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Lincoln Fruit Cake
Mrs. D. McCraney.
One pound of butter, one pound of brown sugar, one pound of flour, six eggs, two cups of sour cream or buttermilk, one grated nutmeg, one teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, one tablespoonful of rose water, lemon peel and fruit to taste, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in hot water and stirred into the milk just before adding it to the cake.
A pound-cake batter in the old proportions, loosened with soured milk and lifted with soda rather than beaten eggs alone. The original assumes the cook knows how much fruit to add and how long to bake, so both need filling in.
- The scale of itA pound each of butter, sugar and flour with six eggs is roughly a double batch by modern standards: about 4 cups flour, 2 cups butter, 2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar. Expect two 9-inch loaf tins or one 10-inch tube pan, and a total weight, with fruit, of five to six pounds.
- "Fruit to taste"Genuinely open. Period fruit cakes of this type carry anywhere from one to two pounds of raisins, currants and candied peel; a pound of mixed dried fruit per pound of flour is a safe reading. Toss the fruit in a little of the measured flour so it does not sink.
- Soda and sour milkThe teaspoon of soda is the only chemical leavening, and it needs the acid in the buttermilk or genuine sour cream to work; the beaten eggs contribute some lift as well. Cultured buttermilk is the reliable modern substitute; sweet cream will not do. Dissolve the soda in a spoonful of hot water, stir it into the milk, and get the batter into the tin promptly, as the lift begins at once.
- Rose waterStill sold, but modern rose waters vary enormously in strength. A tablespoon of a mild culinary rose water is right; with a concentrated one, start with two teaspoons or the cake will taste of soap.
- NutmegOne whole grated nutmeg is about 2 to 3 teaspoons ground, which is assertive but correct for a cake this size. Grate it fresh if possible; pre-ground nutmeg loses most of its character within months.
- OvenNo baking temperature or time is given at all. Use 300 to 325F, with the tin lined and the outside wrapped in a collar of paper or foil. A tube pan will take roughly 2 to 2 1/2 hours; loaves somewhat less.
- Testing and coolingA skewer should come out clean of batter, though it may pick up melted fruit. Cool the cake in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out, or the heavy crumb will break.
- KeepingCakes of this composition are generally held to improve over a week or two, wrapped closely and kept in a tin. The original gives no keeping instruction.
The name is likely a compliment rather than a provenance: American community cookbooks of the later nineteenth century carry a number of dishes named for public figures, much as earlier books borrowed the names of British royalty. The Home Cook Book was compiled from contributions by named women in the community. What distinguishes it from an English plum cake of the same period is the buttermilk-and-soda leavening, which let a cook raise a very heavy batter without relying on hours of beating or on yeast. Rose water was a common flavouring for cakes and creams before vanilla extract became cheap and widely available in the later nineteenth century.