To make jumballs is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic small cakes or biscuits made from a flour, ground almond, sugar, egg white, cream and butter dough that's rolled and cut into fancy shapes before baking and then frying in butter to finish. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: To make jumballs.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.
Original Recipe
To make jumballs
TAKE a pound of fine flour and pound of fine powder-ſugar, make them into a light paſte, with whites of eggs beat fine ; then add half a pint of cream, half a pound of freſh butter melted, and a pound of blanched almonds well beat. Knead them all together thoroughly, with a little roſe-water, and cut out your jumballs in what figures your fancy ; and either bake them in a gentle oven, and fry them in freſh butter, and they make a pretty ſide or corner diſh. You may melt a little butter with a ſpoonful of ſack, and throw fine ſugar all over the diſh. If you make them in pretty figures, they make a fine little diſh.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
450g fine cake flour
450g caster sugar
8 egg whites, beaten
300ml cream
300ml butter, melted and cooled
450g ground almonds
1 tbsp rose water
butter for frying
Method:
Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. Form a well in the centre, beat together the egg yolks and pour into the well. Mix into the flour mix until you have a stiff dough (you may need more egg yolks) then work in the cream and butter.
Add the ground almonds and rose water and work the ingredients together until you have a stiff, but still rollable dough (if it's too wet add more flour). Turn onto lightly-floured work surface and roll out about 3cm thick. Cut into fancy shapes (you can also cut into strips and plait them).
Arrange the jumballs on a greased baking tray and transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for about 15 minutes, or until done through. Remove from the oven, heat butter in a frying pan, add the baked jumballs and fry on both sides until golden brown.
Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper, allow to cool and serve either as a sweet dish or as a snack.
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