Ginger
ABSOLUTELY PURE Lachin Co. one-half cups of flour, two teaspoons of Larkin Baking Powder, the beaten whites of five eggs, one-fourth teaspoon of Larkin Almond Flavoring Extract, and one-half teaspoon of Larkin Orange Flavoring Extract. This cake should be delicate and fine grained. This can be accomplished only by thoroughly beating, before the whites of the eggs are added. The whites are folded in quickly and the cake baked in a moderate oven.
WHITE CAKE No. 2 Whites of four eggs Two cups of sugar One cup of butter One cup of milk Two cups of flour One cup of Larkin Corn Starch Three teaspoons of Larkin Baking Powder One-fourth teaspoon of Larkin Orange Flavoring Extract One-fourth teaspoon of Larkin Almond Flavoring Extract The method of mixing the ingredients of this cake is identical with White Cake No. I.
One cup of sugar
A turn-of-the-century white layer cake, built on the standard butter-cake method with cornstarch softening the crumb. The ingredient list stands on its own; the mixing directions are the ordinary creaming procedure.
- The brand namesLarkin baking powder, cornstarch and flavoring extracts were mail-order household goods; any modern equivalents work in the same amounts. Use double-acting baking powder measure for measure.
- Moderate ovenConventionally read as about 350-375F. Baked as two 8-inch rounds, expect somewhere near half an hour; a tube pan will want considerably longer. The recipe specifies neither pan nor time.
- Cornstarch in place of flourSubstituting one cup of cornstarch for part of the flour lowers the protein and gives the fine grain the recipe is after. It is the period's homemade cake flour, and it works.
- The hinge is the creamingThe recipe says the delicacy comes 'only by thoroughly beating, before the whites of the eggs are added.' It gives no order of addition; the usual butter-cake sequence would be to cream butter and sugar, add flour and milk alternately, then fold the beaten whites in quickly and stop as soon as no streaks remain.
- Whites, not meringueBeat to soft, glossy peaks that still slump slightly. Whites taken to stiff and dry will break into lumps during folding and leave tunnels.
- Almond extractA quarter teaspoon is deliberate. Modern extract is potent enough that there is no reason to round it up.
- Leftover yolksFour whites leave four yolks. They keep two days covered in the refrigerator and are the natural start of a boiled custard or a lemon filling for this cake.
- YieldRoughly a three-pound batter: two generous layers, 10-12 servings. Frost with a boiled white icing to keep the pale color the recipe is named for.
White cake, sometimes called silver cake, belongs to a family of Victorian and Edwardian recipes that split the egg: the whites went into the white cake, the yolks into a gold or sunshine cake baked alongside, so nothing was wasted in a household that bought eggs by the dozen and had no way to keep them long. Cornstarch appears here because cake flour was not yet a reliable grocery item; softening bread flour with starch was the standard home workaround, and the practice survives in modern substitution charts. The recipe's insistent naming of one supplier reflects its origin: books of this kind were premiums distributed by mail-order firms, given away or sold cheaply to keep a company's baking powder, cornstarch and extracts in the reader's pantry and its name on every page.