English Walnut Cake

A plain butter layer cake built to carry a heavy load of walnuts and white icing. The batter is stiff by modern standards, so the creaming stage is what decides whether it rises.

• Cream thoroughlyWith 2 cups sugar to only 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup milk, the batter has little liquid to work with. Beat butter and sugar until genuinely pale and light, then add the eggs one at a time; the eggs are doing much of the lifting.
• Oven temperatureThe recipe gives no oven direction; a moderate oven, around 350F, suits layers of this type. Reckon on roughly 20 to 30 minutes for three 8-inch pans, less for thinner layers, and test with a skewer at the centre.
• Pans and yieldThe quantities should make about three 8-inch or two 9-inch layers, serving roughly 10 to 12. Grease and flour, or line the bases with parchment.
• Baking-powder"Even teaspoonfuls" means level, not heaped. Three level teaspoons to 3 cups of flour is close to modern practice; if your baking powder is fresh, 2 1/2 is ample and leaves less aftertaste.
• FlourHousehold flour of the period was not standardised and could differ from modern all-purpose. Measure by spooning into the cup and levelling, or weigh at about 4 1/4 oz per cup, so the batter does not go dry.
• The walnutsThe recipe does not say whether the pound is weighed shelled or in the shell; a pound of shelled halves is roughly 4 to 4 1/2 cups, a great deal of nut for one cake. Taste for rancidity first, and reserve the best-looking halves for the top; chop the broken ones for between the layers.
• The icing"White frosting" of this period most often meant a boiled or egg-white icing, which sets firm enough to hold nut halves in place. A soft American buttercream will let them slide.
• FlavouringNo vanilla or spice is specified. A teaspoon of vanilla in the batter is a reasonable addition if the nuts are mild.