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Golden Spice Cake
1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg Yolks 4 eggs 1/2 cup molasses 1/2 cup milk 2 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon soda 1/2 teaspoon clove 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg Few grains cayenne Few gratings lemon rind Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, egg and yolks of eggs well beaten, molasses, milk, flour, mixed and sifted with spices, cayenne, and lemon rind. Bake in a moderate oven one hour, and cover with White mountain Cream.
A dark, richly spiced butter cake leavened by the reaction of soda with molasses. The proportions are Fannie Farmer-era: everything by cup, nothing by weight, and the pan left to the cook's judgment.
- Moderate ovenRead that as roughly 350F (period "moderate" is usually put at 350-375F). An hour at that heat suits a single deep cake; if you split the batter between two 8-inch layers, start checking at 30 minutes.
- PanNo tin is specified. This quantity of batter would suit something like a 9-inch square or a tube pan, buttered and floured; a deep loaf tin is more likely to crack on top before the centre sets.
- The eggsAs printed the list gives one whole egg plus the yolks of four eggs, and the directions confirm it ("egg and yolks of eggs well beaten"). That is a yolk-heavy batter, which makes for a tender crumb, so keep the whites for the frosting rather than beating them in.
- Soda and molassesThe half teaspoon of soda is the only leavening and it depends on the acidity of the molasses. Use an unsulphured baking molasses, not blackstrap and not treacle, and sift the soda thoroughly with the flour and spices so it does not streak.
- CayenneA few grains means a scant pinch, well under an eighth of a teaspoon. It is there to sharpen the clove and cinnamon rather than to register as heat, and it is easy to overshoot.
- Nutmeg and lemonBoth are called for grated, meaning fresh. Pre-ground nutmeg and dried peel will leave the cake tasting flat against the molasses.
- White Mountain CreamThe frosting is elsewhere in these books: a hot sugar syrup boiled to the thread and beaten into stiff egg whites, then flavoured. Spread it while the cake is completely cold or it will slide.
- YieldAbout ten to twelve slices. It keeps better than a plain butter cake, and the spice is more pronounced on the second day.