It’s Election Day.
Whether you’re excited, relieved, cautiously optimistic or hiding under the covers, remember that this, too, shall pass.
So before it does, why not mark the day the way Americans used to do in the old days and have a little cake?
The tradition of American election cake (also sometimes called Independence Cake or Federal Pan Cake) comes out of the UK’s tradition of making what were called “great cakes.”
The “great” in “great cakes” refers to their size; these were really big, because they were made for a crowd to share, maybe at a wedding, a community holiday party, or even when farmers came to a town for their required military training days.
The colony of Connecticut was allowed to choose its own governor, so communities would hold parties to encourage eligible voters, some of whom lived out in the countryside, to come to town and participate.
Amelia Simmons published the first version of the classic election cake recipe, now known as Hartford election cake, back in 1796.
It’s a yeast cake (other election cakes were more like fruitcake, or pound cake) flavored with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, dried fruits like raisins, and booze, such as wine, brandy or sherry.
It’s worth pointing out here that neither she nor most of the women, indentured servants and enslaved people who typically made cakes in these situations would have likely gotten to take part in the election beyond the baking.
There was a lot of baking to do: among other ingredients, the Amelia Simmons recipe calls for 30 quarts of flour, three dozen eggs, ten pounds of butter and fourteen pounds of sugar.
The election cake tradition fell out of favor in the early 20th Century.
The way most communities held elections had moved away from town meetings and big public parties.
And, in the time of Prohibition, boozy yeast cakes were problematic for a lot of people.
Though this reminds me that the school in my neighborhood is holding a bake sale fundraiser today… maybe it’s time for an election cake comeback?
Starting Friday in Pelion, South Carolina, it’s the Pelion Peanut Party.
The annual event celebrates the community’s history of growing peanuts while raising money for college scholarships.
Just look for the big decorative peanut on Highway 302.
When Elections in Hartford Were a Piece of Cake (Connecticut History)
