Victorian Cooking: Receipt vs Recipe ~ Which is Correct?
Examining vintage recipes for any kind of edible… or how to prepare laundry soaps… will often use the term “receipt”. What’s up with that? When wasn’t a recipe, a recipe?
Victorian Baking: Devil’s Food Cake
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!
BOOK REVIEW: The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris
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!
BOOK REVIEW: With You Always by Jody Hedlund
My book review of Jody Hedlund’s title With You Always, Book 1 in her highly rated Orphan Train Series. This blog article includes connections to historically accurate events and elements used by Hedlund as a backdrop to this powerful Christian Historical Novel (Romance). 4.5 stars!
Victorian Cheesecake?
Today, July 30th, is National Cheesecake Day. Yummy!
Did cheesecake exist in Victorian times? Earlier? When was it invented? The timeline of this rich dessert might surprise you! Come see vintage recipes from Victorian-era American newspapers and cookbooks, variations on the theme of cheesecake, and learn how “new” ingredients (such as Philadelphia Cream Cheese) came about… A calorie-free way to celebrate National Cheesecake Day!
