To Make A Cake

This recipe hails from an English household manuscript, dated approximately 1675 to 1686. Cake in the 17th century was a much more substantial, yeast-leavened bread rich with butter, dried fruits, and spices. It was festive and celebratory, a marker of abundance reserved for special occasions. The use of posset (a creamy, boozy mixture) and copious butter signals both luxury and a deep-rooted tradition of transforming simple doughs into showstopping centerpieces for the table. The reference to 'V.a.630' locates the recipe in the famous Folger Shakespeare Library collection, a trove of culinary riches from the Restoration period. Sugar, spices, and currants—all high-status imports—mark this as a recipe for well-to-do households.

In the seventeenth century, cooks would have used a large wooden trough or dough bowl for mixing and kneading such a vast quantity of dough, along with wooden spoons or their hands for combining heavy ingredients. The posset was prepared over an open hearth using a posset pot or saucepan. Leavening was achieved using naturally brewed ale yeast. Once mixed, the dough rose near the warmth of the fire, and the cake itself would be baked in a wood-fired brick or clay oven, likely in large round pans lined with paper or cloth.