COMPOSITION CAKE

5 cups flour
3 cups sugar
two cups butter
5 eggs
one tsp. soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar,
one glass of wine
one glass of brandy
one nutmeg
one pound of raisins

Composition Cake; 5 cups of flour, 3 cups of sugar, two cups of butter, 5 eggs, one tsp. soda, 2 tsp. cream of tartar, one glass of wine, one glass of brandy, one nutmeg, one pound of raisins.

From the diary of Sgt. Samuel Andrew Jackson Creekmore, Jeff Davis Legion, Mississippi Cavalry. Submitted by CWi reader "Dameron".

"Cooking instructions: Beat butter and sugar together. Beat eggs, mix in soda and cream of tartar and nutmeg, then mix in liquors. Mix into flour, then add butter-sugar blend. Mix all thoroughly. Divide into bread or cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for around 40 minutes or until it looks done enough. If it's brown on top and a knife or skewer inserted into the center comes out dry, it's probably about right."

Comment: One of the very few recipes we have ever heard of mentioned in an actual soldier's diary from the Civil War period. The diary entry itself consists only of a list of ingredients, but that was the normal form for the time. Cooking instructions were added by Dameron.

This would appear to be a good deal more manageable than the Election Cakes, although it would be a fortunate soldier indeed who had access to all these ingredients during the War years.

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