Mon Amy

Mon Amy

This custard has a striking resemblance to modern-day cheesecake, and is very good eaten with wafers and snowe.


Country: England Century: 15th

Bring cream to a slow boil for a few minutes and then let cool. Make soft cheese with milk and vinegar. Strain whey from curds with a cheese cloth. Add cheese to cream and stir on heat until smooth. When cream/milk mixture begins to simmer add honey, sugar butter, and saffron ground in with salt. Allow to slowly boil and continue stirring until mixture reaches the approximate consistency of tapioca pudding. Remove from heat and add egg yolks. Continue to stir until cool (putting custard in a room temperature bowl over ice speeds this process up without causing a temperature shock).


Original Recipe Sources

Source [ A Noble Boke off Cookry , Robina Napier (ed.)]: Mon amy. To mak mon amy, tak and boile cows creme and when it is bolid set it asid and let it kele then tak cow cruddes and press out the whey, then bray them in a mortair and cast them in the potte to the creme and boile all to gedure put ther to sugur hony and may buttar colour it up with saffron and in the settynge doun put the yolks of egg, well bett and do away the streyne and let the potage be stonding then les(f)k it in dyshes and plant ther in floures of violettes and serue it.

Source [ Ancient Cookery , R. Warner (ed.)]: Mon-amy. Take thick creme of cow-mylke, and boyle hit over the fire, and then take hit up and set hit on the side; and then take swete cowe cruddes, and presse out the qway (whey), and bray hom in a morter, and cast hom into the fame creme, and boyle altogedur; and put thereto sugre, and saffron, and May buttur; and take zolkes of eyren streyned, and beten, and in the scttynge downe of the pot, bete in the zolkes therto, and stere hit wel, and make the potage stondynge; and dresse fyve or seaven leches in a dissh, and plaunt with floures of violet, and serve hit forthe.

Source [ The Middle English culinary recipes in MS Harley 5401 , C. Hieatt (ed.)]: 62 Movn Amy. Recipe creme of cow mylk & boyle it, ban take it of & kele it; ban take swete raw cruds & press oute he cruds of wey & bray ham, & cast ham in be same creme & boyle all togydere, and put berto sugur and saferon, buttur; ban take 3olkes of egges strened & betyn, & in be settyng downe cast in he 3olkes berto, & stire it, & lat bat potage be standyng; & dress it in .v. or .vj. lechys in a dysh and plant it with floure of violets, & serof it forth.

Source [ A Noble Boke off Cookry , Robina Napier (ed.)]: To mak creme buile tak cow creme and yolks of eggs drawe and well bet that it be stonding and put ther to sugur and colour it with saffron and salt it then lesk it in dyshes and plant ther in floures of borage and serue it.