Mary Todd Lincoln Cake

One last presidential-themed missive before returning to the Ohio River.

Last week my officemate and I were simultaneously struck by the need for cake.  There was no cake to be had.  We decided something should be done for Lincoln's birthday.  I googled something like "Abe Lincoln's favorite dessert" and eventually found several recipes for Mary Todd Lincoln's White Almond Cake.

The Lincoln Home National Historic Site has the recipe, which I assumed was authentic.  It turned out well.  The recipe called for six whipped egg whites to be folded into the batter.  That made the cake fairly light, but still denser than an angel food cake.  It looks better upside down here in the pan than when I flipped it over and dusted the top with confectioner's sugar.

Another recipe still has me scratching my head.  And I quote (emphasis added):

Because I love a challenge, I took this recipe home and made Mary Todd Lincoln's cake.  Even with today's modern technology, the process was slow going. In all, it took about four hours to cream the butter, whip the egg whites, chop the almonds and get it all mixed and baked. I used a mixer and a mini chopper...

Four hours?  Discount the baking time and there's still three hours left.  What task could have possibly taken three hours?  I don't mean to brag but it took me all of 15-20 minutes using an electric hand mixer, a mini food processor, and a large wooden spoon.  Did she shell, peel and blanch the almonds?  Were the almonds chopped one at a time?  Did she forget to mention that she has no arms?  I am baffled.

Comments

[Dane]

*And* she used a mixer and a mini chopper, so presumably that saved her some time. What the hell was she doing, churning the butter herself? There is no way making a cake takes that long.

[Joe]

It boggles the mind. Boggles, I say!