I have a recipe book from 1887, & while I was looking through it I found two recipes for "Mountain Dew" cake and pudding. The pudding calls for "three crackers rolled fine, the yolks of two eggs, one pint milk, & a little salt". And the "Mountain Dew Cake" recipe calls for "three crackers, one pint milk, yolks of two eggs. Bake half an hour. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, add one cup of sugar; flavor, & pour over top." I know that Mountain Dew was originally a word for moonshine.

So my questions are:

Are there any similar recipes to this?

If so, why do they call for crackers?

How did they get associated with moonshine? Unless there was another meaning for "mountain dew" that I'm not aware of.

Edit:

From the book Tested Recipes for the Inexperienced Housewife by the Ladies' Relief Corps of South Framingham, Mass., pages 55 & 83