Citron Cake
Either of the preceding pound cake mixtures with 1 pound of citron cut in shreds and added, and a little lemon extract.
Wedding Cake-Rich Fruit Cake. 1 pound of sugar. 1 1/2 pounds of butter. 10 eggs. 1 1/2 pounds of flour.
Mix the above like pound cake, then add: 1 1/2 pounds of seedless raisins. 1 1/2 pounds of currants. 1 pound of citron. 8 ounces of almonds, blanched. 1 tablespoonful of mixed ground spices. Half pint of brandy. 1 lemon, juice and grated rind.
Bake in molds lined with buttered paper. Takes from 1 to 2 hours according to depth. This cake cannot be cut while fresh without crumbling, but becomes moister and firm with a few days keeping.
Two related formulas in one entry: a citron pound cake built on the preceding pound cake mixture, and a full rich fruit cake for weddings. Both are trade-scale batters weighed in pounds, and both live or die by how the butter and eggs are creamed, since neither contains any leavening.
- The hinge: creaming, not baking powderNothing here rises except air beaten into the butter and the eggs. Cream the butter and sugar until visibly pale and light, then add the eggs a little at a time so the emulsion never breaks. If the mixture curdles, the cake will be dense and greasy no matter how carefully it bakes.
- No temperature is givenA cake this heavy with fruit wants a slow oven, in the region of 300F, and a loose foil cap if the top colors before the center sets. Treat the stated 1 to 2 hours as the book's figure rather than a reliable guide: at a hotter oven the outside will darken long before the middle is done, and at a slow oven a deep mold of this size may well need longer than two hours.
- CitronThis is candied peel of Citrus medica, sold in blocks or diced tubs, not the lemon-like fresh fruit and not lemon zest. A pound is a great deal; rinse and dry it if it is heavily sugared, and shred it rather than chopping it into cubes for the citron cake.
- CurrantsDried Zante currants, the small dark raisin, not fresh redcurrants or blackcurrants. Look them over for stems and give them a brief soak in hot water only if they are stiff, then dry them well.
- Mixed ground spicesThe recipe does not say which. Blends of this period typically drew on cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves and allspice in some combination. One tablespoon total for this much batter is restrained by modern fruitcake standards.
- Half pint of brandyOne cup. Stirred into a batter of this size it bakes off to a background note; if you want the pronounced boozy character of a keeping cake, brush additional brandy over the cooled loaves during storage rather than adding more to the mix.
- Molds lined with buttered paperParchment, cut to line base and sides and standing an inch above the rim. Deep tins are correct here, but flour the fruit lightly or fold it in last so it does not all settle on the bottom.
- The proportions are unusualA pound cake is normally equal weights of sugar, butter, flour and eggs; this one runs half again as much butter and flour as sugar. Expect a less sweet crumb. The author's warning about crumbling is tied to cutting the cake fresh rather than to the ratio as such.
- Yield and keepingThe weighed ingredients come to roughly ten pounds before baking losses, enough for two large loaves or several small ones. Take the author at his word and leave it wrapped for the 'few days' he specifies before cutting.
The pound weights and the absence of any explanation of what a moderate oven was suggest a readership of practised bakers rather than home cooks. The rich fruit cake itself descends from the British plum cake tradition, a dense butter-and-fruit cake preserved by sugar, candied peel and spirit, which crossed into American practice as the standard ceremonial cake for weddings and Christmas. Citron, the candied peel of Citrus medica, was one of the great imported staples of the nineteenth-century pastry department, shipped from the Mediterranean in sugared blocks and sold by the pound. The closing note that the cake cannot be cut fresh but improves with keeping is the practical reason such cakes were made weeks ahead, and why a tier of wedding cake was traditionally saved rather than eaten.