# What's A Drop Cake?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 24, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202 "2008-11-24T04:19:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/1 "2008-11-24T04:19:49Z")
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:
[QUOTE=Wikipedia]
The black and white cookie, techinally a Drop Cake, not a cookie, is often seen as a peculiarly “New York” snack.
[/quote]
Then if I look up black and white cookie on the Wikipeida it says
> [@Wikipedia](#):
>
> black and white cookie is a soft, sponge cake-like shortbread
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?
---
### Author:  [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/2 "2008-11-24T05:20:29Z")
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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake)
---
### Author:  [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/3 "2008-11-24T05:28:43Z")
Are any of these what you are after? ["drop cake" recipe -gum - Google Search](http://www.google.com.au/search?gbv=2&hl=en&newwindow=1&q=%22drop+cake%22+recipe+-gum+&btnmeta%3Dsearch%3Dsearch=Search+the+Web)
---
### Author:  [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/4 "2008-11-24T05:32:56Z")
(grumble grumble stupid edit window mumble)
Have a look here: ["drop cakes" recipe -gum - Google Search](http://www.google.com.au/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLL_en&q=%22drop+cakes%22+recipe+-gum)
---
### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/5 "2008-11-24T06:00:42Z")
[Here](http://books.google.com.au/books?id=bat7waDgnVoC&pg=PA81&dq=drop+cakes+Original+1896+Boston+Cooking-School+Cook+Book) are some 1896 recipes.
---
### Author:  [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/6 "2008-11-24T12:53:13Z")
I’m 99% sure that [this](http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/photo/Black-and-White-Cookies-106171)is what is meant by a black and white cookie. Seinfeld even had an episode about them, so they must be a popular NYC item
---
### Author:  [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/7 "2008-11-24T15:36:05Z")
> [@Mithril](#):
>
> I’m 99% sure that [this](http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/photo/Black-and-White-Cookies-106171)is what is meant by a black and white cookie. Seinfeld even had an episode about them, so they must be a popular NYC item
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!
---
### Author:  [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/8 "2008-11-24T15:57:10Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#):
>
> 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!
I thought every bakery sold them too - until I moved out of state.
---
### Author:  [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/9 "2008-11-24T17:16:45Z")
> [@jali](#):
>
> I thought every bakery sold them too - until I moved out of state.
Ditto this.
They can be found in most bakeries in NJ, so I just assumed they were everywhere.
Sadly, they aren’t.
---
### Author:  [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/10 "2008-11-24T18:55:57Z")
> [@Mithril](#):
>
> Seinfeld even had an episode about them, so they must be a popular NYC item
“Look to the cookie!”
---
### Author:  [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/11 "2008-11-25T04:50:11Z")
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)
---
### Author:  [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/12 "2008-11-25T05:43:25Z")
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. 😛
---
### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2008, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/13 "2008-11-27T06:24:32Z")
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
---
### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-drop-cake/474202/14 "2008-11-27T15:05:52Z")
Soft, kind of plain, a little bit like a dry sort of white cake… not in any way a shortbread.