Since my recent diatribe against the offensive mediocrity of birthday sheet cakes, my inbox has been inundated with suggestions, encouragement, support and opposition (apparently there are representatives of the Duncan Hines persuasion out there who feel I was out of bounds). In answer to this outpouring (outcry?) of interest, I would like to report on the results of my epicurean time travel (and also assure the descendents of Betty Crocker and their legal representatives that I meant no disrespect to the memory of their fine matriarch; indeed it was in the spirit of her memory that I was inspired to do just what she dedicated her life to: celebrate a loved one through quality baked goods).
You'll recall that I had resolved to use an old-time recipe that I had uncovered from the Mary Todd Lincoln archive for her own white cake. It was, like most recipes from the 1800's, laden with a shocking amount of butter and sugar, as well as containing archaic cooking instructions (uh, ..."CREAM TOGETHER the butter and sugar..."? huh?). Nevertheless, in the interest of historical accuracy (and birthday immediacy) I trudged onward and ended up making a lovely, if crazy-sweet, coffee style cake. It has a nice almond flavor and fluffy consistency. I did not, however, have a "tube pan," as the recipe specifies, so I think I ended up putting too much batter into too little pan. The loaf expanded alarmingly upwards, but luckily did not overflow. This resulted in some uneven baking: the bottom was done well before the top, so I had to keep it in the oven at a low temperature for about twice as long as what was called for. The consequence seemed to be only that I spent more time on this project than I had originally anticipated, but I guess I can just write that off to birthday love.
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