VE Day Party Food

Well we've come to an end of 1940s week and what better way of celebrating this, and the end of the war that had such a huge impact on the British diet, than having a 1940s VE Day Party! Knowing I had a 1940s week in the plan, I contacted my Granny to see if I could get her amazing Rock Cake recipe as she had been a girl during the time. I should have realised that my Granny, being the sweetest and best Granny in the world, would not just send an email with the recipe! She instead sent me a lovely card with the recipe inside, which honestly made my day.

Rock cakes were popular during World War Two because they didn't require a huge amount of fat or sugar, and having now made them myself they are so simple and easy I think anyone could make them, even if they didn't have a lot of confidence in the kitchen. The best part about them is because they're meant to look like rocks, you don't really have to worry about making them look that great! So if your meals tend to look on the rustic side, then this is a good recipe for you!

Not wanting to go too crazy, considering the only people eating this meal would be the Partner and myself, I decided to keep things a bit simpler and try to use up what I had left. So the meal included Corned Beef sandwiches, Quince Jam sandwiches (I made the quince jam myself), Cheese and Potato dumplings from the 1940s Experiment blog, Strawberry Jelly, and the infamous Rock Cakes. I'm a big fan of foraging so I also had a Sloe Berry and Rosehip Syrup to use in drinks; a bit of a nod to the Rosehip syrup used in World War Two to keep everyone's Vitamin C levels nice and dandy, when they couldn't get citrus fruits.

Rock Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 225g Self-Raising Flour
• 1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
• 113g Butter
• 85g Sugar
• 56g Currants
• 56g Sultanas
• 28g Mixed Peel
• 1 Large Egg, beaten.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/375F
2. Mix the flour, sugar and nutmeg together, then rub in the fat to make breadcrumbs.
3. Add the fruit and egg, mix to a stiffish dough. If it is too dry add a splash of milk.
4. Place about 2 Tbsp of dough onto a greased tray.
5. Cook for 5 minutes, then turn the tray and cook for another 10 minutes.
6. If looking golden brown, cover the cakes with tin foil and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Turn the temperature off and leave in the oven for 5 more minutes.
8. Carefully peel off the tin.

As we listened toVera Lynn and finished off our little feast with another episode of Dad's Army, something that really struck me was how much I missed having people for events like this. Our 1920s Cocktail Party and VE Day celebration felt incomplete in a way. It was still fun and an interesting way to explore the history and culture of past eras, but with this Pandemic I think it's harder that we can't all come together and enjoy each other's company. I do have to say that Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas hit in a different way, when we reached the lines of 'Through the years we all will be together, If the fates allow, Hang a shining star upon the highest bough, And have yourself a merry little Christmas now'. Christmas certainly wasn't everything I dreamed of, mostly because Boris Johnson gave me five days to change my Christmas plans, and so I couldn't see my family! But I can only hope in future that we all will be together and things will be brighter and better!