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A little over a year ago, my friend Gary passed away. He was a collector of many things, a huge anime fan (if you’ve been to Retro Daddio and checked out our anime and manga section–I bought those from Gary’s estate), and he kept EVERYTHING.
My friend Carolyn and I spent several months clearing out Gary’s house, to get it ready to go on the market (bless her–she did most of the work). I bought tons of great stuff for the store, but I also got a small memento for myself.
This was Gary’s mom’s cookbook–it was first printed in 1908, but this one was the 43rd printing, from 1948. If you follow this blog, you’re going to see several recipes from this book.
I took three recipes from the book to make this cake–Silver White Cake, Cream Filling, and Boiled Frosting. I added lime juice and zest to the filling instead of vanilla, but otherwise stayed true to the recipes.
I would recommend making the filling in advance and letting it chill before you assemble the cake, because the lime flavor comes out significantly more after chilling.
What you’ll need:
For the Cake:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups sifted flour (sift first, then measure)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk
2/3 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs whites, beaten stiff
In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Combine the dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk and vanilla. Beat just until combined, then fold in the egg whites.
Pour into two greased and floured 8 inch round cake pans and bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the layers comes out clean. Let cool and remove from the pans.
For the filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour. 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups scalded milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lime juice and the grated zest from 1 lime
Combine the sugar, flour, and salt in a medium saucepan. Turn the burner to medium heat and gradually whisk in the milk, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 8-10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, then pour half of the hot mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly to make sure you don’t end up with scrambled eggs in your filling. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan, and continue to whisk and stir for two minutes.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the lime juice and rind. If you’d like, whisk in some green food coloring ( I did, just for the sake of the photos), and let cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
For the frosting:
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites
In a large saucepan, combine sugar, syrup, and water. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil until the mixture reaches soft ball stage on a candy thermometer (238 degrees). While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks in a mixing bowl. When syrup is ready, pour in a slow stream over the egg whites, with the mixer running. Add vanilla, and continue beating until cool and glossy–about 10-15 minutes.
This is where having a modern stand mixer comes in very handy! I made this frosting (same recipe, different book) when I was a kid using a vintage Sunbeam stand mixer that had lost the stand. My arm was KILLING me by the time I was finished, but it was worth it!
To assemble the cake:
Place one of the cake layers on your cake plate. Spoon your filling onto the layer, to about an inch from the edge (when you put the next layer on, the filling will expand to fill the empty space). Place the next layer on top. Frost the cake with the boiled frosting.
Don’t take too long between turning off the mixer and frosting the cake, because the frosting will set up and make it harder to get a nice smooth finish.
Refrigerate until ready to serve, and store leftovers in the fridge.
A classic white cake with a cool lime filling and traditional cooked frosting
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cake:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk
2/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites beaten stiff
For the Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups scalded milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lime juice and the grated zest of one lime
For the Frosting:
1–1/2 cups sugar
1–1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites
Instructions
To make the cake:
In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Combine all the dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk and vanilla. Beat just until combined. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the batter.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pour batter into two greased and floured 8 inch square pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
For the filling:
Combine the sugar, flour, and salt in a medium saucepan.
Turn the burner to medium heat and slowly whisk in the milk. Cook and stir constantly for 8-10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Pour half of the hot mixture into the eggs and whisk constantly to ensure that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs in your filling. Whisk back into the remaining hot mixture.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the lime juice and zest. If you’d like, stir in some green food coloring.
Spread between the two cooled cake layers.
For the Frosting:
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Boil until the mixture reaches soft ball stage on a candy thermometer (238 degrees).
While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites until stiff. When syrup is ready, pour in a slow stream into the egg whites, with the mixer running.
Add the vanilla and continue beating until the mixture is cool and glossy, about 10-15 minutes.
Spread the frosting onto the cake layers. Don’t take too long between turning off the mixer and frosting the cake–it will start to set quickly.
