1800 to 1869 Cake #2

Cowboy Cake

This is the cake that inspired me to work my way through this book. I love learning how events and developments in history effected how people made and ate food. When I tell people about my blog I use this one as my example. I really like that even in difficult circumstances people still found ways to have dessert:)

I am going to pull the entire paragraph that is in the book for this one so that I do not miss anything.

"As America expanded west of the Mississippi River with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, "make-do" cakes that could be baked on the move suited those challenging times. One such cake was the Cowboy Cake, similar to a boiled raisin cake baked during the Civil War and World War I. It was made by simmering raisins in water; adding shortening, baking soda, sugar, spices, and flour; and baking the batter in a Dutch oven. The big plus was that the pioneers traveling west or prospectors hoping to strike it rich in the 1849 gold rush didn't need to add eggs, butter, or milk to this cake."

How cool is that?! They figured out a way to make delicious cake without needing any ingredients that would spoil on their long journey. And being able to use the Dutch oven over a fire to bake it brings really neat images into my mind. I could have baked a cake over a fire, next to a wagon, at the base of the Rocky mountains! I know, how nerdy am I?

I baked this cake in a Dutch oven, but I had the convenience of not having to build a fire in my backyard; I just put it in my oven like the book told me to. This cake was tasty and would not have been a disappointment to me to have as a dessert on my ride out west:)