“When he [Frodo Baggins] came to himself again, for a moment he could recall nothing except a sense of total dread. Then suddenly he knew that he was imprisoned, caught hopelessly; he was in a barrow. A Barrow-wight had taken him, and he was probably already under the dreadful spells of the Barrow-wights about which whispered tales spoke.” – The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 8: Fog on the Barrow-downs

Trapped in the barrow, the hobbits had nothing to eat that night. After all, what was there except dirt and bugs? So that’s what I’ve made: dirt pudding with worms.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (about 4 ounces) granulated sugar, divided
• 2/3 cup (2 ounces) cocoa powder
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 9 ounces chocolate cookies
• Bug or worm sweets to decorate

Method

Whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Put mixture in a large saucepan and whisk in milk. Stir over medium heat until hot but not boiling.

Whisk eggs with remaining tablespoon sugar. Add one cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, then return to the pan and stir into the remaining milk. Heat, whisking constantly until mixture just comes to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate, butter, and vanilla until whisk until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a large bowl, cover and chill for four hours, until set.

Meanwhile, finely grind the biscuits in a food processor or crush with a rolling pin.

When the mixture has chilled, layer the chocolate mixture and the crumbs in six glasses, starting with the mixture and finishing with a layer of crumbs. Decorate with the bug or worm sweets.

Happy Feast Week!

Other 2015 Feast Week meals:

Feast Week, Day 1: Bilbo and Frodo’s Birthday^[1]

Feast Week, Day 2: Sleeping Outdoors^[2]

Feast Week, Day 3: The Feast of Gildor^[3]

Feast Week, Day 4: Farmer Maggot’s Feast^[4]

Feast Week, Day 5: The Feast of Tom Bombadil^[5]

Feast Week, Day 6: The Feast of Tom Bombadil, Day Two^[6]

Feast Week, Day 8: The Prancing Pony^[7]

Share and Enjoy

Author: eviebowman^[8] Evie was introduced to Tolkien's work by her boyfriend, over a beer in the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford. She went home, read the books and, a while later, married her boyfriend. She has only recently discovered fandom, after years of eye-rolling by her husband and children, and is delighted to find it warm and welcoming and not-at-all weird. As well as tracking down bits of news and sharing them with others, she leads ponies for Riding for the Disabled and loves the cinema and theatre and her wildlife garden.

References

1. ^{^} Feast Week, Day 1: Bilbo and Frodo’s Birthday (middleearthnews.com)
2. ^{^} Feast Week, Day 2: Sleeping Outdoors (middleearthnews.com)
3. ^{^} Feast Week, Day 3: The Feast of Gildor (middleearthnews.com)
4. ^{^} Feast Week, Day 4: Farmer Maggot’s Feast (middleearthnews.com)
5. ^{^} Feast Week, Day 5: The Feast of Tom Bombadil (middleearthnews.com)
6. ^{^} Feast Week, Day 6: The Feast of Tom Bombadil, Day Two (middleearthnews.com)
7. ^{^} Feast Week, Day 8: The Prancing Pony (middleearthnews.com)
8. ^{^} Posts by eviebowman (middleearthnews.com)