Marshmallow Cake

A plain cream cake with a gelatine-and-sugar icing standing in for boiled marshmallow. The receipt assumes a cook who already knows how cake batter goes together, so the gaps are large but predictable.

• No oven givenThe receipt gives no oven direction at all. A moderate oven, around 350F, suits it; two 8-inch layers would take roughly 20-25 minutes, a single 8-inch square somewhat longer.
• Sweet cream"Sweet" means unsoured, as opposed to the sour cream or buttermilk used with saleratus. Use heavy cream, unwhipped — it supplies all the fat in the cake, since there is no butter.
• Batter orderBeat the sugar and eggs until pale, stir in the cream, then fold in the flour sifted with the baking powder. Overworking after the flour goes in gives a tough crumb in a batter this lean.
• One cup of flour is rightOne cup of flour -- It looks scant beside a cup of sugar and a cup of cream, but the batter is thin and the cake tender. Do not scale up the flour to make it feel more substantial.
• The gelatineTwo teaspoons of granulated gelatine in eight tablespoons (half a cup) of water: let it swell five minutes, then warm gently until clear. It should be liquid, and no more than lukewarm, when the sugar goes in.
• A pound of confectioners' sugarThat is roughly 4 cups. Add it gradually to the dissolved gelatine; adding it all at once gives lumps that half an hour of beating will not clear.
• "Beat all together for half an hour"Thirty minutes was a hand-beating estimate. In a stand mixer with the whisk, 8-12 minutes on medium-high takes the filling from clear syrup to a white, glossy, marshmallow-like mass that holds a soft peak.
• "Flavor"A teaspoon of vanilla, added near the end of beating; almond extract or a little lemon would serve as well.
• Working with the icingIt stiffens as the gelatine sets, so spread it while it still slumps slightly. Yield is one modest two-layer cake, 8-10 servings; the filling is generous enough to cover the top as well.