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Spongecake, Almond, Superior
Blanch a pound of sweet almonds, throw them into cold water as they are done, dry them well, and pound smoothly, sprinkling the whole of three eggs upon them during the process. Work thoroughly with them a spoonful of grated lemon-rind, a pound of powdered sugar, and the well-beaten yolks of fifteen eggs. Take the remaining whites of the eggs (making altogether fifteen; inclusive of those which were mixed with the almond-paste), whisk these to a firm froth, and stir them into the cake. Dredge into it a quarter of a pound of dried flour, and beat it briskly for a few minutes. Butter a mould, sift powdered sugar into it, pour the batter in till it is half full, and bake immediately. Let the cake stand a few minutes, turn it out carefully, and put it on a sieve. Time to bake, about an hour. Probable cost, 2s.
A flourless-in-spirit almond sponge leavened entirely by egg, which makes the handling of the whites the whole recipe. Everything else is arithmetic.
- The hinge: air is the only leaveningThere is no baking powder here, so the beaten whites and the whisked yolks are all that lift a pound of almonds and a pound of sugar. Get the batter into the oven at once, as the original instructs.
- The egg count is contradictoryAs written, three whole eggs go into the almonds, then the yolks of fifteen are worked in, then "the remaining whites" are said to total fifteen including those already used. Read it as fifteen eggs in all: three whole into the almond paste, the other twelve separated, twelve yolks beaten in and twelve whites whipped for folding.
- Blanching almondsPour boiling water over a pound of whole almonds, stand two minutes, drain, and slip off the skins; the original throws them into cold water as they are done. Dry them thoroughly or the paste will be slack.
- Pounding without a mortarA food processor does the work, but almonds turn oily fast. Add the three eggs a little at a time as you go, as the recipe directs, and stop as soon as the paste is smooth.
- "Dried flour"Flour was warmed near the fire to drive off damp before being dredged into delicate batters. Modern flour is stored dry; simply sift a quarter pound (about a scant cup) over the surface.
- Oven and timeThe original gives no oven description, only 'bake immediately' and a time of about an hour. A modern equivalent is 325-350F for about an hour; test with a skewer at 50 minutes.
- Mould and yieldHalf-filling the tin allows for the rise, so the mould must be roomy: reckon on a 10-inch tube or deep round tin, or two 8-inch tins, and perhaps 12 to 16 servings. The buttered-and-sugared mould helps the cake release.
- Cooling"Put it on a sieve" is a wire rack. Let it settle a few minutes in the tin first, then turn it out; a warm egg sponge tears easily.
- CostTwo shillings was a substantial sum for a single cake in the period; the almonds and fifteen eggs put this well beyond an everyday sponge.
The instruction to sprinkle eggs over the almonds while pounding is old and practical: liquid keeps the nuts from releasing their oil under a pestle, a trick repeated in almond macaroon and marzipan recipes long before food processors made the problem faster to create. The book's habit of quoting a "probable cost" suits a readership of households running to a budget, and two shillings for a single cake marked this as company food rather than teatime staple.