'To Make Bride Cake'
Recipe from Hannah Glasse, The Complete Confectioner, published in 1760.
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The first ever icing was invented in the eighteenth century!
The recipe for Bride Cake is one of the few cake recipes of the period that feature the sweet addition. It was made from a mixture of sugar, egg whites and whatever flavourings you desired. The icing would be poured over the cake and returned to the oven to cook. It appears to resemble a meringue, adding a new sweet texture to the cake.
Hannah Glasse, The Complete Confectioner (1760), pp.105-106
Ingredients
For the Cake
400g of Plain Flour
400g of Unsalted Butter
200g of Caster Sugar
1 tsp of Allspice
1 tsp of Nutmeg
8 Eggs
200g of Currants
100g of Ground Almonds
2 Orange Peel
2 Lemon Peel
70ml of Brandy
For the Icing
2 Egg Whites
150g of Caster Sugar
100g of Ground Almonds
1 tsp of Rose Water
Equipment:
Mixing Bowl
8” Cake Tin x2
Wooden spoon
Grater
Measuring Jug
Prep Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4 Ability: Easy
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Method
For the Cake
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Preheat the oven to 190°c/Fan 180°c/Gas 5 and butter the cake tins.
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Work the sugar and butter into a cream
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Whisk up whites of eggs in a separate mixing bowl. Once it turns into a froth add to the butter and sugar mixture.
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Once mixed together, add the yolks, flour, all spice, and nutmeg and beat well together until a smooth creamy mixture
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Finally add the currants, brandy, orange and lemon peel and ground almonds to the mix and beat until it comes together into a smooth cake batter.
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Spoon the mixture into the cake tins and bake for 25-30 mins or until the cake springs back when touched.
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For the Icing
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Whisk the egg whites and caster sugar together until stiff peaks
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Fold in the ground almonds and rose water to the mixture
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Spread over the cake and then put the cake back in oven to set for 20 minutes.