June 29th Saffron Cake 1908 through the 60’s, Oxford Michigan Cookbook
Oxford Mich. 1908 to 1960’s
Saffron Cake Aunt Kate
3 comp. yeasts dissolved in 1 ½ c warm water, 2 tsp sug & 3 tbsp melted shortening.
(I think that comp. yeast is going to equal a cake of yeast, which today would be a package of the yeast you get in the store)
Add to yeast mixture;
2 to 3 sieves flour
(A sieve full of flour is equal to four cups. Several of the recipes have this as one of the measurements.)
1 ½ c sugar
1 PK currants
saffron
1/16 lb can (? I am not certain what this is, the lb is written on top of the can and I had to enlarge it a lot to try and read what this says.)
Mix. Let rise in greased bowl until double, make buns & let rise again. Use enough flour to hold together.
Use 1 c hot water to steep saffron. (I believe this is the water used to dissolve the yeast in, the first set of directions)
Choice (1 well beaten egg & finely cut citron peel & subst butter for shortening) Xmas type
(This is what you can add or substitute to make a Christmas cake with)
Very Good
Sug = sugar; subst = substitute; tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon; PK = package; comp = ?
Aunt Kate was very sparce on her directions. These recipes are a little hard to follow if you do not have experience in baking and cooking you might have a bit of trouble making some of these.
(A sieve full of flour is equal to four cups.)
This direction is from another recipe in the book, it seems that a lot of them are from her Mother and this is her way of measuring the flour. Several of these recipes are very old, and come from a long line of family cooking in Michigan and the old country. From the name of Grandma, McLeod, and her scotch bread, another recipe that is a Cornish pastry, I am betting the “Old Country” is going to be north England and/or Scotland or Ireland. The Pork pie can be traced far back into history with all kinds of raised pies using a hot water crust, and a pasty or Cornish pastry was eaten as a filling lunch by hard working miners and rural workers, again for centuries.
I happen to have just watched a program on Amazon called “Edwardian Farm” in which three archeologists recreate life on a farm at the turn of the Century (1900’s) for a whole year. In one of the episodes the lady is taught how to make a pastry exactly like the recipe for Cornish Pastry that I have in this set of loose papers. (This recipe is dated 10-26-58 so I will publish it on that date) As I read the recipe, I pictured the lady making it in the program and it was almost exactly the same, just a few minor differences in the ingredients.
I also have a cook book from the 1680’s in Ireland which has four recipes for a Saffron cake, and there is one in this book for the same thing. I will post it on the 29th of June.
As I read these recipes, I am picturing the ladies who have passed them down through the years, as the hard-working rural families that are the backbone of this country. These people and the history are the whole reason I do this blog!
I got these from Carmichael California, but the location places in the notebook, several say Oxford Michigan (Mildred Sternberg, 1940 Died 1972, recipe is for a Lemon Sherbet), from a set of handwritten books with the dates starting in 1908 and going through the 1960’s.
This nice set of loose papers and two handwritten books has some very interesting family history in the older spiral notebook; she has listed recipes and the names of the contributing person as well as the date and their age when they passed away.
Here is the list of family names, dates and recipes associated with each person.
Grandma McLeod Scotch Bread recipe is here;
https://kitchenrecipetreasures.com/2021/06/19/grandma-mcleods-scotch-bread-1908-recipe/
and the pork pie recipe is here;
https://kitchenrecipetreasures.com/2021/06/18/pork-pie-from-1950s-with-a-hot-water-pastry-crust/
Visit my ebay store to find some great kitchen utensils and collectables to go along with these vintage and antique recipes.
https://www.ebay.com/str/ozziesattic720?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
