Episode
S3E7: C is for Custard, Chancellor's Buttocks and Crumpets
- Published
- Jun 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4726
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://a-is-for-apple.captivate.fm
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Summary
It’s a Listener Choice special as the team tackle three very different culinary favourites. Sam champions custard in all its forms, from medieval recipes to modern puddings. Allie investigates the mischievous history of Sicily’s “Chancellor’s Buttocks” pastry. And Neil celebrates the crumpet, exploring the history of those hole-filled griddle cakes that have become a staple of the British tea table. Sources/ Useful links Custard There’s a very good overview of custard by Neil on the British Food History Podcast website along with a recipe for proper custard. The history of Birds Custard How to make pastry cream (Crème pâtissière) Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks by Thomas Austin (1888) Cooking and Dining in Medieval England by Peter Brears (2012) Dumas on Food (Translated by Alan and Jane Davidson) by Alexandre Dumas (1979) A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (1935) The Tale of the Custard Dragon by Ogden Nash (1936) - a cute poem about a cowardly dragon called custard. Laurel and Hardy - The Battle of the Century (1927) - The Pie Fight Dr Who ‘Fish Fingers and Custard’ on YouTube Rhubarb and Custard (the 1970s cartoon) on YouTube Custard Pie song by Led Zeppelin Byron’s letters, including references to custard and other food-related observations, can be accessed via Peter Cochran’s edition of Byron’s Correspondence . Allie’s talk on Byron and baked rosewater custards, hosted with Sam Hirst, is available here . Chancellor’s Buttocks Simeti, M.T. (1989) Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food . "Palermo's Secret Dessert Scene" ( Saveur ) – an introduction to Palermo's historic pastry culture, including fedde del cancelliere (Chancellor's Buttocks). Cavalli, Rita, “Fedde del monastero, il dolce delle monache di Palermo che si prendevano gioco del fon…