Cakes from 1650 to 1799 #1 American Gingerbread

American Gingerbread Cake

The first American cookbook, titled "American Cookery", was published in 1796 and was written by a woman named Amelia Simmons. One of her recipes was this cakey version of gingerbread. An interesting fact noted in this book is that in the 17th century, people who sailed long voyages such as Benjamin Franklin, used gingerbread to settle their stomachs. It is believed that bakers would set up shop on docks and wharves to sell gingerbread to sailors.

This cake was really easy to make. It had a strong flavor and nice texture. It actually tasted better a day or two later as the cake settled and the flavors soaked in.

*Many of the cakes from so long ago had a lot of spices to cover the harsh flavors of the leavening agents that used to be available to them. The price of white sugar was also steep so the spices provided a cheaper way to make the cakes tasty.*

This is Anne Byrn's picture of the cake from her book. My phone unfortunately went hay-wire and lost my photos of this cake, but I still have the rest them in there(phew)! My version looked about the same, it just didn't have the professional and beautiful set up around it.

Due to legal reasons I will not be putting up any of the recipes from the book, but you can go buy the book and play along or just sit back and let me do the work:) Although, I do get to be the taste-tester, which is a plus!