Ingredients
- 5 cups flour
- 2 cups butter
- 3 cups sugar
- one cup milk
- 5 eggs
- 1 teaspoon soda
- 2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup dried fruit raisins, currants, or citron
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
Instructions
- "Five cups of flour, two cups of butter, three of sugar, one of milk, five eggs, one teaspoon of soda; two of cream of tartar, fruit as you please, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove to taste."
Notes
MODERN BAKING NOTES:
BAKING TEMPERATURE: 1800's cake recipes rarely specify temperature, and when they do, it tends vary from "moderate" to "medium quick". I went with a moderate 350°F for this recipe, and the result was lovely. You'll know the cake is done when it's golden brown, the center is set, and a toothpick (or broom straw if you'd like to be authentic) comes out clean. Baked in loaf pans at that temperature, my cake took exactly 45 minutes to bake.
MIXING THE BATTER:
I found it worked very well to beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs and milk, and finally the dry ingredients, which I'd already sifted together. Fold in the fruit after the batter is well mixed. FRUIT:
Cake in the 1800's very often included dried fruit. This was SO common, that many recipes assume you have your own preference for the amount and type of fruit you like in your cake, and that this could simply go without saying. Think, "season to taste." The most common dried fruits used in cake were raisins, dried currants, and citron. SPICES:
I used 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves. I thought this was pretty nearly perfection, but if you really love a spicy cake, you could bump those amounts up even more. WHAT PAN TO USE:
Composition cake seems to have generally been made fairly deep, often in loaf pans. (As opposed to a thin cake like the gingerbread recipe we made last week). Two loaf pans works very well for this recipe. Grease those pans well.
I found it worked very well to beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs and milk, and finally the dry ingredients, which I'd already sifted together. Fold in the fruit after the batter is well mixed. FRUIT:
Cake in the 1800's very often included dried fruit. This was SO common, that many recipes assume you have your own preference for the amount and type of fruit you like in your cake, and that this could simply go without saying. Think, "season to taste." The most common dried fruits used in cake were raisins, dried currants, and citron. SPICES:
I used 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves. I thought this was pretty nearly perfection, but if you really love a spicy cake, you could bump those amounts up even more. WHAT PAN TO USE:
Composition cake seems to have generally been made fairly deep, often in loaf pans. (As opposed to a thin cake like the gingerbread recipe we made last week). Two loaf pans works very well for this recipe. Grease those pans well.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!