Bishop Whipple Pudding

A flourless-in-spirit date and nut bar in the old style: almost no batter, just enough to bind. Two details in the printed text need resolving before you start.

• The flour quantity"2-3 cup flour" is almost certainly 2/3 cup, a printer's rendering of the fraction. Two to three cups would give a dry, cakey slab rather than the sticky, nut-packed sheet the method implies; 2/3 cup is right for 2 eggs and 2 cups of solids.
• No fat, no liquidThat is not an omission. The eggs and the moisture from the dates carry the whole thing, which is why it is broken up rather than sliced neatly.
• "Biscuit pan"A shallow rimmed sheet or a square cake tin, not a modern biscuit cutter tray. An 8- or 9-inch square pan gives a layer about half an inch thick; a quarter sheet pan gives a thinner, crisper result.
• Oven temperatureThe recipe gives none. A moderate oven, around 350F, suits it: bake until the top is dry and lightly browned and the centre no longer wobbles, roughly 20 to 25 minutes in a square pan, less on a sheet.
• "Mix as cake, except beat whites and yolks together"The instruction is telling you to skip the separated-egg routine that many cake recipes of the period called for. Beat the whole eggs with the sugar until pale and thick, then fold in the flour, baking powder, dates and nuts.
• Handling the datesToss the chopped dates with a spoonful of the measured flour so they separate instead of clumping into a mass at the bottom.
• Break while hotThe recipe is explicit about it, and the sheet is easier to break into rough pieces warm than cold; score or crumble it straight from the oven, then dust with confectioners' sugar.
• YieldAbout 16 to 20 rough pieces, enough for six to eight served in a dish with whipped cream.