During September 25, Frodo, Sam, and Pippin arrived at Farmer Maggot’s, who was the master of Bamfurlong in Marish.
“In a short while fourteen sat down to eat. There was beer in plenty, and a mighty dish of mushrooms and bacon, besides much
other solid farmhouse fare. The dogs lay by the fire and gnawed rinds and cracked bones.” – The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 4: A Short Cut to Mushrooms
According to tolkiensociety.org, our requirements for the Feast of Farmer Maggot are beer, mushrooms, and bacon, but we often round out the meal with, say, root vegetables, cheese, or seedcake. September 25 is also the evening on which the conspiracy is unmasked and the hobbits bathe and sing in the house at Crickhollow. An appropriate evening activity for the Feast of Farmer Maggot could be to have a nice hot bath and sing one of Bilbo’s favorite bath songs.
To celebrate Farmer Maggot’s Feast this year I chose a lemon poppy seed cake.
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- confectioners sugar
- juice of 2 lemons
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl.
Beat together butter and granulated sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs until combined. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and poppy seeds and mix until just combined.
Transfer batter to cake pan, smoothing top, and bake until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean and top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then invert onto rack.
Whisk together confectioners sugar and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth. Pour glaze over warm cake, spreading it with a spatula to drizzle over edge. Let stand until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.
Decorate with confectioners sugar.
Middle-earth News is going to celebrate Feast Week until Sunday the 29th September and there will be fantastic ideas and photos awaiting you each day. Stay tuned!
