Welcome to Celtnet's Hannah Glassse's Recipes for Making Cakes — This page gives you the entire contents of the Fifteenth Chapter: 'Of making Cakes, &c.' from Hannah Glasses's 1747 volume,
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. Each recipe is given here in its original form, with a link underneath to the modern redaction, should you wish to replicate it. This is the first time that Hannah Glasse's book has been made available in its entirety on the internet. Enjoy...
These pages have been written to be as close to the 1747 original as possible, within the limitations of HTML. As a result, the long-s symbol 'ſ' has been used in the text wherever it features in the original. Typically this is used where the s precedes a long letter such as an I, t or 1 or another long-s (to create a ligature), or where the S precedds a curved letter such as an 'a', 'e', 'o' or 's'. As a result, in the original work 'seasoned skirret soop' is typeset 'ſeaſoned ſkirret ſoop'.
You will encounter many unfamiliar culinary terms and usages in this work. Where the recipe has been redacted into modern form, these are either defined in the redaction or a link to a definition is given. However, may of the terms can also be found by browsing or searching the
glossary of cooking and food terms pages on this site.
The text presented here is derived directly from Hannah Glasse's book and redacted specifically for this website. Please do not copy or use the content of these pages without first gaining permission.
Hanna Glasse's Fifteenth Chapter
CHAP. XV.
Of making Cakes, &c.
To make a rich cake.
TAKE four pounds of flour, well dried and ſifted, ſeven pounds of currants waſhed and rubbed, ſix pounds of the beſt frexh butter, two pounds of Jordan almonds blanched, and beaten with orange-flower water and ſack till they are fine, then take four pounds of eggs, put half the whites away, three pounds of double-refined ſugar, beaten and ſifted, a quarter of an ounce of mace, the ſame of cloves and cinnamon, three large nutmegs, all beaten fine, a little ginger, half a pint of ſack, half a pint of right French brandy, ſweet-meats to your liking, they muſt be orange, lemon, and citron. Work your butter to a cream with your hands, before any of your ingredients are in, then put in your ſugar and mix it well together ; let your eggs be well beat and ſtrained through a ſieve, work in your almonds firſt, then put in your eggs, beat them all together till they look white and thick, then put in your ſack, brandy and ſpices ; ſhake your flour in by degree, and when yuor oven is ready, put in your currants and ſweet-meats as you put it in your hoop. It will take four hours baking in a quick oven. You muſt keep it beating with your hand all the while you are mixing of it, and when your currants are well waſhed and cleaned, let them be kept before the fire, ſo that they may go warm into your cake. This quantity will bake beſt in two hoops.
To ice a great cake.
TAKE the whites of twenty-four eggs, and a pound of duoble-refined ſugar beat and ſifted fine ; mix both together, in a deep earthen pan, and with a whiſk whiſk it well for two or three hours together till it looks white and thick, then with a thin broad board or bunch of feathers ſpread it all over the top and ſides of the cake ; ſet it a proper diſtance before a good clear fire, and keep turning it continually for fear of its changing colour ; but a cool oven is beſt, and an hour will harden it. You may perfume the icing with what perfume your pleaſe.
To make a pound cake.
TAKE a pound of butter, beat it in an earthern pan with your hand one way, till it is a fine thick cream, then have ready twelve eggs, but half the whites ; beat them well, and beat them up with the butter, a pound of flour beat in it, a pound of ſugar, and a few carraways. Beat it all well together for an hour with your hand, or a great wooden ſpoon, butter a pan and put it in, then bake it an hour in a quick oven.
For change, you may put in a pound of currants, clean waſhed and picked.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make pound cake.
To make a cheap ſeed-cake.
You muſt take half a peck of flour, a pound and a half of butter, put it in a ſauce-pan with a pint o milk, ſet it on the fire; take a pound of ſugar, half an ounce of all-ſpice beat fine, and mix them with the flour. When the butter is melted, pour the milk and butter in the middle of the flour, and work ut up like paſte. Pour in with the milk half a pint of good ale yeaſt, ſet it before the fire to riſe, juſt before it goes to the oven. Either put in ſome currants or carraway-ſeeds, and bake it in a quick oven. Make it in two cakes. They will take an hour and a half baking.
To make a butter cake.
You muſt take a diſh of butter, and beat it like cream with your hands, put two pounds of fine ſugar well beat, three pounds of flour well dried, and mix them in with the butter, twenty-flour eggs, leave out half the whites, and then beat all together for an hour. Juſt as you are going to put it into the oven, put in a quarter of an ounce of mace, a nutmeg beat, a little ſack or brandy, and ſeeds or currants, juſt as you pleaſe.
To make ginger-bread cakes.
TAKE three pounds of flour, one pound of ſugar, one pound of butter rubbed in very fine, two ounces of ginger beat fine, a large nutmeg grated ; then take a pound of treacle, a quarter of a pint of cream, and make them warm together, and make up the bread ſtiff ; roll it out, and make it up into thin cakes, cut them out with a tea-cup, or ſmall glaſs, or roll them round like nuts, and bake them on tin plates in a ſlack oven.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make ginger-bread cakes.
To make a fine ſeed or ſaffron-cake.
YOU muſt take a quarter of a peck of fine flour, a pound and a half of butter, three ounces of carraway ſeeds, ſix eggs beat well, a quarter of an ounce of cloves and mace beat together very fine, a pennyworth of cinnamon beat, a pound of ſugar, a pennyworth of roſe-water, a pennyworth of ſaffron, a pint and a half of yeaſt, and a quart of milk ; mix it all together lightly with your hands thus : firſt boil your milk and butter, then ſkim off the butter, and mix with your flour, and a little of the milk ; ſtir the yeaſt and ſtrain it, mix it with the flour, put in your ſeed and ſpice, roſe-water, tincture of ſaffron, ſugar, and eggs ; beat it all up well with your hands lightly, and bake it in a hoop or pan, but be ſure to butter the pan well. It will take an hour and a half in a quick oven. You may leave out the ſeed if you chuſe it, and I think it rather better without it, but that you may do as you like.
To make a rich ſeed-cake, called the nun's cake.
YOU muſt take four pounds of the fineſt flour, and three pounds of double-refined ſugar beaten and ſifted ; mix them together and dry them by the fire till you prepare your other materials. Take four pounds of butter, beat it with your hand til it is ſoft like cream, then beat thirty-five eggs, leave out ſixteen whites, ſtrain off your eggs from the threads, and beat them and the butter together till all appears like butter. Put in four or five ſpoonfuls of roſe or ornage-flower water, and beat again ; then take your flour and ſugar, with ſix ounces of carraway-ſeeds, and ſtrew them in by degrees, beating it up all the time for two hours together. You may put in as much tincture of cinnamon or ambergreaſe as you pleaſe ; butter your hoop, and let it ſtand three hours in a moderate oven. You muſt obſerve always, in beating of butter, to do it with a cool hand, and beat it always one way in a deep earthern diſh.
To make pepper cakes.
TAKE half a gill of ſack, half a quarter of an ounce of whole white pepper, put it in and boil it together a quarter of an hour, then take the pepper out, and put in as much double-refined ſugar as will make it like a paſte, then drop it in what ſhape your pleaſe on plates, and let it dry itſelf.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To Make Pepper Cakes.
To make Portugal cakes.
MIX in a pound of fine flour, a pound of loaf-ſugar beat and ſifted, then rub it into a pound of pur ſweet butter till it is thick lke grated white bread, then put to ti two ſpoonfuls of roſe-water, two of ſack, ten eggs, whip them very well with a whiſk, them mix it into eight ounces of currants, mixed all well together ; butter the tin pans, fill them but half full, and bake them ; if made without currants they will keep half a year ; add a pound of almonds blanched, and beat with roſe-water, as above, and leave out the flour. Theſe are another ſort and better.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To Make Portugal Cakes.
To make a pretty cake.
Take five pounds of flour well dried, one pound of ſugar, half an ounce of mace, as much nutmeg, beat your ſpice very fine, mix the ſugar and ſpice in the flour, take twenty-two eggs, leave out ſix whites, beat them, put a pint of ale-yeaſt and the eggs in the flour, take two pounds and a half of freſh butter, a pint and a half of cream ; ſet the cream and butter over the fire, till the butter is melted, let it ſtand till it is blood-warm, before you put it into the flour ſet it an hour by the fire to riſe, then put in ſeven pounds of currants, which muſt be plumped in half a pint of brandy, and three quarters of a pound of candied peels. It muſt be an hour and a quarter in the oven. You muſt put two pounds of chopped raiſins in the flour, and a quarter of a pint of ſack. When you put the currants in, bake it in a hoop.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To Make a Pretty Cake.
To make ginger-bread.
TAKE three quarts of fine fluour, two ounces of beaten ginger, a quarter of an ounce of nutmeg, cloves, and mace beat fine, but moſt of the laſt ; mix all together, three quarters of a pound of fine ſugar, two pounds of treacle, ſet it over the fire but don't let it boil ; three quarters of a pound of butter melted in the treacle, and ſome candied lemon and orange-peel cut fine ; mix all theſe together well. An hour will bake it in a quick oven.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make ginger-bread.
To make little fine cakes.
One pound of butter beaten to a cream, a pound and a quarter of flour, a pound of fine ſugar beat fine, a pound of currants clean waſhed and picked, ſix eggs, two whites left out, beat them fine, mix the flour, ſugar, and eggs by degrees into the batter, beat it all well with both hands, either make it into little cakes or bake it in one.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make little fine cakes.
Another ſort of little cakes.
A POUND of flour, and half a pound of ſugar, beat hald a pound of butter with your hand, and mix them well together. Bake it in little cakes.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's Another sort of little cakes.
To make drop biſcuits.
TAKE eight eggs, and one pound of double-refined ſugar beaten fine, twelve ounces of fine flour well dried, beat your eggs very well, then put in your ſugar and beat it, and then your flour by degrees, beat it all very well together without ceaſing ; your oven muſt be as hot as for halfpenny bread, then flour ſome ſheets of tin, and drop your biſctuis of what bigneſs you pleaſe, put them in the oven as faſt as you can, and when you ſee them riſe, watch them ; if they begin to colour take them out, and put in more, and if the firſt is not enough, put them in again. If they are right done, they will have a white ice on them. You may, if you chuſe, put in a few carraways ; when they are all baked ; put them in the oven again to dry, then keep them in a very dry place.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To Make Drop Biscuits.
To make common biſcuits.
BEAT up ſix eggs, with a ſpoonful of roſe-water and a ſpoonful of ſack, then add a pound of fine powdered ſugar, and a pound of flour ; mix them all well together, ſhape them on white thin paper, or tin moulds, in any form you pleaſe. Beat the winte of an egg, with a feather rub them over, and duſt fine ſugar over them. Set them in an oven moderately heated, till they riſe and come to a good colour, take them out ; and when you have done with the oven, if you have no ſtove to dry them in, put them in the oven again, and let them ſtand all night to dry.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make common biscuits.
To make French biſcuits.
HAVING a pair of clean ſcales ready, in one ſcale put three new-laid eggs, in the other ſcale put as much dried flour, an equal weight with the eggs, take out the flour, and as much fine powdered ſugar ; firſt beat the whites of the eggs up well with a whiſk till they are of a fine froth, then whip in half an ounce of candied lemon-peel cut very thin and fine, and beat well : then by degrees whip in the flour and ſugar, then flip in your biſcuits on fine white paper with your ſpoon, and throw powdered ſugar over them. Bake them in a moderate oven, not hot, giving them a fine colour on top. When they are baked, with a fine knife cut them off from the paper, and lay them in boxes for uſe.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To Make French Biscuits.
To make mackeroons.
TAKE a pound of almonds, let them be ſcalded, blanched and thrown in cold water, then dry them in a cloth, nd pound them in a mortar, moiſten them with orange-flour water, or the white of an egg, leſt they turn to oil ; afterwards take an equal quantity of fine powder ſugar, with three or four whites of eggs, and a little muſk, beat all well together, and ſhape them on a wafer paper with a ſpoon found. Bake them in a gentle oven on tin plates.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make mackeroons.
To make Shrewſbury cakes.
TAKE two pounds of flour, a pound of ſugar finely ſearched, mix them together (take out a quarter of a pound to roll them in) take four eggs beat, four ſpoonfuls of cream, and two ſpoonfuls of roſe-water, beat them well together, and mix them with the flour into a paſte, roll them into thin cakes, and bake them in a quick oven.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To Make Shrewsbury Cakes.
To make madling cakes.
TO a quarter of a peck of flour well dried at the fire, add two pounds of mutton ſuet tried and ſtrained clear off ; when it is a little cool, mix it well with the fluor, ſome ſalt, and a very little all-ſpice beat fine ; take half a pint of good yeaſt, and put in half a pint of water, ſtir it well together, ſtrain it, and mix up your flour into a paſte of moderate ſtiffneſs. You muſt make it into cakes about the thickneſs and bigneſs of an oat-cake : have ready ſome currants clean waſhed and picked, ſtrew ſome juſt in the middle of your cakes between your dough, ſo that none can be ſeen till the cake is broke. You may leave the currants out, if you don't chuſe them.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make madling cakes.
To make light wigs.
TAKE a pound and a half of flour, and half a pint of milk made warm, mix theſe together, cover it up, and let it lie by the fire half an hour ; then take half a pound of ſugar, and half a pound of butter, then work theſe into a paſte and make it into wigs, with as little flour as poſſible. Let the oven be pretty quick, and they will riſe very much. Mind to mix a quarter of a pint of good ale yeaſt in milk.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make light wigs.
To make very good wigs.
TAKE a quarter of a peck of fineſt flour, rub it into three quarters of a pound of freſh butter till it is like grated bread, ſomething more than half a pound of ſugar, half a nutmeg, half a race of ginger grated, three eggs, yolks and whites beat very well, and put to them half a pint of thick ale yeaſt, three or four ſpoonfuls of ſack, make a hole in the flour, and pour in your yeaſt and eggs, as much milk, juſt warm, as will make it into a light paſte. Let it ſtand before the fire to riſe half an hour, then make it into a dozen and a half wigs, waſh them over with egg juſt as they go into the oven. A quick oven and half an hour will bake them.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make very good wigs.
To make buns.
TAKE two pounds of fine flour, a pint of good ale yeaſt, put a little ſack in the yeaſt, and three eggs beaten, knead all theſe together with a little warm milk, a little nutmeg, and a little ſalt ; and lay it before the fire till it riſes very light, then knead in a pound of freſh butter, a pound of rough carraway-comſits, and bake them in a quick oven, in what ſhape you pleaſe, on floured paper.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make buns.
To make little plumb cakes.
TAKE two pounds of flour dried in the oven, or at a great fire, and half a pound of ſugar finely powdered, four yolks of eggs, two whites, half a pound of butter waſhed with roſe-water, ſix ſpoonfuls of cream warmed, a pound and a half of currants unwaſhed, but picked and rubbed very clean in a cloth ; mix it all well together, then make them up in cakes, bake them in an oven almoſt as hot as for manchet, and let them ſtand half an hour till they are coloured on both ſides, then take down the oven-lid, and let them ſtand to ſoak. You muſt rub the butter into the flour very well, then the egg and cream, and then the currants.
Here you will find the modern redaction for Hannah Glasse's To make little plumb cakes.
Back to the contents of Hannah Glasse's 1774 book
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy
