“It was not only a picnic; it was a feast. None there, excepting Uraso and Stut, had ever tasted such things before. They knew what honey was, but sugar was a novelty, and this was supplied without stint. George had no opportunity to make any delicacies in the form of cakes, but he made a barley pudding in which was a bountiful supply of sago.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
1758. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 breakfast-cupful of sugar, 1 breakfast-cupful of rich sour cream, 2 breakfast-cupfuls of flour, 1/2 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, honey to taste. _Mode_.--Mix the sugar and cream together; dredge in the flour, with as much honey as will flavour the mixture nicely; stir it well, that all the ingredients may be thoroughly mixed; add the carbonate of soda, and beat the cake well for another 5 minutes; put it into a buttered tin, bake it from 1/2 to 3/4 hour, and let it be eaten warm. _Time_.--1/2 to 3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 8d. _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
Sources: The passage is from Roger T. (Roger Thompson) Finlay, The Wonder Island Boys: Conquest of the Savages, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Beeton, The Book of Household Management of 1861, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — navy cloth, beehive stamp.