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Maids of honour tart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maids of honour tart
TypeTart
Region or stateSurrey
Main ingredientsPuff pastry, Cheese curds

Maids of honour tart (also known as maids of honour cake[1] and Richmond maids of honour) is a traditional English baked tart consisting of a puff pastry shell filled with cheese curds. A variation is to add jam or almonds and nutmeg.[2] Traditionally the tart was a puff pastry filled with sweetened milk curds.[3]

History

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The tart is said to date back to King Henry VIII[4][5] when he witnessed some of the Queen's Maids of honour eating some cakes and demanded to taste one.[6] He found them delicious and named them after the maids. Some even claim that the maid who made the tarts was imprisoned and had to produce them solely for the King.[7] However, there is another theory that they were named after Anne Boleyn, a maid of honour at the time, who made the cakes for Henry VIII.[8][1]

A tea room in Kew, south-west London, "The Original Maids of Honour", dates back to the 18th century and was set up specifically to sell these tarts.[8][1]

Maids of honour tart at Newens

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Our History". The Original Maids of Honour. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  2. ^ Hassall, Maurice. A Cook's Tour of England. Power Publishing. p. 243. ISBN 9963673414.
  3. ^ "Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast". Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast. Season 1. Episode 3. 24 January 2014. Event occurs at 21:12. Channel 4. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  4. ^ Darra Goldstein, ed. (2015). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. p. 809. ISBN 978-0199313396.
  5. ^ "The tart everyone's talking about thanks to Wolf Hall". Good Housekeeping. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  6. ^ Borich, Kathy (2003). Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover's Cookbook. Virtualbookworm Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 1589394992.
  7. ^ Richardson, Bruce (1997). The Great Tea Rooms of Britain. BENJAMIN PRESS. p. 61. ISBN 1889937096.
  8. ^ a b Carrier, Rhonda (2009). Frommer's London with Kids. John Wiley & Sons. p. 122. ISBN 978-0470593097.
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