Period Almond Cake

[Albert Sailhorst]

Supermoist banana and almond cake
jules [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Nov. 26-National Cake Day

ALMOND CAKE. From "The Book of Household Management", By Isabella Beeton, 1861

1/2 lb. of sweet almonds, 1 oz. of bitter almonds, 6
eggs, 8 tablespoonfuls of sifted sugar, 5 tablespoonfuls of fine flour,
the grated rind of 1 lemon, 3 oz. of butter.

Blanch and pound the almonds to a paste; separate the whites
from the yolks of the eggs; beat the latter, and add them to the
almonds. Stir in the sugar, flour, and lemon-rind; add the butter, which
should be beaten to a cream; and when all these ingredients are well
mixed, put in the whites of the eggs, which should be whisked to a stiff
froth. Butter a cake-mould, put in the mixture, and bake in a good oven
from 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour.

 

[mofederal]

Another I might enjoy. I do like almonds a lot. So do several people I know. These cakes taste so fresh and clean, it makes them totally new gain to my tastes, and if I mess up a little, I will still eat and enjoy it. Thank you.

 

[donna]

This would be a cake to make for the upcoming holidays. Thanks for posting. So many wonderful recipes.

 

[nitrofd]

Donna and Anna have posted many recipes from the Beeton cookbook.

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

Mrs. Beeton really revolutionized the domestic arts back in the mid 19th century. She dug her heels in and tested and perfected all the recipes in her giant book of cookery. I joke with friends calling her the Martha Stewart of the 1800's. Modern cooks owe a lot to her for streamlining how recipes were written. She was the first person to list ingredients first and then discuss the instructions for preparation along with cooking temperatures and even the cost of the dish per person.

Here's a recipe from Mrs. Beeton's 1901 edition for Thanksgiving Cake which is quite similar to a holiday spice cake with nuts and raisins. Sounds pretty good actually.

The recipe calls for mace, so for those not familiar with this spice, it's technically the outer coating of the nutmeg that is not often seen as frequently today. You can read more about the differences here - http://www.themarthablog.com/2008/01/nutmeg-and-mace.html

 

[Deleted User CS]

This sounds like a lot of work for a cake; however, I bet all that work is certainly worth it. I bet this cake tastes very good. David.

 

[donna]

It is National Cake Day, so bumping this thread.

 

[JOHN42768]

Looks good enough to eat. Yum