Gyngerbrede (A Fairing of Sorts)

Fairing was the name given to a piece of gingerbread bought at a fair. Gingerbread is one of the earliest confections around. During the medieval era it was made from a mixture of honey, breadcrumbs and spices. The curious thing about one of the earliest gingerbread recipes is that it contains cinnamon, pepper and saffron but no ginger. I have adapted a Cornish fairing recipe found in Edith Martin’s Cornish Recipes Ancient and Modern