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Currant Cake
1 cupful butter, 1 cupful sugar, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoonful baking-powder, 1 pint flour, 1 1/2 cupfuls currants, washed and picked, 2 teaspoonfuls extract cinnamon, and 1 teaspoonful extract lemon. Rub the butter and sugar to a white, light cream. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating a few minutes after each. Add the flour sifted with the powder, the currants, and the extracts. Mix into a medium batter. Bake in paper-lined cake-tin fifty minutes in a moderate oven.
A pound-cake formula in all but name, leaning on well-creamed butter and four eggs for lift rather than on the single teaspoon of baking powder. The creaming step is the hinge: if the butter and sugar are not beaten pale and fluffy before the eggs go in, the cake bakes dense and the currants sink.
- Moderate oven350F. Fifty minutes suits a single 8- or 9-inch round or a standard loaf; test with a skewer at 45 minutes, since a loaf shape may want closer to an hour.
- 1 pint flourFlour was commonly measured by volume in pint and quart measures: 2 cups, roughly 8 to 9 oz of all-purpose. The recipe asks for a "medium batter" but does not say what that means beyond something thicker than a pouring batter.
- CurrantsDried Zante currants, not fresh red or black currants. "Washed and picked" means rinsing off packing grit and pulling out stems; toss them in a spoonful of the measured flour so they stay suspended.
- Extract cinnamonAn alcohol-based cinnamon flavouring sold by grocers and druggists, largely gone from shelves. Use about 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon in its place, added with the flour; two teaspoons of a modern cinnamon oil would be overwhelming.
- Butter and saltThe recipe calls for no salt at all, which may mean salted butter was assumed. With unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt added with the flour is worth considering, or the cake can taste flat.
- Eggs one at a timeHave them at room temperature. Cold eggs added to creamed butter cause the mixture to curdle and lose the air just beaten into it; a spoonful of the flour will bring a split batter back together.
- Paper-lined tinButter the tin, line the base and sides with parchment, and butter that too. There is a great deal of sugar and fruit here and the edges catch easily.
- YieldAbout 2 lb of cake, or 10 to 12 slices. It keeps well wrapped for several days and improves on the second day.