1800 to 1869 Cake #9

Malinda Russell's Washington Cake

A pamphlet called, A Domesticated Cookbook, was a 39 page first-person story (which included recipes), written by a free woman of color named Malinda Russell. The pamphlet, published in 1866, was the first cookbook authored by an African American woman.

Mrs Russell was from Tennessee and learned how to cook from a Virginia slave named Fanny Steward. Throughout her life she ran a pastry shop and a boarding house. Her cooking had a cosmopolitan Southern/European style and she favored flavors such as rosewater, brandy, spices, and citrus.

This week's cake is a pound cake that Malinda Russell made in an English style. This kind of cake was once known as a Queen's Cake, but after the Revolutionary war patriotic Americans renamed it after General George Washington, just as many of the roads that were named "King's Highway" were changed to "Washington Street." This cake was not difficult to put together but for some reason my cake cooked unevenly and got a bit dark on the sides. It still turned out dense and flavorful and it stayed fresh for a long time. It would have gone well as a dessert with dinner or even could have been a good pairing with tea.