Lady Baltimore Cake

This came to me via Chef's around the World:American author Owen Wister, who also wrote "The Virginian," made this cake famous with the publication of his novel "Lady Baltimore" in 1906, in which the cake was a favorite at the Lady Baltimore Tearoom in Charleston, South Carolina. Many recipes exist for this cake, and most are rather complicated. Here is a simplified version for our "Home Cooking" dessert.

For the cake:
1 cup (250 ml) butter
3 cups (750 ml) sugar
4 eggs
3+1/2 cups (875 ml) cake flour
4 tsp (60 ml) baking powder
1 cup (250 ml) milk
2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla
2 tsp (10 ml) almond extract
1/2 cup (125 ml) water

Beat the butter and 2 cups (500 ml) of the sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour and baking powder together and add gradually to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Pour into two greased 11-inch cake pans and bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 30 minutes. Combine the remaining cup (250 ml) of sugar with the water in a small saucepan and cook over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the vanilla and almond extract and pour over the cakes after they are removed from their pans.

For the frosting:
2 cups (500 ml) sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) water
2 egg whites, beaten stiff
2 tsp (10 ml) corn syrup (optional)
2 cups (500 ml) seeded raisins
2 cups (500 ml) chopped walnuts or pecans
12 figs, chopped
Almond and vanilla extract to taste

Combine the sugar, water, and optional corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for two minutes and pour slowly into the beaten egg whites, beating constantly. Add the remaining ingredients, folding gently. Spread between layers of the cake, and on the sides and top. Makes one 11-inch cake, to serve 8 to 12.

Bon appetit from the Chef and staff at World Wide Recipes

Go To Page: 1

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic