by Geraldine Duncann
Makes 1 round or 2 Standard Loaves
Martha Washington was renowned in her day for her whisky cake and it was a favorite of Georges. Martha’s cake would not have been leavened with baking powder or baking soda. Neither came into use until the middle of the 19th century. Her cake would have been leavened with yeast, egg whites or hearts horn, (baker’s ammonia). Similar yeast leavened cake are still made today. A good examples are Italia’s Pantone and the Kougelhopf of Alsace. These eggy, sweet yeast breads can be a bit tedious to make. You may however, achieve a very similar effect by using your favorite spice cake recipe or a box mix with the following variations:
- Favorite spice cake recipe or box mix
Follow the directions for either the recipe or the mix and add the following:
- 1 cup of raisins
- 1 cup of slivered almonds
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 cup of candied orange peel, chopped small
- 2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Spray a round tube pan with non-stick spray or line 2, 9” x 5” x 2” loaf pans with Baker’s Parchment. Mix all together and pour into the prepared baking pans. Bake for about an hour or until a slim bamboo skewer inserted into the center of each pan comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on wire racks to cool. When cool, remove from the pans and wrap in clean natural fiber cloths. An old tea-towel or piece of muslin is good. Pour about a quarter of a cup of bourbon over each cake and store in an air tight container. Continue the aging process by pouring a bit more bourbon over the cloths every three or four days for about two weeks before using. These cakes may be kept for months.