar
89 mL water
1-3 teaspoons orange flower water (the original recipe called for 3 teaspoons, but I found the to be too strong for my taste and prefer only 1 teaspoon)
3 eggs
170 grams flour
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt sugar in water with orange flower water until sugar is melted, and let it cool.
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and slowly pour the sugar water (called Lisbon syrup in the book) into the eggs in a very thin stream, until the water is emulsified with the eggs. Keep whisking until it has tripled in volume.
Gently whisk in the flour until combined.
Use a nonstick springform cake pan or line a pan with parchment paper up the sides. Pour the batter in, and optionally sift sugar over the top. Then bake at 350ºF for about 15 minutes. Watch over it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Once it has cooled, you can peel off the parchment paper.
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