Watermelon Cake for Summer Parties
As an invested younger sister, Caroline B. King in her book Victorian Cakes, described how her sister made Watermelon Cake in the 1890s:
“…Watermelon Cake was one of those particular cakes that required two person to put it together successfully….Snow Cake was the basis for this picturesque cake…The batter, when beautifully smooth and light, was divided into two parts. One half was left plain. Into the other half…a decided pink with ever faithful beet juice, about one cupful of…currants, powdered with flour, were stirred. When all was ready and an oval cake pan had been buttered and slightly floured, a tube of stiff paper some four inches in diameter and buttered inside and out, was placed in the center of the pan, one of the cake-makers holding it firmly in place, while the other poured the white batter all round it and spooned the currant-dotted pink batter inside. Then the tube was withdrawn, oh, so cautiously, and the cake was carefully placed in the oven to bake slowly to a creamy suntan tint. When finished, cooled for a moment, and turned meticulously from the pan, it was heavily coated all over with icing tinted a naturalistic green with crushed spinach leaves.–Such a to-do from our guests when it was cut…greatest achievement…“
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