Recipe from Elizabeth Michel Recipe Book, circa eighteenth century. 

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Cakes made with refined self raising flour and baking powder did not exist until the nineteenth century. Instead, cakes varied depending on the available ingredients and appear to be more dense compared to modern standards. Most cakes made at this time also contained dried fruit for the added sweetness. These cakes were first baked in Europe in the mid-seventeenth century and were made with cake hoops- a round mould for shaping cakes that were then placed on a baking tray before cooking in a 'range', an oven similar to the modern-day Aga. 

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