Munchie Monday: Mop Cake

The Macculloch Miller family had no less than ten different recipes for gingerbread including ginger crackers. Dr. Rachel Snell, faculty member at the University of Maine, writes in her article, “Having Their Cake: Ingredients and Recipe Collecting in the Nineteenth Century”, that this was not unusual in the 1800s.  Dr. Snell uses Sarah L. Weld of Cambridge, Massachusetts as an example since Weld collected twenty-three recipes for gingerbread between 1835 and 1870. Dr. Snell explains that this was typical for 19^th century women due to changes in technology and the increased availability of ingredients.

Enjoy this Macculloch Miller family recipe for delicious Mop Cake even though we may never know who recorded this recipe in the family cookbook, or when, or why it was called Mop Cake.

 

Original Recipe–Mop Cake

5 ½ cups flour

2 cups molasses

2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

4 eggs

¼ pound butter

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of ginger

1 teaspoonful soda

 

Adapted Recipe–Mop Cake

2 ½ cups of flour

1 cup molasses

1 cup sugar

½ cup milk

2 eggs

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon

2 teaspoons of ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13-inch cake pan. Cream softened butter. Gradually add sugar and combine. Add one egg at a time and mix between eggs. In separate bowl sift dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.  Add dry ingredients alternately with milk and combine. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add molasses. Pour cake batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a baking rack. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

 

Cream cheese frosting for gingerbread cake–Super Moist Gingerbread Cake – the dutch baker

To learn more about how advancements in technology and ingredients revolutionized baking–Nineteenth century | The Recipes Project (hypotheses.org)