In the 18th century, naming foods after celebrities and political figures was still relatively rare. The practice became much more common in the 19th century, particularly with the myriad of foods named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This recipe from Susanna Maciver stood out to me as an unusual example of an 18th century recipe named after a politician: Sir Robert Walpole.
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These 18th century heart cakes are a variation on queen cakes, which were also often baked in heart-shaped tins. This recipe, from Charlotte Mason’s 1777 book The Lady’s Assistant, spruces up a basic queen cake recipe with the addition of candied orange peel and citron. You could certainly bake them in regular muffin tins, too – but as hearts, they are perfect for Valentine’s Day!
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I still remember my first-ever mincemeat pie, served on Christmas Day at the Charles Dickens Museum in London. It tasted warm and Christmas-y, the perfect treat after a cold trek across the city in the snow. Since then, my mind has associated mincemeat pies with a Dickensian, Victorian Christmas – but mincemeat pies actually go back much farther than that.
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History in the Making 