Paste of Nouie is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for cake, quite similar to gingerbread made from a paste formed of pounded almonds, stale bread, cinnamon, ginger and lemon juice that's oven baked to set. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of: Paste of Nouie.
Take a quarter of a pounde of Valentian almonds, otherwiſe called the ſmall almonds or Barbarie almonds, and beate them in a mortar til they come to paſte, then take ſtale Manchet beeing grated, and drie it before the fire in a diſh, then ſift it, then beat it with your almondes, put in the beating of it a little cinnamon, ginger and the iuce of a Lemmon, & when it is beaten to perfit paſte, printe it wt your moldes, & ſo dry it in an ouen after you haue drawn out your bread : this paſte will laſt all the yeare.
Modern Redaction
Manchet was quite a fine type of Elizabethan loaf. You can find the recipe for manchet here if you want to make your own, but a white bloomer would be an acceptable substitute.
Ingredients:
120g blanched almonds (originally Barbary almonds or Mountain almonds would have been used)
250g (about), stale manchet, rendered to fine crumbs dried for 20 minutes in a low oven
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
juice of 1 lemon, strained
Method:
Grind the almonds in a blender or coffee grinder. Turn into a mortar and pound to a paste. Work in the ginger and cinnamon then begin working in the grated Manchet and lemon juice until you have a smooth and pliable paste.
Put this into the base of a loaf tin lined with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and tamp it down firmly. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 140°C and bake for 40 minutes, or until dried and lightly golden. Allow to cool before using the clingfilm to help extract it from the tin. Slice before serving.
