Manuscript Location

Old Sturbridge Village, Research Library

Place of Origin

United States ➔ Connecticut ➔ Enfield

Date of Composition

1854

Description

This recipe book was compiled by James B. Law of Thompsonville, Connecticut, an enclave of the Connecticut town of Enfield. The online catalog record shows an image of the book's cover and an image of a page bearing the date Dec. 18, 1854, written in light pencil, and recipes for Queen's Cake and Sponge Cake, written in ink. Both cakes had been in the American  baking repertory for over a century by 1854, but both have been updated to the tastes of the 1850s:. both cakes are leavened with baking soda and cream of tartar, a combination that was already coming to be known as baking powder.