Cooking up a Tea Party in the 1800's

Old newspapers are a great source for finding Vintage Recipes. Listed below are recipes that were taken from old Willimantic/Windham County Connecticut Newspapers. They, for the most part, are from the 1880's. A time when everyone did their own cooking, and baking. I hope you enjoy this little trip back in time, and even try a few of these on your own. You may like them!

GOOD COFFEE (1882) – Put a sufficient quantity of coffee in the pot and pour boiling water on it; stir and place it on the fire. As soon as four or five bubbles have risen take it off the fire and pour out a teacupful and return it; set it down for one minute, then pour gently over the top one teacupful of cold water; let it stand one minute longer and it is ready for use.

Now that we have made our coffee, we can get conjurer up something to go with it.
APPLE JAM (1880) - Peel and core the apples, cut in thin slices and put them in a preserving kettle with three-quarters of a pound of white sugar to every pound of fruit; add (tied up in a piece of muslin) a few cloves, a small piece of ginger and a thin rind of lemon; stir with a wooden spoon on a quick fire for half an hour Now we need something to put the Apple Jam on.

JOHNNY CAKE (1881) - Take one quart of buttermilk, one teacup of flour, two-thirds of a cupful of molasses, a little salt, one tablespoonful of saleratus, one egg (beaten of course). Then stir in Indian meal, but be sure and not put in too much. Leave it thin--so thin that it will almost run. Bake in a tin in any oven, and tolerably quick. If it is not first-rate and light, it will be because you make it too thick with Indian meal. Some people prepare it without the molasses.

Or we could get adventurous.

A GOOD PLAIN CAKE (1881) - Take six ounces of ground rice, the same of flour, the yolks and whites of nine eggs beat separately, one pound of loaf sugar well pounded. Whisk the sugar and eggs for nearly an hour, then add the rice and flour. Butter well some white paper and put round it and over the bottom of the tin it is to be baked in, and bake in a slow oven. Run a knife into it; if it comes out clean it is baked enough.

LEMON JELLY CAKE (1881) - A delicious lemon jelly cake which will keep well, and which is in fact better after having been kept for a week, is an easily obtained luxury. Take two cups of sugar, half a cup of butter, one cup of milk, three eggs, two and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and three cups of flour. This makes five layers. For the jelly use the grated rind of two large lemons and the juice also, one cup of sugar, one egg, half a cup of water, one teaspoonful of butter, one tablespoonful flour mixed with a little water; boil until it thickens and then place between the layers of cake.
Or maybe you would like something a little lighter?

LADIES' FINGERS (1881) - The following recipe for ladies' fingers is an excellent one: Take one pound of pulverized sugar, one dozen eggs, three-quarters of a pound of flour. Beat the yolks and sugar to a cream, then beat the whites, and lastly stir in the flour; flavor with lemon. Bake in long, small tins made expressly for these little cakes, or you may drop them on white writing paper; they are likely in this case, however, to look irregular about the edge. Be careful not to put too much dough in the tin as it will rise a good deal. Have the oven hot and success is certain.
I hope you enjoy these recipes, and your 1800's Tea Party!