Lincoln's Birthday
It's too much for this year, but one of these February 12s, I'm going to make Mary Todd Lincoln's "courtin' cake." For more information, see a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, which I quote here:http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-07/news/ct-mary-todd-lincoln-cake-talk-0207-20140207_1_cake-mary-todd-lincoln-honest-abe
The story is told that Mary Todd's aristocratic family was introduced to the cake when a French dignitary came to visit their Lexington, Ky., home and brought his own chef. The Todd family requested the recipe, and later Mary Todd took the recipe along when she moved to Springfield in 1839. She served the cake to Lincoln as he came courting, and it was his favorite.
Some say the first lady continued to bake the cake when the Lincolns lived in the White House from 1861 to 1865. Mary Todd Lincoln loved to bake and frequently made news for the astonishing amount of flour and sugar she would buy on her outings. White House chefs found the "courtin' cake" too plain for important guests, and they made it into a layered cake with rich vanilla frosting instead of the traditional powdered sugar topping.
The simpler version is a very easy cake to make, although it had to be more difficult in Mary Todd Lincoln's days.
Mary Todd Lincoln’s white cake
Makes 12 servings
6 egg whites
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup blanched almonds, chopped in a food processor to resemble coarse flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites with a mixer on medium-high speed in a medium bowl until stiff, about 4 minutes; set aside. Sift together flour and baking powder 3 times in a medium bowl; set aside.
Beat together butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beating after each addition. Stir in the almonds. Fold egg whites into the batter; stir in the vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10- to 12-cup bundt pan. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool 15 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack; let cool 1 hour. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
source of recipe: http://hnn.us/article/35279
posted by Stahlkes @ 11:59 AM
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