Saturday, August 31, 2013

How to Make a Watermelon Cake, 1896

Watermelon (c. 1855)

         "1/2 cup butter.
          1 cup sugar.
          1/2 cup sweet milk.
          3 whites of eggs.
          2 cups flour.
          1 teaspoon cream tartar.
          1/2 teaspoon soda.
          Flavor with lemon.


Take a little more than 1/3 of the mixture and to it add 1 teaspoon liquid cochineal and 1/2 cup raisins. Put the red part in the center and bake. Cover with a frosting colored green with spinach."
Smiley's Cook Book (1896)
This is perfect for a child's birthday party. The kids will be so busy picking out the raisins they won't notice the cake is made of spinach goo and liquified insects.


2 comments:

  1. To be fair, cochineal is still widely used as a food coloring, and it's probably more appealing than, say, Red #40, a delicious petroleum product.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cochineal is also found in many lipsticks. Give mom a kiss after you finish your cake, dear.

    ReplyDelete

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