What's A Drop Cake?

Cafe Society
1

I’ve been reading some true crime books about kids and several of the stories take place in Boston and New York City in the 1870s and they all have the kids eating “drop cakes.”

I’ve Googled around a bit but keep coming up with “gum drop cakes.” Which is probably not the same thing.

I found one thing on the Wikipeida that says:

Then if I look up black and white cookie on the Wikipeida it says

Which doesn’t really help me much as I’ve never had a black and white cookie.

So is it just shortbead that instead of hard like a Lorna Doon is cake like?

2

I initially thought of a pikelet but it really is a drop scone. I’m windering if they aare made in the same manner though (ie a drop of wet mixture onto hot frypan/griddle whatever) Pancake - Wikipedia

3

Are any of these what you are after? "drop cake" recipe -gum - Google Search

4

(grumble grumble stupid edit window mumble)

Have a look here: "drop cakes" recipe -gum - Google Search

5

Here are some 1896 recipes.

6

I’m 99% sure that thisis what is meant by a black and white cookie. Seinfeld even had an episode about them, so they must be a popular NYC item

7

Yes that’s a black & white cookie. I never knew they were only a New York snack! I thought they’d be found in delis across the country!

8

I thought every bakery sold them too - until I moved out of state.

9

Ditto this.

They can be found in most bakeries in NJ, so I just assumed they were everywhere.

Sadly, they aren’t.

10

“Look to the cookie!”

11

Do those “black and white cookies” have some sort of creamy filling? The look very similar to what we call neenish tarts (ours are usually pink and white/pink and brown)

12

No creamy filling (although that’d probably be very tasty). Just a soft cookie with half chocolate and half vanilla frosting.

I always refer to them as racist cookies or apartheid cookies, myself. :stuck_out_tongue:

13

But what exactly is a drop cake made of? Or in this case the black and white cookie which is close to it, I guess?

What would the cookie taste like without the icing

14

Soft, kind of plain, a little bit like a dry sort of white cake… not in any way a shortbread.