Snow Cake (Half tea-cup butter one)

A small white butter cake in the compressed style of contributed community recipes: ingredients only, no method, no pan, no oven. The proportions are sound and translate directly.

• The tea-cupA nineteenth-century tea-cup is usually reckoned at about 6 fl oz, three-quarters of a modern cup, though the recipe's shift between "tea-cup" and "cup" suggests one vessel was used throughout. Treating everything as 3/4 cup gives 6 tbsp butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 1/8 cups flour, 6 tbsp milk, which is a balanced batter.
• Method the recipe assumesCream the butter and sugar, add milk and flour sifted with the baking powder alternately, then fold in the whites beaten to soft peaks last. The recipe gives no method at all; this is the standard sequence for a cake of this type.
• Egg whitesFour whites give roughly 1/2 cup; period eggs may have run smaller than modern large ones, so err on the generous side. Beat them just until they hold a peak that bends over; stiff, dry whites break up when folded and leave streaks in the crumb.
• FlourHousehold flour of the period was often softer than modern all-purpose. Cake flour gives the fine white crumb the name promises; all-purpose works but bakes denser.
• LeaveningA teaspoon of baking powder to a scant cup and a quarter of flour is a normal ratio and needs no adjustment. Bake soon after mixing, as the beaten whites do much of the lifting.
• OvenThe recipe specifies no oven at all; around 350F suits this batter. It fits one 8-inch round, a small loaf tin, or about eight cupcakes.
• Timing and yieldTwenty-five to thirty minutes for the round layer, a little longer in a loaf, until a skewer comes out clean and the top springs back. It serves six to eight.
• Flavoring"Flavor with lemon" most likely means lemon extract, about a teaspoon, though zest or juice cannot be ruled out. Fresh zest works and tastes better.