From the 1887 White House cookbook, per request of u/Vic930.
by Stowaway_ace
8 Comments
icephoenix821
*Image Transcription: Book Page*
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#FEATHER CAKE. One egg, one cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of cold butter, half a cup of milk, one and one-half cups of flour; one teaspoonful of cream tartar; half a teaspoonful of soda. A nice plain cake—to be eaten while it is fresh. A spoonful of dried apple sauce or of peach sauce, a spoonful of jelly, the same of lemon extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and spice—ground—or half a cupful of raisins might be added for a change.
#ELECTION CAKE. Three cups milk, two cups sugar, one cup yeast; stir to a batter, and let stand over night; in the morning add two cups sugar, two cups butter, three eggs, half a nutmeg, one tablespoonful cinnamon, one pound raisins, a gill of brandy.
Brown sugar is much better than white for this kind of cake, and it is improved by dissolving a half-teaspoonful of soda in a tablespoonful of milk in the morning. It should stand in the greased pans and rise some time until quite light before baking.
#CREAM CAKE. Four eggs, Whites and yolks beaten separately, two teacups of sugar, one cup of sweet cream, two heaping cupfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of soda; mix two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar in the flour before sifting. Add the whites the last thing before the flour, and stir that in gently without beating.
slyce604
Am I reading Election Cake correctly that is contains no flour? Just eggs, milk, and sugar sounds like it would make a custard to me…
karinchup
My gut just exploded reading this.
muffinmama93
I’ve read about election cake. Apparently, New England elections were celebrated with this kind of cake. Also, any self respecting housewife would serve this cake to ladies church groups that met in their homes, ‘cause you gotta prove you can bake a cake like that. I’ve read some women stayed awake all night to make sure it rose to perfection, and not fallen flat. I believe this went out of fashion in the 1840s or 50s though. It doesn’t sound like an appetizing cake though.
LogicalVariation741
I make election cakes every national election. It’s fun to explain to the random people I give it to why they are getting cake. And then, my kids get cake after dinner and get to hear me explain suffragettes and privilege. They are less than thrilled with my knowledge dump but the cake softens the blow.
_TiberiusPrime_
How much is a “gill”?
Never mind. It’s 4 ounces.
mecistops
I have some questions about “dried apple sauce”
jesthere
This made me wonder what a teacup measure is. I started poking around and found this (might be helpful with old measurements):
8 Comments
*Image Transcription: Book Page*
—
#FEATHER CAKE.
One egg, one cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of cold butter, half a cup of milk, one and one-half cups of flour; one teaspoonful of cream tartar; half a teaspoonful of soda. A nice plain cake—to be eaten while it is fresh. A spoonful of dried apple sauce or of peach sauce, a spoonful of jelly, the same of lemon extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and spice—ground—or half a cupful of raisins might be added for a change.
#ELECTION CAKE.
Three cups milk, two cups sugar, one cup yeast; stir to a batter, and let stand over night; in the morning add two cups sugar, two cups butter, three eggs, half a nutmeg, one tablespoonful cinnamon, one pound raisins, a gill of brandy.
Brown sugar is much better than white for this kind of cake, and it is improved by dissolving a half-teaspoonful of soda in a tablespoonful of milk in the morning. It should stand in the greased pans and rise some time until quite light before baking.
#CREAM CAKE.
Four eggs, Whites and yolks beaten separately, two teacups of sugar, one cup of sweet cream, two heaping cupfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of soda; mix two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar in the flour before sifting. Add the whites the last thing before the flour, and stir that in gently without beating.
Am I reading Election Cake correctly that is contains no flour? Just eggs, milk, and sugar sounds like it would make a custard to me…
My gut just exploded reading this.
I’ve read about election cake. Apparently, New England elections were celebrated with this kind of cake. Also, any self respecting housewife would serve this cake to ladies church groups that met in their homes, ‘cause you gotta prove you can bake a cake like that. I’ve read some women stayed awake all night to make sure it rose to perfection, and not fallen flat. I believe this went out of fashion in the 1840s or 50s though. It doesn’t sound like an appetizing cake though.
I make election cakes every national election. It’s fun to explain to the random people I give it to why they are getting cake. And then, my kids get cake after dinner and get to hear me explain suffragettes and privilege. They are less than thrilled with my knowledge dump but the cake softens the blow.
How much is a “gill”?
Never mind. It’s 4 ounces.
I have some questions about “dried apple sauce”
This made me wonder what a teacup measure is. I started poking around and found this (might be helpful with old measurements):
https://www.eatingtheeras.com/post/measure-out-a-guide-to-understanding-old-recipe-measurements