Baking Emily Dickinson’s Black Cake
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.92 (756 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0674980093 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 56 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-01-04 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Black cake is a traditional Christmas specialty closely related to the English fruitcake, “blackened” with the addition of burnt sugar syrup or molasses. The recipe, though somewhat shocking to a modern reader (19 eggs!), turns out to be remarkably orthodox in its ratios, if not its scale. / 19 eggs. It was generously spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, mace, and clove before being wrapped in brandy- or rum-soaked cloth and often aged at least a month. Each ingredient is accompanied with beautiful watercolors, evoking Dickinson’s moment in time and moments in the kitchen.. Fully assembled, the recipe produces batter weighing in excess of 20 pounds.Delve into the history of this majestic cake and explore the story of each ingredient, in the context of Emily Dickinson’s 19th century Amherst home, with librarians of Houghton. The Emily Dickinson manuscripts are a cherished part of Houghton Library’s collections andwhile it is her poems and letters that are most often celebratedthe poet’s lesser known lines: “2 Butter. / 5 pounds Raisins” are also cause to celebrate.Dickinson’s manuscript recipe for black cake, from which these lines come, was sent along with a bouquet of flowers to Nellie Sweetser in t
Emilie Hardman is Research, Instruction, and Digital Initiatives Librarian at Houghton Library, Harvard University.Heather Cole is Assistant Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts and Curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Houghton Library, Harvard University.Robin Harney is Library Assistant at Houghton Library, Harvard
About the Author Emilie Hardman is Research, Instruction, and Digital Initiatives Librarian at Houghton Library, Harvard University.Heather Cole is Assistant Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts and Curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Houghton Library, Harvard University.Robin Harney is Library Assistant at Houghton Library, Harvard University.