The Birthday Dinner of Princess Thyra of Denmark (1907)

I don’t think I have ever given you a historical royal Danish menu before, but I have the ideal opportunity today during this birthday-themed week. I am calling out to my Danish friends to comment, especially on my attempt (with the help of Google) to translate the menu into English.

Here is the menu for the twenty-seventh birthday dinner of Princess Thyra of Denmark and Iceland, held at the Residence-Palais in Copenhagen, and hosted by her father, King Frederik VIII.

Torsdag 14 Marts 1907

Suppe med Hønsebuller og Asparges

Helleflynder – Hollandsk Sauce

Garneret Oxesteg

Hummer i Mayonnaise

Stegte Kyllinger

Neapolitansk Kage med Is

Dessert

With the assistance of Google Translate, this is my attempt at the menu in English. Please, if you are a Danish speaker, comment and correct as required!

Soup with Chicken [?] and Asparagus

Halibut with Hollandaise Sauce

Garnished Roast Beef

Lobster Mayonnaise

Fried Chickens

Neapolitan Cake with Ice Cream

Dessert

The recipe of the day is from The Royal Cookery Book (Le Livre de Cuisine) by Jules Gouffé, published in 1869:

Neapolitan Cake

Blanch, peel, wash, and dry 1 lb. of Jordan almonds; pound them in a mortar, moistening them with white of egg, to prevent their turning oily; when well pounded, add:

1 lb. of pounded sugar,        1 small pinch of salt,

½ lb. of butter,                     the grated peel of an orange;

1¼ lb. of flour,

Mix the whole to a stiffish paste, with 12 yolks of egg, and let it rest for an hour;

Roll out the paste to 3/16 inch thickness; cut it out with a plain round 5 ½ inch cutter; put the rounds obtained on baking-sheets, in the oven;

When of a light golden tinge, take the rounds out of the oven, and trim them with the same cutter;

When the rounds are cold, lay them one above the other, spreading them over alternately with apricot jam, and red currant jelly;

All the pieces being stuck together, trim the outside of the cake with a knife, and spread it over with apricot jam;

Roll out some twelve-turns puff paste, 1/8 inch thick; cut it into patterns with some fancy cutters; lay these patterns on a baking-sheet; dredge some fine sugar over them, and bake them in the oven, without colouring them;

Decorate the top and round the cake with these puff paste patterns; and serve.