Recipe Manuscript

To Make A Cake

Name: To Make A Cake
Prep time: PTPT1H30M
Cook time: PTPT3H
Yield: 48
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 5.1 kg fine wheat flour; 550 ml thick beer or malty ale; 1.8 kg unsalted butter, softened; 850 ml fresh ale yeast (or 3–4 packets active dry yeast); 450 g superfine caster sugar; 21 g ground cloves; 21 g ground mace; 0.25 g ground ambergris (or 1/2 tsp vanilla or musk essence, optional); 3.6 kg currants (washed and dried); 450 g candied citron, chopped; 450 g candied orange and lemon peel, chopped; 225 g candied eryngo (sea holly) root, chopped (or substitute with additional candied peel); 20 eggs (use only 14 whites)

1703

From the treasured pages of The Lady Cravens Receipt Book

Written by Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven

Culinary Enlightenment (1700 - 1800)European Advanced Dessert

Original Recipe • 1703

Original Manuscript(circa Culinary Enlightenment, 1700 - 1800)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

To Make A Cake

"Take a Gallon and a Quart of fine flower a pint of thick Bearme and four pound of fresh Butter a pint and halfe of Ale yeast a pound of fine Sugar Cokst & Sifted three quarters of an ounce of Cloves & mace beaten very fine six graines of Amber greece Ground Small Eight pounds of Currants picked clean washed in warm water & dryed in a Course Cloth one pound of Candid & Citton cutt Small one pound of Candid Oronge & Lemmon cutt Small half a pound of Candid Eringo Roots cutt Small 26 Eggs Butter Six whites Beat very well and with these make the Cake and Bake it in a Hoope Buttered Lord Craven"

Note on the Original Text

Recipes from this age were written in continuous prose, without standardized measurements, times, or sequence of steps. Quantities depend heavily on experience or ruler familiarity with large-scale baking. The list of ingredients flows with only minimal punctuation, and spelling variants (like 'flower' for flour or 'candid' for 'candied') are common, reflecting the lack of orthographic standards. Specialized ingredients, like ambergris and eringo root, were luxuries, and their inclusion marks out the recipe's grand ambitions. Baking itself was a communal affair, often requiring both skill and manpower, and the scale of the recipe shows this cake was intended for large and festive gatherings.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

The Lady Cravens Receipt Book - Click to view recipe in book

Title

The Lady Cravens Receipt Book (1703)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven

Era

1703

Publisher

Coome Abbey

Background

A delectable manuscript brimming with 18th-century English delights, Lady Craven's receipt book whisks readers from luscious cakes and puddings to savory feasts and creamy cheeses. Elegantly organized and sprinkled with recipes from an illustrious social circle, this culinary collection offers a sumptuous taste of aristocratic home economics.

Kindly made available by

Penn State University

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This lavish cake recipe hails from the early 18th century England, nestled within Lady Elizabeth Craven's receipt book, a manuscript that offers a window into aristocratic kitchens between 1702–1704. Compiled at Coome Abbey, the book reveals Lady Craven's wide culinary network, boasting attributions to several high-ranking friends and relatives, and even to her husband, Lord Craven. These 'receipts' reflect the tastes and extravagance of the English elite, with copious dried fruits, candied peels, and rare flavorings like ambergris—a testament to burgeoning global trade and luxury in ingredients. Cakes of this scale were centerpieces at grand gatherings, and signify both wealth and culinary sophistication.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

In the early 1700s, this cake would have been mixed by hand in massive wooden or earthenware bowls, using sturdy spoons or 'bats' to combine the dense, rich batter. Cooks would beat eggs with birch or feather whisks and rub in butter by hand. Ingredients like candied peels were chopped using heavy knives on wooden boards. The cake was baked in a 'hoop'—a tall, bottomless tin ring set on a flat baking sheet or stone, well-buttered to prevent sticking. The hoop was placed in a bread oven or near the hot hearth, with embers arranged above and below to ensure even baking. Checking for doneness involved the time-honored skewer test.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

1 hr 30 mins

Cook Time

3 hrs

Servings

Ingredients

11 lbs 4 oz fine wheat flour
1 pint 3 fl oz thick beer or malty ale
4 lbs unsalted butter, softened
1 pint 15 fl oz fresh ale yeast (or 3–4 packets active dry yeast)
1 lb superfine caster sugar
0.75 oz ground cloves
0.75 oz ground mace
0.009 oz ground ambergris (or 1/2 tsp vanilla or musk essence, optional)
8 lbs currants (washed and dried)
1 lb candied citron, chopped
1 lb candied orange and lemon peel, chopped
8 oz candied eryngo (sea holly) root, chopped (or substitute with additional candied peel)
20 eggs (use only 14 whites)

Instructions

To make this historic cake in your modern kitchen, begin by preparing your ingredients ahead of time.
Measure out 11 lbs 4 oz (11.24 lbs) of fine wheat flour into a large mixing bowl.
Gently warm 1 pint 3 fl oz (19 fl oz) of thick beer or substitute with a malty ale, and blend with 4 lbs (4.0 lbs) of softened unsalted butter.
Sprinkle in 1 pint 15 fl oz (28 fl oz) of fresh ale yeast (or, if unavailable, use 3-4 standard packets of active dry yeast dissolved in a little warm milk).
Add 1 lb (16 oz) of superfine caster sugar, 0.75 oz ground cloves, 0.75 oz ground mace, and a small pinch (roughly 0.009 oz) of ground ambergris—or substitute with a drop of vanilla or musk essence for aroma.
Next, incorporate 8 lbs (8.0 lbs) of plump currants, thoroughly washed and dried.
Add 1 lb (16 oz) each of chopped candied citron, and a combined 1 lb (16 oz) of candied orange peel and lemon peel, as well as 8 oz of candied eryngo (sea holly) root or, if unavailable, substitute with extra candied citrus peel for texture and flavor.
Beat 20 eggs (use only 14 whites), and mix the eggs into the flour and other ingredients to form a rich, soft dough.
Stir until even and well-blended.
Butter a large cake hoop (or a high-sided springform pan), fill with the mixture, and bake at 340°F (170°C) for a few hours (likely 2–3 hours depending on cake size), until firm and a skewer comes out clean.
Cool before removing from the hoop.
This recipe is lush—enough for a crowd, or to show off your skills at a feast!:

Estimated Calories

820 per serving

Cooking Estimates

Prep time includes measuring, chopping, washing fruit, and mixing the large cake batter. The cook time covers baking the cake slowly until done. Calories are estimated per slice if you cut the big cake into 48 servings—enough for a party.