Victorian cakes

"If the Victorian age conjures anything to the modern reader it is its bounteous larder, and its bustling kitchens, abundant with foods of all types. Much of the nostalgia for this era of plenty centers about the overladen dinner tables with their carefully -- and often elaborately -- prepared quantities of delicious viands. Yet the secret of preparation of these dishes has almost disappeared. The pastries especially, have become almost legendary, though this period could truly be called the Era of Fine Cakes. It is a pleasure to be reintroduced to these Victorian masterpieces -- especially when brought back to us with all the quaint atmosphere of their age in the pages of Victorian Cakes. Vanity Cake, Harlequin Cake, Dream Gingerbread, Hickory Nut Loaf -- what memories they bring of that bygone day when a cake was an important occasion rather than a machine-mixed whimsy! The author of Victorian Cakes seems to have realized that the recipes for these cakes taken completely from their fin de siècle setting would be formidable to the kitchen enthusiast of today. But introducing them together with old-fashioned picknicking, horse-and-buggy drives, and discreet "parlor" entertainments she has made them more than cakes -- she has made them a charming part of history itself. To anyone who believes that one should eat good cakes if he eats cakes at all this book will be a guide to many pleasant experiences"--Jacket.