My great grandmother's cookbook (from late 1800's) has a lot of cake recipes. Just glancing through it, I saw one that said, "Bake in 4 layers and spread between the layers a soft icing", so it's pretty safe to say that you could use a regular frosted cake. For a white cake, the book suggests stirring a little bright colored jelly into the icing, so as to make a contrast. That would be pretty and the audience could see that she's being served the fancy, sugary cake instead of the plain bread and butter.
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ruth Anne Baumgartner Sent: Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:55 AM To: Historical Costume Subject: [h-cost] OT to Victorian re-enactors Hello the list: Getting ready to open The Importance of Being Earnest (I am director, costumer, and props person) and still have not settled on what Cecily cuts and serves a large piece of to Gwendolen during the tea scene: > Cecily. [Severely.] Cake or bread and butter? > > Gwendolen. [In a bored manner.] Bread and butter, please. Cake is > rarely seen at the best houses nowadays. > > Cecily. [Cuts a very large slice of cake, and puts it on the tray.] > Hand that to Miss Fairfax. I have looked at people's Tea Party pages, cookbooks, and photos that come up on Google Image search, but I have not found what I consider a reliable image for the prop for this scene. Things come up anywhere from fancy cookies to huge decorated cakes reminiscent of diner dessert displays. I would welcome advice from any of the knowledgeable people on this list, particularly those who participate in Victorian tea parties or similar events. Earnest is 1895; Cecily Cardew is a wealthy young woman living in a manor house in the English countryside. Thanks in advance! --Ruth Anne Baumgartner scholar gypsy and amateur costumer _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
