To Make Little Cakes

This recipe comes from a late 17th-century English manuscript attributed to Jane Staveley, likely written between 1693 and 1694. During this period, recipes were shared among families and friends, often scribbled in personal household books. The use of barm (yeast skimmed from brewing beer) and rosewater speaks to the culinary traditions of Restoration England, blending robust, homegrown flavors with the exotic and the floral—a popular taste among the well-to-do. These 'little cakes' would have been a treat for festive occasions or afternoon sociability, enjoyed with tea (then a fashionable novelty) or ale.

Cooks of the era would have used large wooden or earthenware bowls for mixing, and their hands or a large spoon for creaming butter and sugar. Eggs were beaten with a simple whisk, often just a bunch of twigs or a fork. Baking was likely done in a brick or stone hearth oven, with cakes placed on shallow pans or sheets, and a peel used for maneuvering them in and out. A fine sieve or cloth was sometimes used to dust sugar, and simple brushes, perhaps of feather or clean fingers, for glazing.