"To mark this week's release of Harper Lee's long-awaited second novel, Go Set a Watchman, why not try an old-fashioned cake from Alabama, featured prominently in Lee's classic first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
In it, Scout Finch's neighbor, Maudie Atkinson, is known for her Lane cakes and guards her recipe closely. She bakes one for Aunt Alexandra when she moves in with the Finch Family. Scout gets buzzed from the whiskey in it and comments, "Miss Maudie Atkinson baked a Lane cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight."
I was determined to try a slice of Lane cake after learning it was invented in Clayton, Ala., around the same time my ancestors lived there during the late 19th century. But it's now difficult to find this layered sponge cake filled with a rich mixture of egg yolks, butter, sugar, raisins and whiskey anywhere. During my travels across Alabama, I've always been on the lookout for it but never spotted it in the wild. "
Recipe: Lane Cake
This recipe is based on the original that appeared in Emma Rylander Lane's cookbookSome Good Things to Eat. It called for baking four layers in pie tins, but, with modern day cake pans, it's better to bake it in three layers.
Cake ingredients:
3.5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoons salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 egg whites
Filling ingredients:
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup raisins, chopped
½ cup bourbon whiskey
1 teaspoon vanilla
Icing:
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons boiling water
3 tablespoons corn syrup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and sift together three times. In a separate bowl, use a mixer to cream together the butter and sugar for at least two minutes. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk to the creamed butter and sugar, starting and ending with the flour. Stir in the vanilla and set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they form firm peaks and then fold them into the cake batter. Separate the batter into three 9-inch cake pans and bake until the sides are well-browned (20 to 25 minutes). Remove from the pans and allow to cool completely
In a saucepan, beat together the egg yolks, sugar and butter. Place the saucepan over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick. Remove from heat and immediately add the raisins, whiskey and vanilla. Spread the filling evenly between the cake layers and set aside.
For the icing, combine all the ingredients in a double boiler. Using a mixer, beat the ingredients constantly for seven minutes or until peaks form. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Then spread the icing evenly over the top and sides of the cake.
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