The Scripture Cake is also called the Bible Cake or Old Testament Cake. Scripture Cakes were historically presented as a fun cake recipe or fun guessing game which tested the participants' knowledge of the Bible and their cooking abilities. The cake was meant as a way to teach young girls baking and Bible verses; the original recipes didn’t include the ingredients. There are many versions, each made from a different recipe, yet they all share similarities. Recipes differ on amounts of ingredients and occasionally the Bible verses used to find them. However, most are enjoyable as well as entertaining.
Scripture Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 1/2 cup butter, Judges 5:25
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar, Jeremiah 6:20
- 3 eggs - separated into yolks and whites, Isaiah 10:14
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 Kings 4:22
- 2 teaspoons baking powder, Luke 13:21
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 Kings 10:10
- 1 teaspoon ground mace, 1 Kings 10:10
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 Kings 10:10
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, Leviticus 2:13
- 1/2 cup milk or water, Judges 4:19 or Genesis 43:24
- 1 tablespoon honey, Proverbs 24:13
- 1 cup figs - finely chopped, 1 Samuel 30:11
- 1 cup raisins, 1 Samuel 30:11
- 1/2 cup almonds, Genesis 43:11
Method:
- Position rack in centre of oven which must be preheated to 190 degrees C.
- Lightly oil a 23 cm by 32 cm baking pan and set aside.
- Dredge fruit with a tablespoon of flour. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices onto wax paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and honey until light and smooth. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Alternately add flour mixture and milk or water to batter, beginning and ending with flour. Beat after each addition to blend well.
- Stir in raisins, chopped figs and chopped almonds. At this stage the batter will be quite stiff.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form peaks. stir into the batter, 1 cup at a time. Spoon batter into the prepared baking pan and bake at 190 degrees C for one hour, or longer if necessary. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean and the cake should be well risen and golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Slide a knife blade between cake and sides of pan to loosen. Top the cake with another rack and invert so that cake is right side up to serve.
Burnt Sugar Syrup:
- 1 1/2 cups Jeremiah 6:20 (sugar)
- 1/2 cup Genesis 24:45 (water)
- 1/4 cup Genesis 18:8 (butter)
In a 2-litre saucepan over low heat, melt sugar, stirring ocasionally to prevent sticking. After sugar melts, continue cooking, stirring continuously, until it is a deep golden brown. Add water and cook, stirring frequently, until smooth. Remove from the heat, add butter and stir till until it melts; allow to cool. Drizzle over cooled scripture cake and garnish with whole almonds.
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