Tunbridge Wells biscuits

After I stumbled across this post about the Tunbridge Wells biscuits made by Romary's, I thought I'd do a bit more digging myself. Anne and her commentators, mention several references to them, namely:

• Tunbridge Wells Cakes, in 'From an English Oven' by Dorothy Gladys Spicer (1948).
• 'Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy' by Andre Simon (1945), the recipe is ascribed to Doris Lytton Toye.
• 'Cook and Housewife’s Manual' by Margaret Dods (1826).

Well, I've found another reference that could be added to this list at Google books. It's the first time I've tried using Google books and I'm very impressed with being able to dig out a mid-19th Century baking book held at the Bodliean library from my desktop.

Anyway, in 'The complete biscuit and gingerbread baker's assistant' by George Read (1854) there is a raft of references to Tunbridge biscuits and cakes. As in Anna's references, there are mentions or comparisons to Shrewsbury biscuits.

Page 44 lists:

Tunbridge Water Cakes.—3 lbs. of flour, 1 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, 1/4 lb. of butter, and 10 eggs.

1 1/4 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of sugar, 6 oz. of butter; mix with milk or water, and a little orange-flower water.

Rub the butter in with the flour, add the sugar, and make the whole into a paste; roll it out very thin, cut it out with a plain round or scolloped cutter, about the same size as for Shrewsburies; place them on clean tins or buttered paper, and bake them of a pale delicate colour, in a cool oven.

Wafer Biscuits are similar to the water biscuits, and are derived from them; they have been introduced since the first publication of this work¹.

Ginger Wafer Biscuits.—3 lbs. of flour, 1 1/2 lb. of very finely powdered loaf sugar, 1 1/2 oz. of ginger. Mix into a dough with water.

4 lbs. of flour, 4 oz. of iceing sugar, 1/2 pint of milk, 8 eggs, 3 oz. of ginger. Mix.

8 lbs. of flour, 2 1/2 pints of cream, 4 eggs, 2 lbs. of very fine loaf sugar, 4 oz. of ginger. Mix in the usual way; roll the dough very thin on an even board or marble slab; dock the surface over with a captains' biscuit docker; cut them into round cakes about the size of Shrewsburies; put them on very clean dry tins slightly dusted with flour, and bake them in a moderately cold oven. When baked, they may be put in piles whilst hot, and pressed to make them flat and even.

Lemon Wafers—as ginger, substituting essence of lemon for the ginger.

Seed Wafers—the same, using caraway seeds instead of ginger.

Ginger Wafer Biscuits.—2 lbs. of flour, 12 oz. of sugar, 3 oz of butter, 3 eggs, and sufficient milk to make a dough. If very fine powdered sugar cannot be conveniently obtained, it should be soaked in the milk. The dough should be worked quite clear, and be of a moderate consistence. The addition of a small quantity of carbonate of soda, as much as can be put on a sixpence, will prevent their blistering during baking, but the biscuits will then require to be cut thinner. They require a great deal of attention in assorting them during the baking, and to be "double-tinned."

The book goes on to mention more recipes on page 48. These include currants and might be more like some of the other references to Tunbridge biscuits being like tea-cakes.

Currant Tunbridge Biscuits.—8 lbs. of flour, 2 lbs. of butter, 3 lbs. of sugar, 1 1/2 lb. of currants. 1 1/2 lb. of ground almonds, 8 eggs, 1/2 pint of milk, 1/4 oz. of volatile salt. Mix.

Roll the dough into sheets nearly a quarter of an inch in thickness, dust with loaf sugar, pass the rolling-pin over the surface again, and cut it into biscuits with an oval cutter, the same size as for lemon biscuits. Place on buttered tins about half an inch asunder, and bake in a moderately quick heat. The following mixture may be used instead:

6 lbs. of flour, 2 lbs. of butter, 2 1/2 lbs. of sugar, 1 1/2 lb. of currants, 6 eggs, 1/4 oz. of volatile salt, and sufficient milk to mix the whole of a moderate consistence.

Lemon Tunbridge Biscuits.—As the last; or use 8 lbs. of flour, 1 1/2 lb. of butter, 1 1/2 lb. of sugar, 6 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 1/4 oz. of volatile salt.

Proceed as for the last; or they may be made into small round biscuits instead of oval ones.

Ginger Tunbridge.—As the last, using 2 1/2 lbs. of sugar, 4 oz. of gound ginger, and 10 eggs, with sufficient milk to make a dough.

Seed Tunbridge.—6 lbs. of flour, 2 1/4 lbs. of powdered sugar, 1 1/4 lb. of butter, 6 eggs, a dram of volatile salt, and sufficient milk to make the whole into a dough about the consistence of walnut dough, with a few caraway seeds.
Roll the dough into sheets about a quarter of an inch in thickness, dust the surface with finely powdered loaf sugar during the rolling; cut into cakes with an eighth cake cutter, and dock them with a diamond carved docker. Place on buttered tins about a quarter of an inch asunder, and bake in a moderately heated oven ; let them be of light brown on the surface and bottom when done.

Given the quantities involved, I think they liked their biscuits. No wonder Mackie chose to settle in Tunbridge Wells.

1. The first edition was printed eleven years earlier in 1843.