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Sour Cream Cake
I CUP SOUR CREAM I CUP SUGAR 2 EGGS, SLIGHTLY BEATEN I TEASPOON VANILLA 11/2 CUPS PASTRY OR CAKE FLOUR I TEASPOON SODA I TEASPOON BAKING POWDER Cream sour cream and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat. Sift dry ingredients together and add gradually, beating thoroughly. Bake in 2 nine-inch layer pans. Put lemon meringue pie filler between layers (see recipe). And make following frosting for top and sides: 2 CUPS CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR (SCANT) 2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER ORANGE JUICE Add sugar slowly to softened butter, and then add just enough orange juice to spread nicely.
A plain sour-cream layer cake from the era when a recipe assumed the cook knew her own oven. The batter is small and quick; the assembly instructions are the part that needs thought.
- Oven and timeNo temperature is given. Bake at 350F for 22 to 28 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the layers spring back at the centre. Two nine-inch pans from this quantity of batter give thin layers, so check early.
- Pan size versus batterOne cup of sour cream and 1 1/2 cups flour is a modest amount for two nine-inch pans. The layers will be under an inch tall, which suits the sandwich construction here; an eight-inch pair gives a better-looking cake if you prefer height.
- The sour creamPeriod sour cream was cream soured naturally, and its thickness and acidity varied with the cream and the kitchen rather than being standardised as a modern tub is. Use full-fat cultured sour cream, not light or reduced-fat, or the crumb will be dry. Creme fraiche can be substituted, though it is less acidic and gives the soda less to work with.
- Soda and baking powder togetherBoth are wanted. The soda reacts with the acid in the cream for lift and tenderises the crumb; the baking powder covers what the acid cannot raise. Mix and get it into the oven promptly, because the soda begins working the moment it meets the cream.
- SaltNone is listed, which was common in cake lists of this kind, particularly where salted butter was assumed. A quarter teaspoon sifted with the dry ingredients sharpens the vanilla.
- Pastry versus cake flourBoth are called for as equals but they are not identical. Cake flour is softer and bleached and gives the finer crumb; pastry flour gives a slightly sturdier layer. All-purpose will work with a tablespoon per cup replaced by cornstarch.
- The lemon fillingLemon meringue pie filling is a cornstarch-thickened curd, not the meringue itself. Let it cool completely and set firm before it goes between the layers, or it will slide out under the weight of the top layer.
- The frostingTwo scant cups of confectioner's sugar to two tablespoons butter is a thin butter glaze rather than a buttercream, and orange juice is added by eye. Start with a tablespoon and go drop by drop; it goes from stiff to runny very fast. This quantity is just enough for a thin coat on top and sides.
- YieldOne nine-inch two-layer cake, ten to twelve slices. Because of the fruit filling it keeps best refrigerated and is better eaten within two days.
Sour cream cakes belong to the household tradition of using up dairy that had turned before refrigeration made that unnecessary — cream left to sour was an asset, not a loss, and its acid gave cakes a tenderness that sweet cream could not. The pairing of soda with a soured dairy liquid was one of the earliest reliable chemical leavenings in North American home baking, predating commercial baking powder, and recipes calling for both, as this one does, are common. A two-layer cake finished with lemon filling and orange glaze needs a real oven. The language of the surrounding text is of its time and is discussed in the editor's note above.