Civil War Pound Cake

Nutmeg and brandy pound cake with roast beef sandwiches, lemonade, and berries

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1824

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In the beginning of the American Civil War, no one expected the fighting to go on for very long. Not wanting to miss out on any of the action, a crowd of spectators gathered a couple of miles from the battlefield at the First Battle of Bull Run. They enjoyed the boom of cannon fire and picnic lunches of sandwiches, pies, and cakes, before fleeing for their lives in a mad dash when the battle turned against the Union.

This pound cake is denser than modern versions because it contains no chemical leavener, but it’s not stodgy and is delicious. The nutmeg comes through and you get the flavor of the brandy without it being boozy.

To complete your picnic and recreate some simple sandwiches from 1857, butter slices of white bread, layer on sliced roast beef and Dijon mustard, then trim off the crusts. I don’t usually put butter on my sandwiches, but it was really nice.

“Pound Cake.
Wash the salt from a pound of butter and rub it till it is soft as cream, have ready a pound of flour sifted, one of powdered sugar, and twelve eggs well beaten; put alternately into the butter, sugar, flour and the froth from the eggs; continuing to beat them together till all the ingredients are in, and the cake quite light; add some grated lemon peel, a nutmeg, and a gill of brandy; butter the pans and bake them.”

— The Virginia House-Wife by Mary Randolph, 1824

“Sandwiches for travelling may be made of the lean of cold beef, (roast or boiled,) cut very thin, seasoned with French mustard, and laid between two slices of bread and butter.”

— Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book, 1857

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Ingredients:

• 8* large eggs (450 g without shells)
• 2 cups (450 g) salted butter, softened
• 3 3/4 cups (450 g) powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) brandy
• 3 2/3 cups (450 g) flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg

*This is an approximate number and it’s best to use a scale to weigh out 1 lb (450 g) of eggs without the shells.

Instructions:

1. Butter and flour two 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" (11 x 22 cm) loaf pans and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). You can use a single larger loaf pan if you'd like, but you may need to bake it for longer.
2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl until they’re very frothy. There’s no other leavener in this cake, so the frothier the better.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until it’s smooth. You don’t want to whip it up so that it’s fluffy, just get it nice and smooth. Add half of the sugar and beat it in until it’s mostly incorporated and smooth, then beat in the rest of the sugar until the mixture is smooth.
4. Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture about one-third at a time, beating until they’re fully incorporated before the next addition.
5. Add the brandy and mix until just combined.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, lemon zest, and nutmeg.
7. Stir the flour mixture in to the butter mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon one-third at a time until it is just combined and there are no streaks of flour left.
8. Fill the pans about halfway with the batter then bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until they’re browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached.
9. When the cakes are done, set them on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then turn them out to cool completely.
10. Slice the pound cake and serve it forth. To complete your picnic, you can also serve forth sandwiches made of white bread, roast beef, Dijon mustard, and butter, with the crusts removed.

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