Queen's Cake, Part Two

Scrounging through my collection of mismatched teacups and mugs for something to bake my Queen's cakes in I found the ones matching my teapot were best.  Printed on the underside it claimed they could go from oven to table...perfect!  Although, how many people place their mugs in the oven?

Popping the batter-filled mugs into a preheated oven at 350 degrees, I held my breath hoping they wouldn't crack.  The worst never happened and soon the kitchen was filled with the heavenly aroma of cake.  I debated leaving the cakes in the mugs but worried they would get a bit soggy so I turned them out. 

The Royal icing was quite runny, is it supposed to be?  The lemon zest made it deliciously zingy though so not a total loss. 

Taking a mouse-sized slice out of one I thought they looked like just the sort of cake well-suited to a party in one of Beatrix Potter's books.  For me, the delight was in trying a recipe and baking method which is hundreds of years old.  I'm just so glad that I didn't have to stoke a fire for hours in the process!   

Queen's Cake

One of the many things I love about reading English novels is the frequent appearance of tea and cake.  It's there as a snack, when friends pop 'round, the village fete, a train ride, it rained...the list goes on. 

Drawing inspiration from Cornflower, I jotted down the names of a few cakes from South Riding to try.  There is Queen's cake, tea cake and currant loaf so far.  Since there is a Royal wedding just a flip of the calendar away I wondered what Queen's cake was all about.

Lo and behold, when I did some research the information came from a website featuring none other than Mrs Rundell and her book, A New System of Domestic Cookery.   This re-issue by Persephone just happens to be on my shelf!  During the Regency era these cakes would have been turned out of their cup and as you can imagine were the beginning of what we now call a cupcake.

The best bit is that they're described as being 'not really a substantial cake' which sounds like an invitation to enjoy more than one.  So unless something else tempts me along the way as I'm just three-quarters the way through South Riding, I will be giving this recipe a try.  Let's hope I can make Mrs Rundell proud.  If I screw things up horribly there is always the hot buttered toast that also gets a mention.