Cocoanut Layer Cake

A classic white layer cake leavened partly by whipped egg whites, with no milk at all — the whites supply all the liquid. It needs a light hand at the folding stage and a modest oven.

• Fold, don't stirThe recipe puts "Beat hard" after the flour and whites go in, but modern practice is to fold once the whipped whites are added. Add the flour and the whites in alternating thirds and fold the last additions until just combined, or the cake risks baking dense and tough.
• Oven temperatureThe recipe gives none. A moderate oven, about 350F, suits it; thin layers in three pans take roughly 20 to 25 minutes. Test with a skewer at the centre rather than by time alone.
• Pan sizeThe recipe says only "3 layer-cake pans." Three 8-inch rounds suit this quantity; three 9-inch pans give noticeably thinner layers that bake faster, roughly 18 to 20 minutes. Grease and line the bases with parchment.
• Egg whitesEight whites is roughly 1 cup, about 240 ml; measure by volume if your eggs are unusually large or small. Whip to soft, glossy peaks — stiff, dry whites will not fold in without breaking.
• LeaveningOne teaspoon of baking powder for 2 1/2 cupfuls of flour is low by current standards because the whites are doing most of the lifting. If your whites are underwhipped the cake will be flat; increasing the baking powder does not compensate.
• Cocoanut"Cocoanut" is simply the older spelling. Use unsweetened desiccated or shredded coconut; sweetened flaked coconut will make an already sweet filling cloying.
• The filling is elsewhereNo cocoanut filling is given here. Period cookbooks commonly used a boiled sugar syrup or a cooked cornstarch-and-milk filling stirred full of grated coconut; any modern coconut pastry cream or a coconut-studded boiled icing suits the cake.
• YieldOne three-layer cake, 10 to 12 slices. Fill and finish only when the layers are fully cold, as the recipe insists — warm layers will slide.