Table of Contents
Starting in the fifteenth century, we begin to see gingerbreads and fruit cakes. Pound cakes and sponge-type cakes follow, but we don’t encounter anything resembling (or tasting like) our beloved layer cakes or sheet cakes until well into the nineteenth century.
Cakes and pastries were common for social gatherings at upper class 18th century homes like Mount Vernon. Often closer to modern fruitcake than the more flour-and-sugar-based confections of today, these “great cakes” were rich, dense, and sweet.
This is the original recipe as given in Mrs. Child’s book: “Four pounds of flour, three pounds of butter, three pounds of sugar, four pounds of currants, two pounds of raisins, twenty-four eggs, half a pint of brandy, or lemon-brandy, one ounce of mace, and three nutmegs. A little molasses makes it dark colored, which is desirable.
As refined sugar and wheat flour became more affordable and chemical leaveners became more reliable, dessert became increasingly more elaborate. In the 1870s and 1880s, layer cakes dominated American baking filled first with jelly and later with caramel, chocolate, fruit, or nut fillings.
Q: Can I use a different cut of beef for this recipe? A: Yes, you…
Q: Can I use a different type of vinegar instead of rice vinegar? A: Yes,…
Q: Can I use any type of rice for Fried Ginger Rice Tea? A: Yes,…
Q: Can I use canned water chestnuts instead of fresh ones for this recipe? A:…
Q: Can I use a regular pot instead of an electric pressure cooker for this…
Q: Can I use other types of fish for this recipe? A: Yes, while Norwegian…