Queen Cakes

Let them eat cake!   

-Marie-Antoinette

Emily and I have been reading about Marie-Antoinette, queen of France during the French Revolution.  Maria-Antoinette was an arrogant queen, and when she heard that there was no bread for the poor citizens of Paris, she replied “Qu-ils mangent les brioches!” (“Let them eat cake”).  After her death, citizens of Paris created Queen Cakes in her memory.

We found the recipe for Queen Cakes in Konos Volume I. 

I gathered the ingredients and let Emily weight, measure, mix and pour.

 

We used a scale to measure the flour and sugar (a great math lesson).  We also used cake pans instead of making individual cakes. 

What You’ll  Need:

1 lb. flour

1/2 lb. butter (Since this for school, I ignored the large quantity of butter required!  : )

1/2 lb. sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup baking powder

A few tablespoons of grated lemon rind in cream

What You’ll Do:

Sift baking soda with flour in a bowl.  In another bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat until creamy (we beat by hand, after all they didn’t have mixers then.)  Add eggs one at a time.  Add flour and moisten with cream until consistency of cake batter.  Put in small buttered tins (or cupcake tins) and bake 15 –30 minutes at 350. 

Makes 2 – 3 dozen small cakes.

Optional:  We mixed together lemon juice, lemon zest, powdered sugar, and milk to make a glaze that we drizzled over the cake.

 

-Cindy