My womens' group a few weeks back made a sort of English truffle as an outreach- I think I mentioned that. I didn't mention that I made an interesting discovery as a result of this recipe.
If you grew up in the South, or had a parent or grandparent who did, you may know what a Flitter is, also known as a Flitter Cake. Well, if you have followed me so far, you probably also know that the best thing to put on flitter cakes is Golden Eagle Syrup. Mmm....
Funny enough, this recipe for truffles called for golden syrup. Once we finally found it, not in the baking section (which seemed like the most natural place, and the place you might find it in the US if you live in the South- forget even looking in the North because I've never been able to find it.) It was in the section with jams, peanut butter, and Nutella! At first we thought that was just another odd British place to put things, but it made more sense when we read the label. First of all, there are like 3 or 4 varieties, which is nice. Our family orders Golden Eagle from Fayette, Alabama, and there's basically only one brand. :)
Can you guess why they had put it in with the jams and spreads? Well, right on the back of the bottle it says something like "tastes wonderful on pancakes!" I was so surprised- this Southern tradition of flitter cakes and golden eagle syrup has it's root here in England- in Scotland actually, where they've been putting golden syrup on pancakes for about ever! I just couldn't believe it- I thought that that was so cool, to find the root of a family's Southern tradition here in the Old Country!
For those of you who are interested in language, apparently "flitter" is a corruption of the word "fritter" which was in the past used for pancake. Going one step farther than that even, in Scotland they make something which is called Drop Scones- you mix up the batter, drop it onto a smoking hot pan, and leave it a bit thick, and then flip it over after a bit so you get....a flitter cake!! They are often called griddle cakes in Scotland, which isn't that far removed from flitter cake either. It amazes me again and again just how much influence Scottish immigrants to the US have had ever since the founding of our country, reaching down into the very fabric of our culture, from fiddle music to flitter cakes.
I realize I may have a limited audience on this one, but I have high hopes that at least our dear Living Proof friends will know what I'm talking about. (We miss you LP class and can't wait to see you all in a few weeks!) :) And, if you've made flitter cakes, could you please please PLEASE send me the recipe? I just can't wait to try it here and bring our culture full circle. :) For the rest of you, bless you for reading my flitter cake rant anyway. :)
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