It seems to be time to make another cake recipe from The New Galt Cook Book (1898). I know I made a cake just five days ago but there are 121 cake recipes in this cook book and so far I’ve made about 17 of them. Mrs. J. H. Webb of Waterloo has a recipe for Raisin Cake that seems to suit a cool April day.
As Mrs. Webb directs, I mixed together 1 cup of white sugar, 1/2 cup of butter and the yolks of 2 eggs. The egg whites went in a separate bowl. Next I mixed together in a third bowl the 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of corn starch and 2 teaspoons of baking powder. I decided to add some cinnamon as the spice and then forgot when started mixing in the 1 cup of raisins with the flour. I’m hoping that coating the raisins in flour will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake. Finally I beat the egg whites. I added the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture alternately with the 1/2 cup of regular 1 % milk. Sweet milk just means fresh rather than sour milk. I recently discovered it was possible to get non-homogenized milk. It is still pasteurized but hasn’t been spun to prevent the cream from separating. I’m going to get some to use in a few of the recipes in this cook book. It doesn’t matter for this recipe. The final step was to fold in the egg whites and then pour the batter into a greased cake pan. I baked the raisin cake at 350 F for 30 minutes.
Mrs. J. H. Webb’s home in 1906
Mrs. J. H. Webb of Waterloo is Helen Buchanan. She was born in 1851 in Branchton to John and Isabella. Her father was a farmer and a teamster. In the 19th century a teamster was someone who drove a team of horses or oxen not a member of a specific union for truck drivers. Helen was twenty when she married Doctor Joseph Hughes Webb in March of 1872. He had been born in Newmarket Ontario and was a Quaker. He is eventually listed as a Presbyterian like Helen. They have two children. Their first daughter Clara Belle dies when she is seven hours old. The doctor was unable to figure out why she died. The next year they have another daughter and also name her Clara Belle. By 1881 the little family have moved from Wilmot Township to the Town of Waterloo. Here’s their house in 1906. Dr. Webb seems to have been a general practitioner as his name appears on both birth and death records in the community. It must have been risky for their daughter and Helen as he cared for patients with all sorts of communicable diseases. Helen didn’t die until 1935 when she was 85 years old.
I like Helen’s raisin cake. It is a good basic cake that was quick to make and is sturdy enough to eat in one’s hand. It would be a good cake for a lunch box or to cut in small pieces for a tea party. It isn’t a fancy cake but would be a good family cake. I didn’t miss the forgotten spices but it would probably be nice with cinnamon and spices of that sort. My raisins were well-distributed so the flouring worked. Modern cooks could consider substituting other dried fruit if you have a raisin hater in the family. Now to try to stop eating this cake!
RAISIN CAKE
Mrs. J. H. Webb, WaterlooOne cupful sugar, half cupful butter, half cupful sweet milk, two cupfuls flour, two eggs, one tablespoonful corn starch, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, one cupful raisins, spice. Stir sugar, butter and yelks of eggs together. Add whites last thing.
Cooking with the Galt Cook Book 
Thanks for including a photo of the contributer’s house. It helps me imagine the lady who lived there.
You’re welcome. It helps me feel like I know them a little better.
First, the whole blog is most enjoyable, the historical details are fascinating, and it is so impressive that you are doing this. I loved the day when you were tired out and it was crackers and milk, basically.
the raisin cake is a big hit with my husband, so thanks for that. What is the benefit of adding the beaten egg yolks separately? This is a new idea for me.
After 30 minutes my cake was still raw, I gave it about 45 or 50.
Thanks so much for the praise and your understanding! I’m so impressed that you are tried the raisin cake recipe and that your husband liked it. This is exactly what I hope people will do. I’m glad you used your judgement and left the cake to bake longer. I suspect pan size and differences in ovens can account for the different baking times. I keep meaning to check my oven temperature with an oven thermometer since it is an 11 year old stove.
Separating eggs is a very common technique at this time. It is less about the yolks although I suppose the mix better when they are blended with the butter and sugar. It is more about the egg whites. The beaten whites were used to help make the cake fluffy in combination with baking powder or baking soda and cream of tartar. I suppose it also helped keep the cake more stable since they were prone to “falling” while baking especially if disturbed. I avoid opening the oven door until the cake is almost done.