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Soda Cakes

A historical recipe from The Virginia Housewife, by Mary Randolph (1860).

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A historical recipe

The Virginia Housewife; Or, Methodical Cook, by Mary Randolph (1860). Project Gutenberg eBook #12519.

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

United States

Known as an American recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

Ingredients 3 ingredients

  1. a pound of sugar
  2. a pint of milk
  3. a pound of butter

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. Dissolve half a pound of sugar in a pint of milk, add a tea-spoonful of soda;
  2. pour it on two pounds of flour--melt half a pound of butter, knead all together till light, put it in shallow moulds, and bake it quickly in a brisk oven.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Saucepan
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From The Virginia Housewife, by Mary Randolph (1860). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #12519 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12519). 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.