I have neglected the bakers amongst you recently, so
today I give you three recipes from One
Hundred and One Layer Cakes, by May E Southworth, (San Francisco and New
York, 1907.) What I find fascinating about the recipes in this book is the choice
of names for the cakes.
I wonder what the story is behind the decision to
name a cake for fourteen years in the future?
NINETEEN-TWENTY-ONE.
A
cupful of sugar, a half-cupful of molasses, a half-cupful of melted butter and
a half-teaspoonful each of cinnamon and nutmeg, creamed together; add three
whole eggs and beat for ten minutes. Dissolve a level teaspoonful of soda In a
half-cupful of sour milk and add with two cupfuls of flour and a pinch of salt.
Add a half-pound of fresh dark whole figs; or if dried figs are used steam
whole until soft. Bake in three layers.
FILLING.
Boil two cupfuls of sugar with a half-cupful of hot water till it threads; pour
over the beaten whites of three eggs; add a half-cupful of soaked and chopped
raisins and a teaspoonful of lemon juice.
“Gibson Girls” were the creation of the American
artist Charles Dana Gibson in the 1890’s and represented the embodiment of the
ideas of female beauty of the time. So, please tell me what is “Gibson Girly”
about this cake?
GIBSON GIRL.
Beat
the yolks of five eggs till thick and lemon colored; stir in a. cupful of
granulated sugar, the grated rind of a lemon and a tablespoonful of the juice. Whip
the whites of the five eggs to a froth, add a few tablespoonfuls to the beaten
yolks, then a cupful of pastry flour, to which a quarter of a teaspoonful of
salt has been added and then the rest of the beaten yolks.
FILLING.
Break the whites of two eggs in a glass and in another put the same measurement
of cold water. Mix these and work in sufficient confectioner's sugar to be the
right consistency to spread; add a teaspoonful of almond-extract and a half-teaspoonful
of baking-powder; put on a flat platter and whip with a wire egg-beater till
smooth and light. Add a cupful of blanched and chopped almonds.
And my final choice for the day is the cake
intriguingly-named for:
MISTRESS ANNIE.
Beat
the whites of three eggs very stiff; add a cupful of confectioner's sugar and
beat ten
minutes.
Beat the yolks of the three eggs till thick and lemon colored; add a
teaspoonful of almond-extract and stir them into the whites and sugar and beat
ten minutes more. Mix a half-teaspoonful of baking-powder with a cupful of sifted
pastry flour and add with two tablespoonfuls of boiling water.
FILLING.
Boil two cupfuls of sugar with ten tablespoonfuls of boiling water till it
forms a soft ball; add thirty-two marshmallows cut fine and boil up again. Beat
the whites of three eggs till stiff; add a quarter of a teaspoonful of cream of
tartar and a half-teaspoonful of almond extract. Pour the boiling syrup on the
eggs, beating all the time, and when cool add a cupful of chopped nut meats.
As a post-script, may I refer you to a
previously-posted recipe from this book for a fragrant Violet Cake?
6 comments:
The "Gibson Girl" sounds light and frothy and a little nutty. Men might say these girls weren't nutty, but that's because they just wanted the girls to be "nutty on them." ;-)
The names are a puzzle. Another is why there's baking soda in the filling of the Gibson Girl. I wish someone would make one of these cakes.
Or because both the cake and the Gibson Girl were "stacked"? :-) Though I suspect the term wasn't used in that way back then.
Sandra
Well, I might give it a try for a birthday cake this weekend.....I'll let you know.
I might give it a go this weekend for a birthday cake....I'll let you know.
I'll give it a go and let you know.
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