Time and again, tastes change, and once beloved traditions fade to memory. In our modern 24/7 newsfeed societies, where we have social media misinformation and TikTok trends continually assaulting our senses, it’s a wonder anyone can recall what they had for breakfast, let alone what they read last week. Whether that’s by design or simply symptomatic of the Information Age we live in, I’m choosing not to gaze into that murky reflecting pool just now. Instead, I’ve been digging up a little Independence Day history in order to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. My point of inquiry: Shouldn’t there be a special cake for the birthday of a nation?
Turns out, there is. Or, there was. We just seem to have forgotten about it, like it’s at the back of the potluck table, hidden behind the red-white-and-blueberry tart. And given a choice, I might honestly prefer the fresh fruit and cream confections made possible by modern refrigeration, over a lengthy old raisin-studded recipe that seems more New England winter than fun-in-the-sun. But I still think there’s something to be gained from dusting off this yeasted cake recipe of yore to get a taste of how our founding mothers chose to mark the patriotic occasion with what limited means they had available to them.
So, here it is – the original recipe for the wildly popular Independence Cake that graced all fashionable July 4th tables in the early years of America, as it appeared in the first cookbook published in the United States, written by American-born colonist Amelia Simmons in her 1796 best seller, “American Cookery”:
Independence Cake.
Twenty pound flour, 15 pound sugar, 10 pound butter, 4 dozen eggs, one quart wine, 1 quart brandy, 1 ounce nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, mace, of each 3 ounces, two pound citron, currants and raisins 5 pound each, 1 quart yeast; when baked, frost with loaf sugar; dress with box [i.e. boxwood leaves] and gold leaf.
Aside from the fact that, with today’s food prices, I’d have to set up a GoFundMe to try out this recipe – even without the gold leaf decoration! – she doesn’t specify what size pan to use. Or where I might find a house-sized blazing inferno capable of baking such an enormous confection. I guess it makes sense that they’d require a cake large enough to go with their Boston Harbor full of tea. Seems like the early American culinary esthetic was go big or go back to Britian!
Though some details might be lost to history in explaining how an early American housewife might casually bake off over 75 pounds of batter, no big deal, here’s another way of looking at it: Early Americans felt that celebrations were meant to be shared. They chose to define themselves and their independence through generosity, feeding everyone in their community.
After 250 years, perhaps it’s time for us to dust off those old values; stop the spin; become strong, independent thinkers again, open to new ideas and philosophies; and come together around the table of what unites us, in all states – red or blue, rich or poor –
And let everyone have an equal slice of Independence Cake.
Independence Cake
2 or 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 10-ounce package Sno-Pac frozen peas, thawed
1 egg
1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 ounce freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces pasta, preferably tubetti, ditalini, or small shells
Pour the warm water into the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and toss in a pinch of sugar; let stand a few minutes, until dissolved and beginning to bubble.
Meanwhile, combine the raisins and other dried fruit with the brandy in a small saucepan. Heat to a simmer, then cover and let stand, stirring occasionally, until the brandy is absorbed and the raisins are plumped.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg. Add one cup of the flour mixture to the yeast and mix well. Add the softened butter and mix until fully combined. Mix in the sugar, then the eggs. With the machine running on low speed, add in a third of the remaining flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk mixed with the vanilla; add another third of flour, then the remaining buttermilk, making sure the batter is fully combined after each addition.
Toss the plumped dried fruit with a tablespoon of the remaining flour mixture, then mix in the final flour addition. Fold in the dried fruit.
Scrape the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan. Loosely cover the pan with a tea towel and allow it to rise, about 1 ½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the lower middle position. Bake the cake for 50–60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 20 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely. Decorate with a powdered sugar glaze if desired.
Recipe adaptation based on the original printing of American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, modernized by Brick Store Museum of Kennebunk, Maine.
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