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]

The tart is said to date back to King Henry VIII[4] when he witnessed some of the Queen's Maids of honour eating some cakes and demanded to taste one.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7][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.[7][1]

Maids of honour tart at Newens

See also

References

  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. ^ Borich, Kathy (2003). Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover's Cookbook. Virtualbookworm Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 1589394992.
  6. ^ Richardson, Bruce (1997). The Great Tea Rooms of Britain. BENJAMIN PRESS. p. 61. ISBN 1889937096.
  7. ^ a b Carrier, Rhonda (2009). Frommer's London with Kids. John Wiley & Sons. p. 122. ISBN 978-0470593097.

External links


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