Victorian America’s Marble Cakes

Victorian America’s Marble Cakes

German immigrants brought Marmorkuchen–marble cake–to the United States. Vintage cook books and newspapers show spice-and-yellow cake batters swirled together. Late-nineteenth-century bakers began to swap spice cake for chocolate. Delicious vintage baking!

Victorian Jelly: Blanc Mange

Victorian Jelly: Blanc Mange

Blanc Mange (blancmange) was a favorite throughout the nineteenth century, in the UK and in the States. Victorians thickened this favorite gelled dessert with a wide variety of articles, old and new. Vintage recipes gathered from era cook books and newspapers, along with newspaper advertisements, show the wide range of blanc manges in Victorian dining.

Victorian Jelly: Desserts

Victorian Jelly: Desserts

Victorians (in every English-speaking nation) adored jellied desserts.

Vintage recipes from cookbooks and newspapers (from both sides of the Atlantic) illustrate how cooks made foods gel.

Victorian Cooking: Rotary Egg Beater

Victorian Cooking: Rotary Egg Beater

Rotary Egg Beaters are an American Victorian invention–and came along early enough to make a significant difference to home cooks…early enough for homemade Angel’s Food Cake! So why, then, do so many recipes insist upon beating the egg whites by hand–for a full hour? Why not use the newly patented, amazingly successful invention?