After playing a game of tennis in a corset and heavy skirts, who wouldn’t want to eat cake?
Read More »
Category: 19th Century
Coffee Cake
The term “coffee cake” started appearing in print during the 19th century, but it didn’t always refer to the type of coffee cake we would recognize today. Early coffee cake recipes could be for any type of bread, pastry, or cake that could be consumed with coffee…or, like in this recipe from 1877, they might actually be made with coffee.
Read More »
Snow Balls
This recipe for baked apples, from William Henderson’s 1828 cookbook Modern Domestic Cookery, presumably takes its name from its appearance. Once covered in meringue (which the recipe calls icing), the apples do look a lot like giant snowballs.
Read More »
Sherry Cobbler
“‘This wonderful invention, sir,’ said Mark, tenderly patting the empty glass, ‘is called a cobbler. Sherry cobbler when you name it long; cobbler, when you name it short.'” – from Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens, 1844
Read More »
Macaroni a la Reine
Macaroni and cheese was one of my favorite foods as a kid. Growing up, it never occurred to me that my favorite comfort food might have historic origins. However, macaroni and cheese dates back to at least the Middle Ages, and became popular in Europe and America during the 18th and 19th centuries. I decided to try Eliza Acton’s macaroni and cheese recipe from her 1845 cookbook Modern Cookery in all its Branches to see what historic macaroni and cheese would’ve tasted like.
Read More »
Driving Mitts
This simple pattern for driving mitts comes from the 1838 edition of The Workwoman’s Guide and is described as “very useful for gentlemen or coachmen.” In the 1830s, of course, “driving” referred to horse-drawn vehicles, so the mitts are ingeniously designed to be thinner across the palms so that the wearer could easily hold the reins.
Read More »
Berry Muffins
Finding historic muffin recipes is always a bit confusing, as no one seemed to be able to agree on the term “muffin” throughout history.
Read More »
Cocoa-nut Gingerbread
I found this cookie recipe in Eliza Acton’s 1845 book Modern Cookery, In All Its Branches (available from archive.org). I wanted to try it because a) I love gingerbread and b) the combination of ingredients (shredded coconut, rice flour) seemed unusual.
Read More »