queen cake

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See also: queencake and queen-cake

English

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WOTD – 20 October 2024

Etymology

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Queen cakes cooling on a rack.

From queen +‎ cake.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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queen cake (plural queen cakes)

  1. (cooking, dated) A soft, muffin-sized, often heart-shaped cake, particularly popular in the 18th century, containing currants and flavoured with mace and sometimes lemons or oranges, which may be topped with chocolate or shredded coconut.
    Synonym: heart cake
    Coordinate terms: cupcake, (Ireland, UK) fairy cake; princess cake; king cake
    • 1723, R[obert] Smith, “Of Pastes, Pies, Pasties, Puddings, Tansies, Cakes, Jellies, &c.”, in Court Cookery or, The Compleat English Cook. […], part II, London: […] T[homas] Wotton, […], →OCLC, page 41:
      To make Queens Cakes. Take a Pound of dry'd Flovver, a Pound of refin'd Sugar ſifted, and a Pound of Currans vvaſh'd, pick'd, and rubb'd clean, and a Pound of Butter vvaſh'd very vvell, and rub it into the Flovver and Sugar, vvith a little beaten Mace, and a little Orange-Flovver VVater; beat ten Eggs, but half the VVhites, vvork it all vvell together vvith your Hands, and put in the Currans; ſift over it double-refin'd Sugar, and put them immediately into a gentle Oven to bake.
    • 1800, Maria Edgeworth, “The Waste Not, Want Not; or, Two Strings to Your Bow.”, in The Parent’s Assistant, or Stories for Children. […], 3rd edition, volume V, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], by G[eorge] Woodfall, […], →OCLC, page 148:
      Hal, who was waſteful even in his good-nature, threw a whole queen-cake to the dog, who ſwallowed it for a ſingle mouthful. […] [H]e ate and ate, as he walked along, till at laſt he ſtopped, and ſaid, "This bun taſtes ſo bad after the queen-cakes, I can't bear it!"
    • 1837, [attributed to Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall], “Pastry, Cakes, &c.”, in The Housekeeper’s Book, […], Philadelphia, Pa.: William Marshall & Co. […], →OCLC, page 131:
      QUEEN CAKE. Beat one pound of butter to cream, with some rose-water, one pound of flour dried, one pound of sifted sugar, twelve eggs, beat all well together; add a few currants washed and dried; butter small pans of a size for the purpose, grate sugar over them; they are soon baked.
    • 1840, Frances Trollope, “Judgments Formed, and Sentiments Generated— […]”, in The Widow Married; […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 319–320:
      I'm quite ready when I'm done eating this one queen-cake more.
    • 1886, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “The Candy Country”, in Lulu’s Library, volume I, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1890, →OCLC, page 52:
      Lily was so surprised she sat down on a warm queen's cake that happened to be near, […]
    • 1894 August, W[illiam] B[utler] Yeats, The Land of Heart’s Desire, 1st American edition, Chicago, Ill.: Stone & Kimball […], →OCLC, page 32:
      I will have queen cakes when you come to me!
    • 1914, Angela Brazil, “Monitress Mildred”, in The Girls of St. Cyprian’s, [France]: Culturea, published 2023, →ISBN, page 147:
      "I'm sure my brains work better when they're lubricated with tea," declared Bess Harrison, tilting back her chair at a comfortable though rather dangerous angle, and accepting the queen-cake which Lottie Lowman offered her.
    • 2011, Ann Treistman, “Cupcake”, in Who Put the Devil in Deviled Eggs? The Fascinating Stories behind America’s Favorite Foods, New York, N.Y.: Skyhorse Publishing, →ISBN, page 27:
      CUPCAKE. It's thought these diminutive cakes [i.e., cupcakes] were inspired from the British Queen cake. This early cake was similar to the pound cake and was served individually. It is believed the spongy treats hopped across the pond and entered the American kitchen as early as 1796.

Alternative forms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “queen cake, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2023; “queen cake, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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