I recently had the privilege of giving a talk at the Homewood Museum on Johns Hopkins University’s campus. I focused on Baltimore’s culinary history, but or course there was plenty about Maryland in general. After the talk, someone asked a question about the influence of immigrants on Maryland cuisine. “Honestly,” I said, “if I had…
Sources for this regional delicacy are getting fewer and fewer as the years go by.
The Manuscript Cookbooks Survey describes the handwriting in the “Hoffman Cook Book” as having an “unvarying mood.” That is one way to put it. The text is dense. Impenetrable. To my eyes: a nightmare. The exhausting handwriting likely belonged to Lydia A. Hoffman Smyser, who was born in Maryland in 1837 and ended up in…
Recipe seekers: For a better Smearcase cheesecake recipe post, click here! While many Baltimoreans get excitable about the annual Peach Cake tradition, Peach Cake’s Plain Jane cousin Smearcase gets somewhat overlooked. I do mean that literally. With a similar German origin to Peach Cake, Smearcase cake can often be found in the same bakery cases,…
This isn’t the official Smearcase post- that’s to come later. (Update: Click here for Official Smearcase Post) This is just a brief post with two recipes from Elizabeth Ellicott Lea’s book. I thought they might offer some insight into the history of smearcase. Many Baltimoreans know “Smearcase” as a beloved cheesecake of German origin, available at many…