Regional Recipes: Lady Baltimore Cake
By Brenda Hyde
Lady Baltimore Cake is a regional specialty that most
likely originated in Charleston, South Carolina where
the famous novel Lady Baltimore was set. Novelist Owen
Wister described a cake in his novel, which was published
in 1906, and people clamored to make or buy this cake.
Remember that back then books were entertainment on a
different level. There was no internet or television for them
to compete with, and a new book was considered a much
bigger deal than it is now. This is a paragraph from Lady
Baltimore:
"I returned to the table and she brought me the cake, and I
had my first felicitous meeting with Lady Baltimore. Oh, my
goodness! Did you ever taste it? It's all soft, and it's in layers,
and it has nuts--but I can't write any more about it; my mouth
waters too much."
It's guessed that the "The Lady Baltimore Tearooms", which
were located in Charleston created the cake based on the
books description (I'm sure other bakers did this also) when
it became in demand. In the July 7, 1906 edition of the New
York Times mentioned the Lady Baltimore Cake in a tidbit
about the cakes being sold at charity auctions for as much
as $40! The article refers to the cake as a "Charleston
confection".
I have a very old newspaper clipping that claims to have the
"original recipe" for the cake as was printed in National
Magazine. It is as follows:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sweet milk
whites of six eggs
2 level tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. rose water or vanilla
Cream butter, add sugar gradually, beating continuously;
then add milk and flavoring, next the flour, into which
baking powder is sifted, and lastly stiffly beaten egg
whites, folding them in lightly. Bake in three layers.
This does not include the rich frosting, which is what make
the cake. The following is from 1912 Fanny Farmer cookbook.
Fruit and Nut Filling:
3 cups sugar, 1 cup raisins seeded and chopped, 1 cup water,
1 cup chopped pecan nut meats, Whites 3 eggs 5 figs, cut in
thin strips. Put sugar and water in a smooth graniteware
saucepan, bring to the boiling point and let boil until syrup will
spin a thread when dropped from tip of spoon. Pour gradually,
while beating constantly, on whites of eggs, beaten until stiff,
and continue the beating until mixture is of right consistency to
spread ; then add remaining ingredients. One-half this quantity
may be made and used between layers only.
Ice Cream Frosting:
2 cups sugar, Whites 2 eggs, 1/3 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
Put sugar and water in smooth graniteware saucepan; bring to the
boiling point and let boil until syrup will spin a thread when dropped
from tip of spoon. Pour gradually, while beating constantly, on
whites of eggs, beaten until stiff (but not dry), and continue the
beating until mixture is of right consistency to spread; then add
flavoring.
About The Author:
Brenda Hyde is a wife, mom to three kids, a freelance writer
and Regional Recipes editor here at StandBesideHer.com. She
lives in the midwestern United States with her family.
