Lady Baltimore Cake

Note from Cheri: The recipe (from the early 1920's) and text below are printed with permission from The Century in Food by Beverly Bundy (2002, Collector's Press). This is the ultimate food lover's coffee table. Click the link to learn more and for more sample recipes.

Instead of using whole vanilla beans, strips of orange rind or cinnamon sticks can be added to the jars for a different This cake was featured in Owen Wister's book "Lady Baltimore," written in 1906. Several stories exist about the origins of the cake, but it is often credited to the managers of the Charleston, South Carolina Lady Baltimore tea Room. Wister is better known at the end of the century as the author of "The Virginian."

Cake 1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup water 3 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 4 stiffly beaten egg whites 1 teaspoon vanilla Filling I 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 2 stiffly beaten egg whites Filling II 1/2 cup raisins 5 diced figs 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/3 cup candied cherries Frosting 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 2 stiffly beaten egg whites 1 teaspoon vanilla

Serves 12 Prepare cake by creaming butter and sugar, then add water gradually. Mix in flour and baking powder. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites and vanilla. Bake in 3 buttered cake pans in a 375° F oven until layers test done (insert a toothpick in cake, if it comes out clean, it's done). Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before cooling on racks. Prepare first filling by bringing sugar and water to a boil in a double boiler until syrup forms a thread. Beat well and pour slowly over the egg whites. Beat until mixture reaches a spreadable consistency. Spread on tops of 2 cake layers. Prepare second filling by mixing ingredients together and sprinkling over the first layer of filling on the two cakes. To make frosting, boil sugar and water to a boil in a double boiler until syrup forms a thread. Beat well and pour slowly over beaten egg whites and vanilla. Beat until mixture comes to a spreadable consistency. Spread completely over the top and sides of the layered cake.