Well, not really. But I did base a certain wedding cake in Before the Blood on the recipe below. I'm thinking it would make a grand birthday cake, too.
My birthday is July 15. Just saying.
Strawberry Cakes
Sift a small quart of flour into a pan,
and cut up among it half a pound of the best fresh butter; or mix in a pint of
butter if it is soft enough to measure in that manner.
Rub with your hands the
butter into the flour, till the whole is crumbled fine.
Beat three eggs very
light; and then mix with them three table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf-sugar.
Wet
the flour and butter with the beaten egg and sugar, so as to form a dough. If
you find it too stiff, add a very little cold water.
Knead the dough till it
quits your hands, and leaves them clean.
Spread some flour on your paste-board,
and roll out the dough into a rather thick sheet.
Cut it into round cakes with
the edge of a tumbler, or something similar; dipping the cutter frequently into
flour to prevent its sticking.
Butter some large square iron pans or baking
sheets. lay the cakes in, not too close to each other.
Set them in a brisk
oven, and bake them light brown.
Have ready a sufficient quantity of ripe
strawberries, mashed and made very sweet with powdered white sugar. Reserve
some of your finest strawberries whole. Reserve some of your finest strawberries
whole.
When the cakes are cool, split them, place them on flat dishes and cover
the bottom piece of each with mashed strawberry, put on thickly. Then lay on
the top pieces, pressing them down.
Have ready some icing, and spread it
thickly over the top and down the sides of each cake, so as to enclose both the
upper and lower pieces.
Before the icing has quite dried ornament the top of
every cake with the whole strawberries, a large one in the center, and the
smaller ones placed round in a close circle.
