Christmas preparations.

Italian cuccidate.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

I'm gearing up for my annual holiday baking marathon.  I usually make one or two types of traditional Italian cookies, fruit cakes, and gingerbread to both serve and give away as gifts to family and friends, along with homemade jam.  I also like to make at least one historic recipe as well.  I've tried Mrs. Beeton's Seed Cake and Currant Cake with good results, but this year I think I'll try her Christmas Cake.  Here is the recipe:

Mrs. Beeton's Christmas Cake

A delicious Victorian recipe: Seed Cake.

Mrs. Beeton's Seed Cake.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach.

This recipe is from Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management from 1861, but it has its roots in the 18th century, at least.  The ingredient that makes it Victorian is the self-rising flour: chemical leaveners (baking soda/salaratus, cream of tartar/pearlash, baking powder) were not fully understood until well into the 19th century, and were not available to the home cook until then.  Similar recipes for seed cake exist in 17th and 18th century recipe books, but they are leavened by one of two methods: the addition of yeast and allowing the dough to rise as for bread, or the addition of beaten whole eggs or egg whites, folding them into the batter at the end.

A Very Good Seed-Cake.
1 lb. butter [soft]            1 lb. self-rising flour
6 eggs                           3/4 oz. caraway seeds
3/4 lb. sifted sugar         1 wineglass brandy [1/4 cup]
mace and nutmeg to taste [1/2 tsp. each]

Beat the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour; add the sugar, mace, nutmeg and caraway seeds, and mix these ingredients together.  Whisk the eggs, stir to them the brandy, and beat the cake again for 10 minutes.  Put it into a tin lined with buttered paper, and bake it from 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  This cake would be equally nice made with currants, and omitting the caraway seeds.