Wet Nelly

floyd

This is one directed to the more Northern contingent of the board or those with Scouse relatives. Does anyone know how to make Wet Nelly? I keep coming across recipes that are very different to each other and none of them sound right.
The way my mum describes it is a mish-mash of bits and bobs of pastry, dried fruit, cake and stale bread that is soaked (in milk or syrup depending on how poor you were) then baked and cut into squares.
Some also have a pastry top and bottom like a custard slice. Does anyone have a traditional recipe for making it please

I suspect it may be one of those things that was thrown together using leftovers to make a cheap pudding and as a consequence has a million and one variations

Scarlett25

Hi floyd - I had a quick look through some of my cookery books and came across this recipe for Wet Nellie. Someone from Crosby sent the recipe in but I don't know if it's the version you're after!

8 ozs shortcrust pastry
8 ozs Madeira cake
4 ozs seedless raisins
1 lemon
4 tablespns golden syrup
4 tbls milk
milk and sugar for glazing

Use just over half the pastry to line a 7" straight sided sandwich tin. Crumble the cake, grate in the lemon rind and bind to a moist consistency with the lemon juice, golden syrup and milk. Mix in raisins, turn into the pastry case and cover with the rest of the pastry. Seal the edges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375 deg. F Gas Mark 5 for about 35 minutes until the pastry is golden.

If that isn't the right recipe, I'll look through my other cookbooks!

Bronnie

According to www.wetnelly.com (honestly!), this is a cake made from pastry remnants,broken biscuits and the like with dried fruit addded, with the layers pressed together and soaked in syrup or treacle.
Born and bred Scouser, never eaten this concoction and don't think I want to!!

thriftmonster

In Carlisle a wet nelly is just another name for a vanilla slice

HTH

floyd

Scarlett25 wrote: »

Hi floyd - I had a quick look through some of my cookery books and came across this recipe for Wet Nellie. Someone from Crosby sent the recipe in but I don't know if it's the version you're after!

8 ozs shortcrust pastry
8 ozs Madeira cake
4 ozs seedless raisins
1 lemon
4 tablespns golden syrup
4 tbls milk
milk and sugar for glazing

Use just over half the pastry to line a 7" straight sided sandwich tin. Crumble the cake, grate in the lemon rind and bind to a moist consistency with the lemon juice, golden syrup and milk. Mix in raisins, turn into the pastry case and cover with the rest of the pastry. Seal the edges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375 deg. F Gas Mark 5 for about 35 minutes until the pastry is golden.

If that isn't the right recipe, I'll look through my other cookbooks!

That sounds exactly what I'm after! Thankyou so much My Mum seemed to remember that it didn't have a pastry lid (too extravagant) but just had sugar on top but I suppose it had in it whatever was lurking in the kitchen.

I have eaten it before at Speke Hall and it was lovely, very heavy but comforting and stodgy :rotfl:

Bronnie

I agree this version sounds delish. Posh wet nelly!

thriftmonster

Think I might have a go as well - sounds nice and filling for ds1 - exactly how many thousand calories a day do teenage boys eat..............

Thanks Floyd and Scarlett

SailorSam

I can remember my Nan talking about wet nellies, i though they were some sort of fish.
Well you learn something new everyday.

Scarlett25

Glad to be of help

I'm just wondering though - it doesn't say so in the recipe but maybe the syrup should be heated in a pan first to make it more liquid? I'd imagine trying to stir syrup in to the other ingredients straight from the tin would be too sticky and gloopy - as well as hard work!