How long should the eggs and sugar be beaten?

Half an hour. In 1914 this was done by hand; with an electric mixer, 8–10 minutes is usually enough, until the mixture is light and airy and falls in 'ribbons' from the whisk.

In what order are the ingredients mixed?

First eggs and sugar, then melted butter, then whipped cream and almond drops, and last of all the flour into which the baking powder (3 teaspoons) has been well stirred.

How is the pan prepared, and how long does the cake bake?

The pan is greased and dusted (with flour or breadcrumbs), and the cake bakes about 1 hour. The total time is given as 90 minutes, and the recipe makes about 12 servings.

What are almond drops?

Almond drops are bitter almond essence used as a flavoring; here 3 drops. The recipe is from Henriette Schønberg Erken's 'Stor kokebok' (1914), p. 550.

American Cake

Name: American Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 100 g butter (melted); 6 pcs eggs; 2 dl cream (the original amount partly illegible); 500 g sugar (original: ½ kg); 3 drops almond drops (or a few drops of bitter almond essence); 3 tsp baking powder; 450 g wheat flour (sifted)

American cake from Erken's Stor kokebok (1914): an airy loaf cake of 6 eggs, 500 g sugar, 100 g melted butter, 2 dl whipped cream, almond drops, 450 g wheat flour, and 3 tsp baking powder. The eggs and sugar are beaten for half an hour, and the cake bakes in a greased and dusted pan for about 1 hour.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 550 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

The recipe appears in the baking chapter of 'Stor kokebok' (1914), right after Erken's 18 general tips on baking — among them that everything should be cold when using baking powder, and that the sheet should be cold when the cakes are placed on it. 'American cake' is one of the era's modern baking-powder cakes, baked in a pan.

How to make it

1
Preparation
Melt the butter and let it cool. Sift the flour and stir the baking powder well into the flour. Grease a cake pan well and dust it with flour or breadcrumbs. Set the oven to 175 °C (345 °F).
2
Beat the eggs and sugar
Beat the eggs and sugar together for about half an hour, until the mixture is light and airy.
3
Mix in
Stir in the melted, cooled butter, the whipped cream, and the almond drops. Finally, gently fold in the flour with the baking powder.
4
Baking
Pour the batter into the pan and bake the cake at once, about 1 hour, until baked through and a cake tester comes out clean.

Changes from the original

Quantities have been converted to modern units (grams, dl). The amount of cream and sugar was partly illegible in the original and has been set to 2 dl cream and 500 g sugar (the original's ½ kg). Almond drops are kept, but bitter almond essence is mentioned as an alternative. Oven temperature has been added (the original gives none).

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Tidsmaskin – hva endret seg?

Velg to utgaver og se hva Henriette Schønberg Erken la til, fjernet eller endret mellom dem.

Fra1914 1949 Modernisert

Til1914 1949 Modernisert

1914 (korrekturlest, s. 550) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 639)~50% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til

4 egg 250 gr. sukker 180 gr. hvetemel 100 gr. smør ~~6 egg 2~~ 1/2 del. fløte ~~½ kg. sukker~~ 3 ~~mandeldraaper~~ mandeldråper 3 ~~tesker bakepulver 450 gr. hvetemel.~~ teskjeer bakepulver. Egg og sukker vispes sammen ½ 1/2 time, ~~tilsættes~~ tilsettes det smeltede smør, den vispede fløte, ~~mandeldraaperne, tilsidst~~ mandeldråpene, tilsist melet, hvori først bakepulveret er godt utrørt. Stekes i smurt og ~~strøet~~ strødd form ca. 1 time.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should the eggs and sugar be beaten?: Half an hour. In 1914 this was done by hand; with an electric mixer, 8–10 minutes is usually enough, until the mixture is light and airy and falls in 'ribbons' from the whisk.
In what order are the ingredients mixed?: First eggs and sugar, then melted butter, then whipped cream and almond drops, and last of all the flour into which the baking powder (3 teaspoons) has been well stirred.
How is the pan prepared, and how long does the cake bake?: The pan is greased and dusted (with flour or breadcrumbs), and the cake bakes about 1 hour. The total time is given as 90 minutes, and the recipe makes about 12 servings.
What are almond drops?: Almond drops are bitter almond essence used as a flavoring; here 3 drops. The recipe is from Henriette Schønberg Erken's 'Stor kokebok' (1914), p. 550.

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