Trayne Roste (a Spit Cake)
from http://www.historicfood.com/

The necklace of almonds, dates, figs and 'grete raisins' warms before the fire.


The trayne roste is ready after about forty minutes in front of a moderate fire.

This fifteenth century English recipe makes an unusual roasted spice cake. Small pieces of dried fruit and almonds are threaded with a needle onto a 'thred of a man's length'. This is wound around a spit and then basted with a sweet wine batter flavoured with saffron, cloves and ginger.

As the spit rotates, the batter cooks and covers the fruit. The kitchen is filled with a wonderful smell of saffron and roasting battter. When the trayne roste has turned to a golden brown, the spit is taken away from the fire. If the thread is securely tied at each end, it pulls out of the cake when it is removed from the spit. If this is not done properly, you will end up with lengths of thread in each portion.

Trayne Roste

Take Dates and figges, and kutte hem in a peny brede; And þeñ take grete reysons and blanched almondes, and prik hem thorgh with a nedel into a threde of a mannys length, and one of one frute and a-noþer of anoþer frute; and þeñ bynde the threde with the frute A-bought a rownde spete, endelonge þe spete, in maner of an hasselet; And þeñ take a quarte of wyne or Ale, and fyne floure, And make batur thereof, and cast thereto pouder ginger, sugur, & saffroñ, pouder of Clowes, salt; And make þe batur not fully rennyng, and noþer stonding, but in þe mene, that hit may cleue, and than rost the treyne abought the fire in þe spete; And þeñ cast the batur oñ the treyne as he turneth abought the fire, so longe til þe frute be hidde in the batur; as þou castest þe batur there-on, hold a vessell vndere-nethe, for spilling of þe batur/ And whan hit is y-rosted well, hit wol seme a hasselet; And þeñ take hit vppe fro þe spit al hole, And kut hit in faire peces of a Spañ length, And serue of hit a pece or two in a dissh al hote.
From Harl. Ms. 4016

"Faire peces" of trayne roste