17^th Century: Poor Knights of Windsor

Although this seems like a pain perdu, ‘Poor knights of Windsor’ is a different dish that evolved from the same Roman recipe. Poor knights has sweet spices, such as nutmeg, added to the pudding. White bread is soaked in cream then fried until golden with eggs and nutmeg, and served sprinkled with fine sugar and cream.

The origin of the name is a bit of a mystery: similar dishes throughout northern Europe have the name ‘poor knights’, such as the dish ‘köyhät ritarit’ in Finland, or