Posted by Lyn (the ex-baker) on July 24, 2006 at 22:15:19 from 198.45.19.38 user LynMellone.
In Reply to: posted by Ed Kiser on July 24, 2006 at 14:49:50:
Ed, if you haven't lived in England (and possibly other European countries) you just have no clue what a "cake" is.
I worked as a cook and housekeeper for an English couple many years ago. The lady of the house ensured that I had a copy of a good English cookbook, because she was not interested in American recipes -- which used baking soda and baking powder to raise the batter into a soft, airy structure. She was not interested in gobs of gooey frosting either. She wanted none of that flavor or light airy texture.
A cake was to be be raised by nothing more than whipped egg whites, if that. The results were "hearty" at best and more like what Peter H describes at worst, but they were "English," and that's what mattered.