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Learn more about The Humbug Murders by clicking here. |
If you are a fan of Charles Dickens, Victorian London, or A Christmas Carol, you must put THE HUMBUG MURDERS on your reading list!
British-born author Elizabeth Wilson is our guest today, here to share a classic English recipe and give us the scoop on her highly entertaining new mystery, which Simon & Schuster is publishing later this month.
Elizabeth is also generously giving away a signed copy of THE HUMBUG MURDERS to one lucky commenter on this post.
So please welcome the English half of the L.J. Oliver team. Take it away, Elizabeth...
* * *
Of course, the holiday season was not so cozy for the Dickensian Londoners. While writing The Humbug Murders, a mystery featuring Ebenezer Scrooge as a reluctant detective, I got to enjoy researching how these early Victorians spent their Christmases. (Ok, I had a lot of help from my mum, who is a personal historian specializing in Victorian London. In fact, my family migrated to London from Ireland during the very time our murder mystery is set.)
Can you imagine spending a single Christmas on the streets of London no more than 150 years ago? Sure, if you were one of the wealthy few you’d have the time to enjoy the melodious harmonies of street carolers in the snow, or the soft waft of roasting chestnuts mingling with the spices of mulled cider.
But if, like the money-lender Ebenezer Scrooge and his assistant Dickens, you belonged to the working majority, you’d be cold, poor, and probably looking over your shoulder to avoid the revenge of the Colley Brothers, kings of the underworld. Perhaps, on your way home from borrowing just another few farthings to pay for a Christmas goose, you’d be wading through the ankle-deep gum of rotting straw and sewage covering the slippery cobbled streets.
Thank goodness we get to enjoy these scenes from the comfort and safety of 2015. I mean, just enjoying Christmas was hard enough back then, let alone trying to solve crimes!
Can you tell I had so much fun writing this story? As a reader I just love being able to immerse myself into these strange and wonderful worlds, so when Scott Ciencin presented his idea to me back in 2012 it struck me like a shiny brass gong! I’d only just started writing, finally grabbing the courage to leave my sensible career and follow my dream of spinning yarns. Scott, on the other hand, was both a seasoned and acclaimed author with New York Times bestselling books under his belt. For some reason he liked my writing and believed we could create something magical together. He was right!
But, as it turns out, my dear friend Scott won’t be there for the rest of this book’s journey. On August 5th 2014, Scott passed away. He died suddenly from a blood clot to the brain. Everything in my world stopped. We had just been finishing the last pages. Only days earlier we had been laughing together about some joke Scrooge had made to Dickens in the sewers of London. And now – my dear friend and writing partner was gone.
With heavy hearts, Scott’s wife Denise and I polished up the manuscript and sent it to the publisher, Simon & Schuster. Now, as I look forward to the release of the book on October 27th 2015, it’s with a little sadness but mostly joy! I know this story is a great tribute to Scott’s legacy.
And that’s no humbug! Ebenezer Scrooge is the perfect character for what we wanted our readers, and ourselves, to experience! He’s sharp, witty, and he gets to say the things we all wish we could. He looks at sentimentality with a wrinkle in his nose, which is extra fun when we slap it in the middle of Christmas season. And still – he hasn’t yet become the man we know from The Christmas Carol. He’s still young, there’s plenty of time for him to heal.
Which brings me to comfort food! This is something the Victorians were great at—in fact, many of the early Victorian recipes are still commonly served across England today. The recipe I want to share with you is one of my favorites: Spotted Dick!
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Elizabeth's beautiful new baby, Penelope! |
Spotted Dick is a traditional English steamed pudding that will always be a taste of home for me. It was a favorite during the Victorian era because it’s cheap (good for a Scrooge) and easy to make...
(I should know: I whipped this up yesterday while holding my three-week old daughter in one arm!)
The pudding is stodgy but satisfying, and the spices make this a delicious dessert for Christmas. In fact, it’s almost like a pauper’s Christmas Pudding as it just lacks the mincemeat and the brandy! Of course, it’s so good and inexpensive that back home in England it’s served all times of the year.
My mum always served this pudding with custard, but simple vanilla ice cream is a lighter partner to this soft but filling cake-like dessert.
Ingredients:
3.5 oz self-rising flour
2 oz breadcrumbs (the Victorian way was to use up old stale bread, but you can use fresh bread too!)
1 pinch salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice (see note below*)
4 oz raisins, sultanas, chopped apricots, or whatever dried, chopped fruit you can easily get hold of.
3.5 oz butter
1/2 cup milk
*Note on "mixed spices": A blend of sweet spices that is commonly used in cakes and puddings in the UK. It's very similar to the pumpkin pie spice blend used here in the States. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ginger, coriander, and mace in equal measure.
Method:
1. Add all the dry ingredients, dried fruit, spice and butter into a bowl then mix together well.

2. Add the milk and combine to form a soft dough. The dough should be soft and sticky, not runny like batter or firm like pastry.
3. Place the mixture into a buttered pudding bowl of about 1 quart capacity and cover with aluminum foil. I’ve noticed that since steamed puddings like this aren’t as common in America, not many people have pudding bowls. If you have any bowl that can withstand high temperatures, like a Pyrex or ceramic, that’ll work fine too.
4. Put an inverted saucer in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Place the pudding bowl on top of the inverted saucer (to keep it off the bottom of the pan). Create a water bath for the pudding by adding enough water to the pan to come up the sides of the pudding bowl but not so far up that you'll risk the water spilling into the bowl. Leave the foil on the pudding and the saucepan uncovered.
5. Bring the water to a boil and allow it to boil for 2 hours, adding additional water as it evaporates.
6. When the pudding is fully cooked, invert the pudding onto a plate and serve with cream or custard.
I hope you enjoy this delicious bit of Victorian England! From me and my fictional friend Ebenezer Scrooge: Bah Humbug!
* * * *
L.J. Oliver is the combined pen name of acclaimed author Elizabeth A. A. Wilson and New York Times bestselling author Scott Ciencin. Visit them at ScroogeMysteries.com.
Following a childhood in the snowy mountains of Scandinavia, Elizabeth traveled to her native England to study criminology and journalism. Inspired by her mother, a personal historian specializing in Victorian-era Britain, Wilson set about exploring the streets of London, where her family originally arrived from Ireland in 1833. She now lives in the United States with her American husband and two daughters, and focuses on her first love: story-telling. Read more at EAAWilson.com.
Ciencin wrote over ninety novels in the adult, YA, and children’s genres. A lifelong British mystery fan and Dickens aficionado, he began his career in the film and TV industry and continued in the business as an international film festival blogger, social media content provider, video game consultant, and creative consultant. He died in 2014.
"In Scrooge, L.J. Oliver has conjured a sharp amateur sleuth with a delightfully venomous wit who grapples with a cunning masked murderer, secret societies, and even undead spirits—long before Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. No humbug here. The world of Dickens comes alive in this compelling whodunit. L.J. Oliver’s first Ebenezer Scrooge mystery is a pleasure to read.”
~ Cleo Coyle, New York Times bestselling author
of The Coffeehouse Mysteries
of The Coffeehouse Mysteries
Thank you for joining us today, Elizabeth!
Congrats to the winners
of the signed copies of
THE HUMBUG MURDERS
Cindy Jameson
and
parTea Lady
Thanks to everyone who left comments!
of the signed copies of
THE HUMBUG MURDERS
Cindy Jameson
and
parTea Lady
Thanks to everyone who left comments!
Fabulous guest post! The book sounds wonderful. EMS591@aol.com
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it LizNoVeggieGirl! Thank you so much for reading my post. :)
DeleteAwesome! Can't wait to read it. bromichaeladams@gmail
ReplyDeleteIt's a corker, as we say back home ;) Good luck in the giveaway! Thank you so much for checking in.
DeleteElizabeth
I cannot wait to read this! This is my favorite time period. I would love to go back to Victorian England (as a wealthy person though). I got a little teary-eyed about your friend Scott passing just before finishing the book. But he will live on in the pages he wrote. I have always heard about spotted dick, the name always made me laugh. I will try your recipe. Thanks for the giveaway. eeyore722@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your warm words Cindy! What a journey it's been. I know Scott would have been so thrilled to see our book finished. I hope you love the Spotted Dick! Do let me know what you think of it!
DeleteElizabeth
The dessert looks great. I've heard of that dessert but unfamiliar how it is made. Thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeletejslbrown2009 at aol dot com
It's delicious! If you try it, let me know what you think! :)
DeleteElizabeth
Oh Elizabeth, that's a heart-breaking story. Here's hoping the book will bring good memories of Scott to you. I wish you all success with this one and into the future.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Lucy. I'm so honored to have been able to write this with Scott.
DeleteAll my love
Elizabeth
The release of this book must be so emotional for you. My sympathies to you on the loss of your friend and collaborator. And your daughter is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds so intriguing! Spotted Dick Not As Much. I have never been a fan of dried fruit in anything. I will admit, every time I hear the name I giggle. (I am very mature that way) I will have the book on my to be read pile!!!!!
ejbs3s@yahoo.com
Thank you for your warm words, Jody! Yes, it sure is an emotional time. Hahah, your comment about Spotted Dick had me snorting in public!!! I hope you love the book, do let me know what you think.
DeleteElizabeth
Just pre-ordered it
DeleteI love a good mystery. This sounds entertaining.
ReplyDeletejjrrdavid@live.com
Hope you like it! :) Do let me know what you think!
DeleteElizabeth
I must have this book! Sounds like a wonderful Christmas read. Thank you for the chance. Dnrocker@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThat warms my heart, Dawn! I do hope you like it, I certainly do! Good luck in the giveaway.
DeleteElizabeth
azelgert@gmail.com I had never heard of this pudding thank you for sharing the recipe and the history behind it. Thanks for this opportunity! I really would like to branch out in my reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for entering, Aggie56! Spotted Dick is a classic back home but not so well known here in the States. Try making it as a gift for someone, the name alone will entertain them for sure! :)
DeleteElizabeth
It sounds like an excellent book. I'm very sorry about the loss of your writing partner.
ReplyDeletebpwoodfield@gmail.com
Thank you Pamela! I think you'll like it :) Good luck and all the best,
DeleteElizabeth
I love reading how the regular people of long ago lived. This sounds made for me. Thanks. grammyd01@comcast.net
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't easy for the regular people in London back then! A lot of research went into finding out just how horrible London was, so I how you like it! Best of luck, Gram!
DeleteElizabeth
Oops, sorry, fat fingers! I *hope* you like it! ;)
DeleteCount me in! roswita(dot)hildebrandt@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThank you for playing, Zita!!
DeleteElizabeth
Love the recipe and the book! Thanks for the chance to win. lkleback@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you so much for taking part, Ikleback! Hope you like the Spotted Dick, do let me know if you try it out!
DeleteElizabeth
This looks so good! Yes, the pudding and the book. Please, count me in. cornwallst59@hotmail.com
DeleteWhat a wonderful writing tale. I'm sure Scott was looking over your shoulder as you finished the story. Can't wait to read it. frybbe@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYou know what, Laura? I think you might be right. Scott gave me a little dragon figurine before he died and I'm sure sometimes I could sense it smiling...
DeleteHope you love the book, do let me know what you think!
Elizabeth
Wonderful post! Hoping the book's release will bring lots of happy memories, to you and Scott's wife/Denise. patucker54 (at aol dot com)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Patricia! We are definitely excited to see how far the book has come. :) all my love!
DeleteElizabeth
I love historical mysteries so I am looking forward to this one. Sorry for your loss but he will continue to live in your hearts and in his writings. Kuzlin at AOL.com
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, Kuzlin. :) Thank you so much for your comment and good luck in the giveaway!
DeleteElizabeth
Would love to read this book! Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeletebrichardson0056@yahoo.com
My pleasure, Becky! Thanks for joining in. I hope you like it!
DeleteElizabeth
What a fascinating post and a captivating historical mystery. Thanks for this beautiful recipe and book giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThank you, traveler! :) I do hope you like it, both the pudding and the book! (Best enjoyed together, perhaps!) Let me know what you think...
DeleteElizabeth
An interesting and intriguing historical which I would enjoy. A great post about an era and the novel. Many thanks. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThank you, petite! I think you'll like this one, do let me know! :)
DeleteElizabeth
I lovd to find new eras to read about....recipe loks yummy!
ReplyDeleteOh trust me, it's delicious! :) Let me know if you agree!
DeleteElizabeth
I love all things victorian and this sounds intriguing. So sorry for your loss. dmskrug3 at hotmail dot com.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Daniele. If you like Victorian you'll love the pudding! :) Do let me know what you think of the story!
DeleteElizabeth
So sorry that you lost your writing partner. I'd love to read this historical mystery.
ReplyDeletesuefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Sue. I do hope you love the story! I think Scott would be proud of how it turned out.
Elizabeth