Two 1817 cakes share Early American's hearth and outdoor oven
Justine Rayfield bakes currant-studded Queen's Cakes and an almond-lemon sponge from The Cook's Oracle.
Early American
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Baking a Cake 200 Years Ago |1817 Almond Lemon Cake|
Things we can learn from the video
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- 0:38Queen's Cakes combine creamed butter and sugar with eggs, flour, nutmeg and currants in small copper molds.
- 2:17Hot hearth embers heat the Dutch oven used to bake the Queen's Cakes.
- 3:50The almond sponge begins with almonds ground by hand using a mortar and pestle.
- 4:07Lemon zest flavors the almond batter, with whipped egg whites folded in before baking.
- 5:11The sponge batter goes into a lined tin and then into the outdoor brick beehive oven.
- 6:19Title cards show the original recipes from The Cook's Oracle.
The cakes take different routes. Justine Rayfield's Queen's Cakes bake in a Dutch oven heated with hearth embers; her almond sponge goes outside to the brick beehive oven.
Early American's only new upload, "Baking a Cake 200 Years Ago |1817 Almond Lemon Cake|", has reached nearly 100,000 views. It's a historical cooking reenactment with no spoken commentary, letting instrumental music, kitchen sounds and handwritten-era recipes carry the afternoon.
First comes butter and sugar creamed by hand, followed by eggs, flour, nutmeg and currants, with the batter divided among small copper molds. For the second cake, Justine grinds almonds with a mortar and pestle, adds lemon zest and folds whipped egg whites into the batter. Between the baking scenes, a horse-drawn plow works across the field.
That wider homestead life has its own audience. Viewers mention the livestock alongside the cooking, and one connects Ron's old-fashioned plowing with a family history of farming and ranching. The music is another recurring subject, with several comments singling out its place in the film.
The channel's subscribers held steady over the week, while its catalog added roughly 305,000 views. Daily viewing is currently below its usual level. Among similarly sized food channels, Chef Thomson had a particularly busy week; Early American's weekly audience was closer to Jimi Jackson's.
The strongest current draw is older than either cake upload or the recent cabbage-soup supper: "What Early 1800s Junk Food Was Like" is drawing more than three times the cake video's daily views. Ron and Justine's historical menu has room for snacks as well as sponge.
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What viewers say
Watching Ron plow the old-fashioned way made me so happy. I come from a very long line of farmers and ranchers, so this happily affected me. Awesome video, Rayfields!
@lunakelticaSee it on YouTubeOh, I love seeing all of the animals/livestock as much as the cooking! 🥘 👩🍳 🦆
@tmalfieri1See it on YouTubetwo of my absolute favorite tastes in one wonderful cake!
@ahlivetuhsidamaro150See it on YouTube
5 more comments
So homey both with food and the animals. It really is like you've gone back in time.
@DowntonGirl255See it on YouTubeBesides the unique cooking I love your animals.
@ladynikkieSee it on YouTubeLove the new music!! I don't think I remember seeing your outdoor oven before, that's cool.
@barbarawayland2424See it on YouTubeAwesome as always. I love the music. It is very relaxing.
@phantomwheeler81See it on YouTubeYour images as you prepare and bake this Queen's Cake alongside this lovely music in the background, is so very soothing and relaxing to watch Justine!
@jesseadams8925See it on YouTube
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The videos drawing views on Early American right now
- Channel
- Early American
- Subscribers
- 1,380,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 305,375
- Videos published this week
- 1
- Video published
- October 14, 2026
- Video views so far
- 98,962
The numbers
Here is how Early American's week looks in views and subscribers.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which fruit flavors Justine's almond sponge cake?
Justine adds grated lemon zest to the almond sponge batter.