For our last meeting of the year on the 3rd December, Broadstairs Dickens Fellowship invited Mrs Beeton (a.k.a. Ann Nichol) to tell us all about a Victorian punch called ‘Smoking Bishop’. You may remember that at the end of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Scrooge has had a change of heart and tells his poor clerk, Bob Cratchit, that he wants to help him - “...we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob!”

The meeting was held, appropriately, in the Havisham and Cratchit coffee shop at Bleak House. Mrs Beeton was there and had brought along her maid Hannah (a.k.a. Tessa Coulson) and there was a surprise visit from Queen Victoria (a.k.a. Louise Stubbings). Mrs Beeton told all about Smoking Bishop and how it was made and then Hannah and Queen Victoria handed out glasses of Smoking Bishop and mince pies for us all to taste.

For anyone who wants to liven up their Christmas or New Year celebrations the recipe for Smoking Bishop is:

SMOKING BISHOP

5 juicy oranges

2 lemons

30 whole cloves

¼ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground allspice, ¼ tsp ground mace

1 thumb sized piece fresh ginger, peeled, chopped

750 ml red wine

100g caster sugar

750 ml port

1.  Heat the oven to 180C, Gas Mark 4.  Make small cuts in the oranges and 1 lemon and press the cloves into the slits.  Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 75 minutes or until the peels are lightly browned. Place the hot fruit in a large heatproof bowl.
2. Place the spices and ginger in a small saucepan with 300ml water and simmer until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
3. In a large pan heat the red wine with the sugar, pour in the spice mixture, do not boil. Pour the hot wine mixture over the roasted fruit and leave to stand for 24 hours. 
4. Squeeze the juice from the soaked oranges into the wine mixture. Strain the mixture though a fine sieve.  Heat gently in a large pan but do not boil. Add the port, at his point vapours will rise, this is the “smoking” part.
5. Cut the remaining lemon into strips and serve in glasses with the hot wine.