What spires, what farms are those?

[sovay]

From the Department of What the Hell, Brain, We're Making Fruitcake: Horace's labuntur anni (Odes 2.14) should be translated as "the years give us the slip." I have no idea where this precipitated from. I'm up to my wrists in flour and dried cherries. I was reading J.L. Carr's A Month in the Country (1980) before bed last night, but that only made me think of Housman.

Comments

[sovay]

My English fruitcakes have been rolled in marzipan and royal icing, and my American fruitcakes have been given the rum's brush, as it were.

I think ours might have started as English fruitcakes about twenty years ago, but the recipe has been changing since my childhood. This latest batch contained currants, raisins, cranberries, cherries, ginger, and kiwi. This year we also made Bischofsbrot, as my grandmother used to. (No one is quite sure why.)

Now all that remains is to get them out of here.

I imagine they are going to good homes.

Did you make it to your appointment without incident?

I did. And it was actually helpful. I'm very surprised, but not complaining.

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

what's in Bischofsbrot, again?

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

PS: Am now imagining it as bread by or for Bernhard Bischoff, possibly incorporating small scraps of parchment, or Latin texts written on the top in icing.

[sovay]

what's in Bischofsbrot, again?

It's supposed to be made (at least according to our recipe) with slivered almonds, raisins, candied citron peel, and chopped dark chocolate; we left out the citron and replaced the raisins with tart cherries, but the incredibly time-consuming batter was faithfully observed. I will let you know how it comes out.

PS: Am now imagining it as bread by or for Bernhard Bischoff, possibly incorporating small scraps of parchment, or Latin texts written on the top in icing.

. . . Now I really want to make that. Edible Festschrift.