Professor Butter Beard and the Scarlet “Doctor Faustus”
“If the truth were to be known, everyone would be wearing a scarlet letter of one form or another.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
My world is currently scarlet. Wednesday went on for weeks and after returning home from introducing twenty-five sleepy sophomores to the frantic passion of Van Gogh, I slid into the sofa by Nellie and turned on Turner Classic Movies just in time to see Scarlett O’Hara enter Ashley’s birthday party in one of the most fabulous scarlet gowns ever created. Thursday, after training for hours and attending on-site meetings, I escaped into PBS-ville, binging the entire fourth season of “Miss Scarlett and the Duke.” And just last night, I dressed in my most scarlet professor ensemble and attended the world premier of “The Scarlet Letter,” lavishly re-imagined for the stage by Kate Hamill.
Early this morning, I sunk deep into my reading chair, banana scone and coffee in hand, and gobbled each page of “Art of the Grimoire, An Illustrated History of Magic Books and Spells.” I journeyed through Mesopotamian clay tablets, ancient Egyptian parchments, Arabic images of “the Red King,” Islamic magical angels, and suddenly there he was…. The mystical and magical Doctor Faustus, swirling in a scarlet robe that would make even Ms. O’Hara jealous.
Owen Davies writes, “Thanks to demonologists and witch-trial pamphlets, we know a great deal about the identities of popular magicians, who serviced the many fears and concerns of common people – and, more to the point, how they used print and manuscript grimoire to help their clients.” Yet, with the power of print, authors were also able to create a new generation of legendary magicians, who joined the pantheon of King Solomon, Honorius and the “Red King.”
Foremost among these new spellcasters was the notorious Dr. Faustus. The earliest description (to date) of the historical doctor appears in a letter written by abbot and occult philosopher, Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516). According to Trithemius, the real Dr. Faustus was a boastful traveling showman who called himself the “prince of necromancers.”
“He said in the presence of many people, that he had acquired such knowledge of all wisdom and such a memory, that if all the books of Plato and Aristotle, together with their whole philosophy, had totally passed from the memory of man, he himself, through his own genius, like another Hebrew Ezra, would be able to restore them all with increased beauty… that he himself could do all the things which Christ had done.” Well then!
The first print versions of the “Fantastic Faustus” appeared in German in the late 16th century. The stories recount how the hungry doctor made a pact with Mephistopheles, an agent of the Devil, to enhance his magical knowledge and acquire new powers over others – until such time as the pact sadly expired and Satan took him, body and soul, into the fire of purgatory.
In today’s image, the golden crowned Faustus raises his wand towards the sky, swirling backward to steady himself within his drawn magical circle of protection, as he confronts the black-shrouded image of Mephistopheles. The agent of the Devil rises in a cloud of golden fire with snakes slithering at his feet and winged “flying monkey” beasts circling the air above. Oddly dressed in a monk’s cowl, the agent-demon thrusts his serpent fingers forward, commanding the wide-eyed gaze of the mystified doctor and revealing the Devil’s pact and promise.
And all I can think is, “Um, doc, can I try on your scarlet robe and pointy emerald slippers?”
That made my soul giggle out loud which then woke the Nelster mid-snore. As we walked in the late morning sunshine towards the sound of ocean waves, my mind started imaging a “scarlet bake.” The resulting torte would resemble my existing Linzertorte recipe, but with a couple of scarlet flourishes. For the crust, I switched to richly toasted almonds and introduced a bit of freshly ground black pepper and ginger to cut the sweetness and add a hint of warmth and mystery to the bite. My refrigerator is still full of last summer’s jam including my favorite: strawberry rhubarb with a hint of balsamic vinegar. A handful of fresh raspberries asked to join the party and soon the entire kitchen smelled of baked scarlet.
I invited Ms. O’Hara, Hester, Miss Scarlet and Faustus the Magician to the table and as we raised our forks for the first bite, we made a mutual vow: “If I have to steal or kill, as God is my witness, I’m never going to be hungry again – or wear something boring.”
Scarlet Linzer Torte
One 9” Torte
1 ½ cups slivered almonds, toasted with a pinch of salt and cooled
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces (one stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 cup of your best scarlet jam (raspberry, strawberry, or rhubarb)
2 dozen fresh raspberries
Sanding sugar to sprinkle on the torte (pre-bake)
1) Toast the almond slivers with a pinch of salt and set aside to cool.
2) In a food processor, add the flour, ground ginger, salt and pepper and pulse to combine. Add the toasted almonds and pulse until the nuts are coarsely ground into the flour mix. Empty the dry mix into a large glass bowl.
3) Reset the food processor (no need to wash) and add the sugar and cubed chilled butter. Pulse a few times to mix and then add the egg and vanilla. Pulse again a few times to mix and then scrape the contents over the dry mix. Squeeze the dough together with your hands and then divide the dough in half. Press each half into a 7-8” disk between two pieces of parchment paper. Chill the disks for at least 30 minutes.
4) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
5) Remove one disk from the refrigerator, lightly dust with flour and roll into a 9-10” circle to fit in and up the sides of your tart pan. Trim the edges and place the pan in the refrigerator while you roll the second circle into an 8” circle. Cut the second circle into thin strips. Retrieve the chilled pan and spread the jam evenly within the crust. Place the raspberries on top of the jam. Place half the strips over the jam/berries and then turn the pan and place the remaining strips. Trim the edges of the torte. Sprinkle the top with granulated or sanding sugar and bake the torte for 45 minutes, rotating after 30 minutes.
6) Cool the torte on a wire rack for one hour before removing it from the tan pan.
7) DON’T YOU DARE THROUGH OUT ANY EXTRA DOUGH! Roll it out and cut out small cookies and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Chill the cookies while the torte bakes, sprinkle them with granulated sugar, and then bake them for 9-10 minutes, rotating halfway through.
