Coffee Cake (1877)

If you’re looking for a good 1800’s coffee cake recipe to try, this is the one I recommend. So far, it’s the best-tasting one I’ve tried!

Dear friends ~

Just a quick little note this morning, and an easy recipe. 

Much the way I’ve tried and shared multiple 1800’s recipes for gingerbread (some better than others), so too, I’ve been trying various 1800’s Coffee Cake recipes from different cookbooks, printed throughout different decades of the nineteenth century.

In my opinion, this Coffee Cake recipe I’m sharing today is both tastier and less dry than the 1887 recipe I shared last winter (you can find that one here.) I’m far from exhausting the Coffee Cake recipes in these cookbooks, but so far, this is the one I’d choose to make again. It’s perfect for a chilly fall weekend. 

Speaking of fall–do you realize that Thanksgiving is just 22 days away? From now until then, all of the recipes I’m making and sharing will be ones specifically suggested for serving on Thanksgiving Day, in the “suggested menus” sections from a couple of these 1800’s cookbooks. 

Pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and oysters on the half-shell, here we come…

~ Anna

COFFEE CAKE

One cup of butter, one cup of sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of coffee cold, one cup of currants, one teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of mixed spices, two or four eggs, flour to thicken.

The Home Cook Book, 1877

Here’s a photo of the recipe as it appears in the cookbook:

A FEW COOKING NOTES: 

Here are a few observations that might be helpful, if you’d like to give this recipe a go:

What kind of pan to use?

Loaf, round, or square pans all would have been common choices for a coffee cake like this one. Another popular style through the late 1800’s was a fluted round pan, with a hole in the middle…something of a wider, more-shallow predecessor to the bundt pan, which wouldn’t be introduced to most American kitchens until the 1950’s. 

I found that this recipe works well in two loaf pans. It’s also easy to make a half-batch of this recipe, which makes a nice single loaf.

Should you grease the pan? ​

Absolutely! In the 1800’s, it wasn’t common to include instructions on greasing pans, or even baking temperature, along with every single recipe, the way these things are noted in modern cook books. 

You’ll want to grease the pan well (butter or lard would be the right choice, if you want to be authentic.) Then dredge the well-greased pan lightly with flour.

What kind of coffee? ​ ​

Most coffee cake recipes of the 1800’s specify that the coffee should be “as brewed for the table”, and sometimes it’s suggested that it be “made strong”. 

Without any clarifying notes in this particular recipe, I simply made an extra cup of the Ethiopia Sidamo I’m loving right now (and you know I make it strong), then let it get cold before using it to make this cake.

What to use for spices?

I used ¼ teaspoon allspice, ¼ teaspoon mace, and ½ teaspoon cloves, to make up the 1 teaspoon of mixed spice, and really liked the resulting flavor profile. As a die-hard spice lover, I honestly could have doubled the spice in this, and been happy.

As it was, the spice did not overpower the flavor of the coffee (this is a coffee cake after all!), and honestly that coffee flavor would have been overpowered if the spices were more pronounced. 

All that said, any combination of cloves, nutmeg, mace, allspice, ginger, or cinnamon, would be appropriate spices to reach for in this era, and you really can’t go wrong with any of these. 

Also, if you love spice cake as much as I do, this is the recipe you need to try.

Two eggs or four?

Now, the simple solution here would be to use three, and that would certainly make a lovely cake. It was not uncommon for cake recipes of the era to specify a range in the number of eggs to use. Eggs were dear in the winter months when chickens were not laying abundantly (or at all), and were cheap in the summer. 

The general idea was that putting in the maximum number of eggs called for in a given recipe, would result in a richer, better cake. Basically, “put in this many if you can, but don’t worry if you can’t”. 

(Next time I come across one of the recipes that mentions this concept specifically, I’ll need to take a picture and share it. I couldn’t put my finger on one in time for hitting “send” on this email today, but I’ll keep my eyes open!) 

With this in mind, I went with four eggs and loved it. Would it be great with 2? I’m sure it would still be good. If you try it this way, please let me know how it comes out for you!

How much flour to put in?

I found that 3 and ¼ cups of flour seemed about perfect for this recipe, when made with 4 moderate-sized chicken eggs. If using only 2 eggs, you’d want to tweak this, perhaps starting with 2 ¾ cups and going from there. 

Save out a couple tablespoons of the flour when you’re putting it in, so you can use it to dredge the currants–this helps them to stay nicely dispersed throughout the cake, rather than sinking to the bottom.

About those currants.

It’s worth getting your hands on good dried currants if you can, since the flavor of these truly is different from raisins. That said, if you don’t have currants on hand, and want to make this recipe, raisins would be a fine substitute. I would chop them small so they’re more currant-sized. 

Regardless of whether you use currants or raisins, take those couple of tablespoons of flour that you reserved, put it in a bowl, and add the dried fruit. Give them a good toss, until the fruit is well floured, then add it all to the cake batter. This was a common practice in 1800’s cake making, and really makes a difference with keeping your dried fruit nicely sprinkled throughout the cake, rather than sinking to the bottom as the cake is cooking.

Oven temperature

I went with 350°F for baking this cake, and it’s what I’d use again. I felt the cake cooked through appropriately without getting too dry. 340°F would probably also work well, if you’re looking for a slightly less golden-brown crust, while still attaining a well-set center.

How long to bake this? ​

In my loaf pans, this took fifty-five minutes to bake. 

If you use a differently shaped pan, your cake may take a bit more or less time than mine. Check for golden edges and a center that’s fully set. The correct 1800’s way to check for doneness is by inserting a broom straw into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done, if bits of batter adhere to it, the cake needs a little more time. Feel free to use a toothpick, if you don’t keep clean broom straws handy!

What about icing?

Here’s the general icing recipe from this cookbook:

I found that using this recipe, made with three eggs whites, was more than enough for a loaf of this cake. Four egg whites should give plenty of frosting for two loaves. 

I did not add any additional flavoring to it, since I really wanted the flavor of the coffee to come through.

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If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to hear about it!

As always, feel free to send me an email anytime, with recipe requests! ‘Til next time, ~ Anna

This post was originally published in the 1800’s Housewife newsletter. Not on the mailing list? You can join here to receive full recipes with cooking notes straight to your inbox!

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