Recipe from Country contentments, or The English huswife. by Gervase Markham, published 1623. Above you can see a scan of the original text. The book can be read at archive.org. This is known to be the oldest found recipe for pound cake.

Very unusual for a historic recipe to have specific quantities listed, so that is helpful. I based my baking instructions on an analysis of the recipe found on cupcakeproject.com.

I cut the recipe in half because it is huge, and I used only whole eggs, for the sake of convenience. To be more medieval, the flour should be whole wheat but soft and finely milled. (I used to be able to buy whole wheat pastry flour. It was perfect for medieval recipes. I miss it.) The sugar should be raw sugar, or brown sugar if that is more available. Sugar was crystallized in this time period, but from what I can tell it was another 100 years or so before sugar was so purified that it resembles the white granulated sugar of today.

½ lb flour ½ lb sugar 6 eggs ¼ oz fennel seeds or star anise ¼ oz coriander 1/8 oz dried orange peel or fresh orange zest

Grind the fennel/star anise, coriander, and orange peel in a mortar with a pestle, until the spices are as fine as you can get them. Remove any remaining large pieces.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and spices.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until mixed. Slowly add the flour mixture while beating on medium-high speed with an egg beater or stand mixer. Continue to beat for 10-20 minutes (my egg beater was getting worryingly hot at 10 minutes, so I stopped).

Grease a 9”-10” circular cake pan and preheat oven to 350° F. Bake cake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

#anise #cake #coriander #dairyfree #dessert #egg #fairyfeast #fennel #historical #orangezest #sugar #vegetarian #wheatflour

Cake: 9 oz strawberries, fresh or frozen 2 ½ cups almond flour ¾ cup sugar ¾ cup corn starch 1 Tbsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla extract ¼ tsp salt

Topping: ½ pound rhubarb, fresh or frozen 1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease or line an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper.

Purree the strawberries in a blender until smooth.

In a medium bowl, combine strawberries with the rest of the cake ingredients. Stir until mostly combined, then use an egg beater to blend it together.

Scoop the cake batter into your cake pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until you can insert a skewer or toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the cake pan.

While the cake is baking, chop the rhubarb into small pieces. Combine with the brown sugar in a small pot and cook over medium heat until it simmers, the rhubarb is soft, and the sugar is syrupy. If using frozen rhubarb, cook it enough to soften it before adding the sugar. The rhubarb should become mush.

Remove from heat and let cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, purree the mixture in the blender until totally smooth.

Spread the topping over the cake.

#almondmeal #bakingpowder #brownsugar #cake #cornstarch #dairyfree #dessert #glutenfree #rhubarb #salt #strawberry #sugar #vanilla #vegan

2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder ½ cup nut flour ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground nutmeg or mace 1-2 oranges or clementines or tangerines 12 Tbsp butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 cup plain yogurt 3 Tbsp melted butter 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 ¼ cup grated apple

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, nut flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg/mace.

Peel the oranges and manually remove the pith and seeds. Blend the orange flesh in a food processor to create a thick pulp, it doesn't have to be totally liquefied. You need to get 2/3 cup of orange pulp.

In a large bowl, cut the butter into the sugar, then beat them until they are creamed together. One ingredient at a time, beat in the eggs, yogurt, and orange pulp.

Spray the bottom and sides of a large cake pan. In the bottom of the pan, spread the melted butter, then evenly sprinkle the brown sugar, then evenly spread the grated apple.

Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Spread the batter evenly over the apples. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the cake tests done.

Let the cake cool until it has shrunk away from the edges of the pan, then turn out up-side down onto a serving tray.

#apple #bakingpowder #brownsugar #butter #cake #cinnamon #dessert #fairyfeast #mace #nutflour #nutmeg #orange #sugar #vegetarian #wheatflour #yogurt

Cake:

1 cup butter, softened 2 cups sugar ¾ cup buttermilk 1/3 cup lime juice 5 eggs 3 cups flour 1 ½ tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line bottoms of 2 cake tins with parchment, and grease the sides of the tins.

In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and lime juice. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in each egg completely before adding the next one.

In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir 1/3 of the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Then stir in ½ of the buttermilk mixture, then flour again, buttermilk again, and flour again. Do not overmix.

Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness.

After removing from oven, let the cake rest in the pans for 15 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely.

Filling:

6 Tbsp cream cheese ¼ cup softened butter ½ tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp fresh, grated lime zest ¼ cup honey

Beat together all filling ingredients until fluffy. Keep chilled until time to use.

When the cake is totally cooled, smooth the filling onto one of the cake layers. Place the other layer on top.

Frosting:

½ cup sugar ¼ cup honey 2 Tbsp water 1 tsp fresh, grated lime zest 2 egg whites at room temperature

Mix the sugar, honey, water, and lime zest in a saucepan. Heat to a rolling boil over medium heat. Keep boiling until it reaches 242° F on a candy thermometer.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Pour the boiling syrup slowly in a thin stream into the egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed. Then beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake.

#bakingpowder #bakingsoda #butter #buttermilk #cake #creamcheese #dessert #egg #eggwhite #honey #limejuice #limezest #salt #sugar #vanilla #vegetarian #wheatflour

1 lb whole oranges, left whole 6 eggs 2 cups almond meal 1 cup raw sugar 1 tsp baking powder

Place the oranges in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, lower the water to a simmer and let cook for 15 minutes. Replace the water and boil again for 15 minutes. Repeat twice more to get a cooking time of 1 hour. When done, remove the oranges from the pan and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Butter and flour a 10-inch springform tin. (Use corn starch if gluten-free is needed.)

Chop the oranges into chunks, removing seeds. Puree them in a blender. Make sure they are completely pureed and there are no chunks of peel. Measure 3 cups of fruit puree and discard any extra. Then thoroughly blend the eggs with the 3 cups of orange.

In a large bowl, mix the almond meal, sugar and baking powder, then stir in the egg-orange mixture, just until it is mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. The cake is done when it turns a deep golden brown, has come away slightly from the sides of the tin, and a tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin before turning it out gently on the serving plate. It is good served plain, or with cream or syrup. It can be stored in the refrigerator.

#almondmeal #bakingpowder #cake #dairyfree #dessert #egg #glutenfree #orange #sugar

Cake: ½ cup butter ¾ cup raw sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 2 cups fine semola 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¾ cup plain yogurt ¼ cup finely chopped almonds

Syrup: 2 cups raw sugar 1 ½ cups water 1 Tbsp fresh orange zest 1 tsp dried floral tea ½ tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease a large cake pan.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.

Mix the semola, baking powder and baking soda in another bowl. Add this slowly into the butter mixture alternately with yogurt.

Spread batter into the cake pan. Sprinkle chopped almonds over the top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

For the syrup, dissolve sugar in water over medium heat, add the lemon juice and the rose essence and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 5-7 minutes, then pour into another container. Put that in a bowl filled with cold water to cool the syrup so it doesn't overcook.

When the cake is done, slowly pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake. This works best to keep it in the pan so the syrup can be soaked into the cake. Serve the cake once it is completely cool.

#almond #bakingpowder #bakingsoda #butter #cake #dessert #egg #lemonjuice #orangezest #semolaflour #sugar #tea #vanilla #vegetarian #yogurt

½ cup cream ½ cup butter 6 Tbsp honey ½ tsp ground nutmeg ¼ tsp ground mace 1 Tbsp caraway seeds 3 eggs ¼ cup fruit juice 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder ¼ cup raspberries

Put the cream in a small pan over med-high heat. Stir it every 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat when it reaches a boil, turn the heat to med-low, and return the cream to heat. Stir gently but constantly until it scrapes clean from the bottom of the pan and is thickened—about 15 minutes from the start. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cream together the butter, honey, and cream. Stir in the spices and seeds. Add the eggs and cordial, beating to combine. Gently break the raspberries into several pieces, and coat them all with flour. Add the 2 cups flour gradually to the batter, mixing it in completely before adding more. Add the baking powder with the flour. Then gently stir in the raspberries. The batter will be very thick.

Line a bread pan with buttered baking paper. Pour in the batter and spread to smooth. Bake it for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

#bakingpowder #butter #cake #caraway #cream #dessert #egg #fruitjuice #honey #mace #nutmeg #raspberry #vegetarian #wheatflour

2 ½ cups plain bread crumbs* ¼ cup brown sugar 4 Tbsp butter 1 lb apples ½ lb plums 1 tsp ground ginger 3 Tbsp honey 1 cup whipping cream 2 Tbsp brown sugar

Cut the butter into smaller pieces. Place breadcrumbs, butter and ¼ cup brown sugar in a non-stick pan on low heat. Cook gently while constantly stirring until the butter has all melted and it’s dark golden. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.

Core and slice the apples. Combine the apples and honey. Cook, covered, over medium heat until the apples are soft enough to easily poke through with a knife, but before they get mushy. Add the ginger. Mash the apples, or put them in a food processor on a low setting, until it is have pureed and half chunks of apple. Basically make a chunky applesauce.

Pit the plums and cut into fourths. Mash/process them in the same way.

Divide each of those ingredients into thirds.

In a glass dish, layer the ingredients. Starting at bottom: apples, plums, crumbs. Repeat to have 3 sets of layers.

Chill in the fridge until cool, even overnight.

Before serving, whip the cream with the 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and spread that over the top. Garnish with plum jam, if available.

*I made bread crumbs with a mixture of whole wheat bread and white potato bread. Basically any plain bread, biscuits, rolls, etc. will work. The easiest way to make bread crumbs is to tear up pieces of bread and process in a blender/food processor until it is all crumbs.

#apple #breadcrumbs #brownsugar #butter #cake #cream #dessert #ginger #honey #plum #pudding #vegetarian

2 cups apples, grated ½ cup honey 3 eggs ¾ cup almond meal 1 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put the grated apple in water with lemon juice until ready to use. Let the eggs come to room temperature. (Putting them in warm water helps.)

Beat the eggs on high speed until pale yellow, a thick foam, small bubbles. Meanwhile gently heat the honey until it is thin and runny. Reduce the eggs to a medium beating speed and slowly pour the honey in as it beats. After the honey is added, beat on high speed for about a minute. Reduce to a low speed and slowly add the almond meal, cinnamon, and salt. Then fold in the grated apple.

Pour batter into a buttered 8” baking pan. Cover with foil.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

#almondmeal #apple #cake #cinnamon #dairyfree #dessert #egg #glutenfree #honey #salt #vegetarian

Cake: ½ cup honey 2 Tbsp butter 1 egg 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp salt ½ cup milk or nut milk ¾ cup cherries, pits removed ¾ cup chopped damson plums, pits removed ½ cup nuts, roughly chopped

Sauce: 1 cup cherry juice—I got cherry juice from pitting the cherries (add some water if you can't get a full cup) 2 tsp honey 1 Tbsp corn starch 1 Tbsp butter ½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325° degrees. Grease a square 9×9” baking dish.

Beat honey and butter until smooth. Add egg and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to mixing bowl alternatively with milk. Stir in cherries, plums, and chopped nuts. Pour batter into buttered pan and smooth out the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and solid.

Make the sauce by combining cherry juice and honey in a small saucepan. In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with a bit of water to make a smooth liquid, then pour into the pan while stirring. Boil for 8-10 minutes, or until thick. Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp butter and vanilla extract.

Pour the sauce over the baked cake and let sit while it cools, to soak in the sauce.

#bakingpowder #butter #cake #cherry #cornstarch #dessert #egg #fruitjuice #honey #milk #nut #nutmilk #plum #salt #vanilla #vegetarian #wheatflour