[Baking] Manuscript Recipe Book Devoted to Cakes Likely for Commercial Baker circa 1920's

Item Details

[Baking] Manuscript Recipe Book Devoted to Cakes Likely for Commercial Baker circa 1920's

Book measures 7 x 4 5/8 inches. Full leather with "Cash Book" in gilt on front plus thin ruled gilt along edges. 4 raised bands on spine. Book fully intact but shows extensive wear to boards. Interior fairly clean. 184 numbered pages. Good condition.

Fabulous manuscript recipe book devoted entirely to the baking of cakes and pies, many written likely for a commercial kitchen. Sadly, the complier left no information as to authorship; several laid in items indicate it dating from the 1920's. 

Index at front lists all the recipes cross-referenced to page number. Includes well-known favorites such as Angel Food, Devils Food, Brandy Cake, Lady Fingers, Sponge Cake, Pound Cake and Custard Pie. Other recipes are more obscure such as White Mountain Cake, Cheap Cake, Washington Pie, Rock Cake, or Fig Cake.

In glancing at the recipes, this book must be for a commercial baker. For example, the well-known Pound Cake calls for 8 pounds sugar, 6 pounds butter, 7 pints whole eggs, and 8 pounds flour.  The Pie Dough recipe requires 75 pounds winter flour, 30 pounds lard, 5 pounds beef fat, 2 pounds sugar, 1 pound baking powder, 1 pound salt plus 5 1/2 to 6 gallons of water!

4 pages include sketches for designing and decorating 'Fancy Cakes' including prices for embellishments such as Marzipan Roses ($1.50/dozen) or Chrysanthemum Flowers at .40 cents each. Inside the front board are price lists for cake pans and bread pans, plus several names of suppliers.

A wonderful artifact from a 1920's commercial bakery.