Little Chocolate Cakes

My copy included a small flyer, Facts Worth Knowing, describing the differences in the different baking powders on the market then: mineral acid or alum, bone acid or phosphate, or cream of tartar from grapes. Baking powder from grapes was the most expensive, and the authors stipulate the cost shouldn’t be a factor in choosing a baking powder:

“…remember this rule: Baking powders selling from 10 to 25 cents a pound are made of Mineral-Acids; those selling from 20 to 30 cents of Bone-Acid; and those from 40 to 50 cents of Cream of Tartar derived from grapes…The use of alum in whiskey is absolutely prohibited; why not equally protect the food of our women and children?”

Recipe for Little Chocolate Cakes

2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1 1/2 cups flour, pinch salt, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons grated chocolate melted over hot water, 1 teaspoon extract vanilla. Put together as for cake with butter; bake in patty-pans in moderate oven.

Content by Renee Shelton. Recipe adapted from my 1911 copy of Royal Baker and Pastry Cook.. This recipe was first published on Oldschoolpastry.pastrysampler.com on July 13, 2010. It was updated on October 12, 2020.