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S. T. M
One and one-half cups sugar, on ecup butter, three eggs well beaten, a little nutmeg, and two teaspoonsful of Cook's Friend baking powder, and sufficient flour to make a rather thick batter.
A one-sentence cake or cookie batter of the kind contributed by the dozen to subscription cookbooks: the writer assumes you know what to do with it. What follows fills in the parts she left out.
- The missing flour figure"Sufficient flour to make a rather thick batter" is the only guide given. With 1 cup butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3 eggs, that lands around 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 cups; stop when the batter drops thickly from the spoon rather than pouring. Add it in stages, since there is no milk or water to loosen an over-floured mixture."</p>
- "on ecup butter"A typesetter's slip for "one cup butter" — about 225 g, or two American sticks. It should be soft enough to cream with the sugar, not melted.
- Cook's Friend baking powderA Canadian proprietary brand, associated with McLaren's, of the sort sold and advertised in this period. Use 2 teaspoons of any modern double-acting baking powder; period powders are generally thought to have been less reliable than modern ones, so if the batter seems sluggish that may be the ingredient rather than your technique.
- Nutmeg"A little" would most often have been grated from the whole nut, though ground nutmeg was also to be had; half a teaspoon is plenty for this quantity. Pre-ground nutmeg is milder, so use slightly more if that is what you have.
- No oven givenNothing in the recipe indicates a heat. A moderate oven, about 350F, suits a batter this rich: drop-spoonfuls on a lined sheet will take roughly 10 to 14 minutes to a set edge and pale centre; in a single loaf or shallow pan, allow 35 to 45 minutes and test with a skewer.
- SaltNone is listed. Butter was commonly salted in this period, which may be why; in any case, if you use unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon.
- YieldAbout three dozen small cakes; baked as a slab it will want a pan larger than 8 inches square. The mixture is stiff enough to hold its shape, so it will not spread far.
The Home Cook Book was compiled in Toronto in 1877 by "ladies of Toronto and chief cities and towns of Canada" and sold in aid of the Hospital for Sick Children — generally regarded as the first Canadian community-fundraising cookbook, and comparable to the American charity books of the same decade. Many of its recipes are credited by initials rather than by name, as here. The named Cook's Friend baking powder is worth noticing too. Branded chemical leaveners were still a relatively new commercial product in the 1870s, and manufacturers advertised in books of this kind; a contributor naming a brand in her own recipe suggests how readily such a product could become a household fixture.