by Kristin Holt | Jan 30, 2018 | Articles
The story behind the invention (development?) of Angel Food Cake is a bit shrouded in tales of “Me, First!” Vintage newspaper advertisements show Angel Food Cake for sale in bakeries by 1878, and in cookbooks for home bakers that same year. One of the origin stories made it into a vintage cookbook (“cook book”), along with minor variations on the fluffy, snow-white theme. No matter how the dessert began, the popularity took off among Victorian bakers and remained popular through the Edwardian and Progressive Era. One peek at Pinterest vouches that this brightly white cake is still popular (even when pink).
by Kristin Holt | Jan 27, 2018 | Articles
Today, January 27th, is National Chocolate Cake Day!
No better time to reflect upon, and relish the “invention” of one of the BEST chocolate cakes of all time–Devil’s Food Cake.
Devil’s Food Cake (often simply “Devil’s Food”) debuted along with other chocolate cakes as the culmination of chocolate dessert creations, at the tail-end of the Victorian Era, and gained momentum into the brief Edwardian period. American bakers discovered the capacities of baking chocolate, creating the sinfully rich and decadent cake, frosted with anything from a basic white, boiled frosting to ultra-sweet fudge frosting. Of all the “Victorian Inventions”, Devil’s Food Cake might be a twenty-first century favorite!
by Kristin Holt | Nov 26, 2017 | Articles
True-to-history, Victorian (and one Edwardian) Cake Recipes published in era newspapers share not only a love for cake (as today is National Cake Day), but share a slice of life with amateur historians. Basic baking ingredients, methods, a desire to practice economy (“cheap” was a positive and desirable compliment)–all give today’s cake-lover a glimpse into America’s Victorian life.
by Kristin Holt | Nov 20, 2017 | Articles
My expectations, upon first discovering this new release by Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris, were significantly surpassed as I listened to the Audible edition. As a nurse and a student of history, I crave accuracy in historical fiction, and this title has informed and empowered me to do a better job when including medical practitioners in my nineteenth century fiction. Significant elements of this book have stayed with me for weeks after listening to this book (just released on Halloween [2017]!). Can’t recommend it enough to the curious, to amateur (and professional) historians, and to readers and authors of Historical Fiction. 5 stars!
by Kristin Holt | Nov 13, 2017 | Articles
Book Review of Chris Enss’s title: Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West. This nonfiction, informative, entertaining book presents women of the Old West–their impact and influence on mining towns, settling the west, and men from prospectors to politicians.
