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Dessert

Wheaten Gems

A small wheat cake made from a stiff batter of cold water and coarse Graham flour, baked until golden.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Wheaten Gems

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the batter

  1. In a bowl, mix cold water with enough coarse Graham flour to create a stiff batter.

  2. Beat the batter vigorously until well combined.

Bake

  1. Preheat gem pans on the stove until hot, then fill them not quite full with the batter.

  2. Bake in a very hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 30 to 40 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Coarse graham flour
Provides the structure and body that hold the gems together as they bake.
Cold water
Hydrates the flour to form a stiff batter that bakes into a set, moist crumb.

The step that matters

Preheating the gem pans until hot. A hot pan sets the outside of the batter quickly when it goes in, helping the gems rise and form a crisp shell. Filling the pans not quite full leaves room for that rise.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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