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Cider Cake

A historical recipe from Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book Designed as a Supplement to Her Treatise on Domestic Economy, by Catharine Esther Beecher (1846).

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A historical recipe

Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book Designed as a Supplement to Her Treatise on Domestic Economy, by Catharine Esther Beecher (1846). Project Gutenberg eBook #54965.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.

Ingredients 8 ingredients

  1. A teaspoonful of saleratus
  2. One cup of butter
  3. Two cups of sugar
  4. One cup of sour cream
  5. A gill of brandy
  6. a teaspoonful of essence of lemon
  7. Four cups of flour
  8. Two teaspoonfuls of sal volatile

Possible health benefits

General information, not medical advice.

  1. Sour cream Source of vitamin B12 · Source of calcium

    Source of vitamin B12 · 0.4 µg per 100 g, 17% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism.
    5 more authorised claims
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal psychological function.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to normal red blood cell formation.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Vitamin B12 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
    • Vitamin B12 has a role in the process of cell division.

    Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body’s blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. NIH fact sheet

    Source of calcium · 141 mg per 100 g, 18% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Calcium contributes to normal blood clotting.
    • Calcium contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Calcium contributes to normal muscle function.
    5 more authorised claims
    • Calcium contributes to normal neurotransmission.
    • Calcium contributes to the normal function of digestive enzymes.
    • Calcium has a role in the process of cell division and specialisation.
    • Calcium is needed for the maintenance of normal bones.
    • Calcium is needed for the maintenance of normal teeth.

    Calcium is a mineral your body needs to build and maintain strong bones and to carry out many important functions. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. NIH fact sheet

    Nutrients per 100 g of “Sour cream, light”, USDA FoodData Central.

  2. Flour Source of phosphorus · Source of copper · Source of manganese · +1

    Source of phosphorus · 106 mg per 100 g, 15% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Phosphorus contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Phosphorus contributes to normal function of cell membranes.
    • Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    1 more authorised claims
    • Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal teeth.

    Phosphorus is a mineral contained in each cell in our body. Most phosphorus is in the bones and teeth, and some is in your genes. NIH fact sheet

    Source of copper · 0.2 mg per 100 g, 17% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Copper contributes to maintenance of normal connective tissues.
    • Copper contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Copper contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    5 more authorised claims
    • Copper contributes to normal hair pigmentation.
    • Copper contributes to normal iron transport in the body.
    • Copper contributes to normal skin pigmentation.
    • Copper contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Copper contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Copper is a mineral that you need to stay healthy. Your body uses copper to carry out many important functions, including making energy, connective tissues, and blood vessels. NIH fact sheet

    Source of manganese · 0.6 mg per 100 g, 28% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Manganese contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Manganese contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    • Manganese contributes to the normal formation of connective tissue.
    1 more authorised claims
    • Manganese contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Manganese is a mineral that your body needs to stay healthy. Your body uses manganese to make energy and protect your cells from damage. NIH fact sheet

    Source of selenium · 10 µg per 100 g, 19% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Selenium contributes to normal spermatogenesis.
    • Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal hair.
    • Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal nails.
    3 more authorised claims
    • Selenium contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Selenium contributes to the normal thyroid function.
    • Selenium contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Selenium is a nutrient that the body needs to stay healthy. Your thyroid gland needs selenium to produce hormones and function properly. NIH fact sheet

    Nutrients per 100 g of “Flour, 00”, USDA FoodData Central.

Claims: EU Register of health claims (Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, © European Union, CC BY 4.0), shown only where the ingredient meets the claim's conditions (Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006). Nutrients: USDA FoodData Central (CC0). Facts: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (public domain).

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Oven and hot trays. Use dry oven gloves for trays and dishes: a hot tray looks just like a cold one. Open the oven door away from your face and let the first rush of heat out.

Method

  1. One tea-cup of butter.
  2. Three tea-cups of sugar.
  3. Two tea-cups of sifted flour.
  4. A teaspoonful of saleratus in two great spoonfuls of water.
  5. A grated nutmeg, and half a tea-cup of milk, with the saleratus in it.
  6. Make a hole in the flour, and put in all the ingredients, and while mixing them, add a tea-cup of cider and four more cups of flour.
  7. Cup Cake without Eggs.
  8. One cup of butter.
  9. Two cups of sugar.
  10. One cup of sour cream, or sour milk.
  11. Sal volatile, the size of a small nutmeg, or a teaspoonful of saleratus, dissolved in cold water.
  12. A gill of brandy or wine, half a grated nutmeg, and a teaspoonful of essence of lemon.
  13. Flour enough for a stiff batter.
  14. Put in buttered pans an inch thick, and bake in a quick oven.
  15. Cream Cake without Eggs.
  16. Four cups of flour.
  17. Three cups of sugar.
  18. One cup of butter.
  19. Two cups of sour cream.
  20. Two teaspoonfuls of sal volatile, or three of saleratus, dissolved in a little cold water.
  21. A teaspoonful of essence of lemon, and half a grated nutmeg.
  22. Work the butter and sugar together, add the cream and spice, and put all into a hole in the middle of the flour.
  23. Then add the sal volatile, or saleratus.
  24. Mix quick and thoroughly, and set in the oven immediately.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Grater
  • Sieve
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book Designed as a Supplement to Her Treatise on Domestic Economy, by Catharine Esther Beecher (1846). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #54965 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54965). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.