8 u n i t e d c a k e s o f a m e r i c a i n t r o d u c t i o n 9

introductionI hear from a lot of people about cakes they make for their families and

coworkers or in their start-up businesses. Sometimes they want to compare

recipes; other times they’re just swapping stories. You might think that there

isn’t too much to a cake, until you take a close look at the different flavors that

appear in kitchens across the country. The cakes popping out of the ovens in

America sound as diverse as they are delicious. After a while I started wonder-

ing—what do we bake, and how? Baking from scratch is one of those disap-

pearing arts that deserve preservation. That’s when I realized I needed to get

out of D.C. and learn what’s baking across the United States of America.

What connects a cake with a state? Sometimes history and tradition bond

the two. Sometimes a crop makes up the backbone of the recipe or is the cen-

tral flavor. Other times the cake reflects one of the many cultures in a given

state. In a few instances, states have passed legislation recognizing official

state desserts. What gives them common ground is the simple fact that in the

United States we like desserts, and we celebrate our lives and our heritage with

them at every occasion.

Passive research for this book began years ago, pre-CakeLove and all the

way back to family vacations when I was a boy. Casually working my way

through the options for dessert has always been one of the pleasures I enjoy.

I’m a foodie at heart—I enjoy tasting something different at every meal just for

the sake of adventure. Memories of cake for dessert or after-school snacks are

some of the highlights from my past.

The active research was a lot of mental notes and ideas scrawled on scraps

of paper since my early days of research leading up to opening CakeLove in

2002. Owning a bakery also means that whenever I travel I’m obligated to seek

out local bakeries and try a few items—it’s really tough work! I look for special-

ties and never hesitate to ask how they were made. The hints and secrets I’ve

learned are all here.

Finally, research for a book about what we’re baking in our homes wouldn’t

have been possible without the vast resources on the Internet. Diving into the

world of America’s home kitchens has a new meaning now that there are blogs

and recipes posted online. I had a lot of fun adapting and tweaking traditional

recipes that everyone loves.

Each state has at least one entry, but I couldn’t resist dropping in a few

extras when going with just one cake would have left great recipes in the

142 u n i T e d c a k e s o f a M e r i c a T h e M i d w e s T 143

Unsweetened chocolate (100% cocoa) 2 ounces

Bittersweet chocolate (60% cocoa) 2 ounces

Unsalted butter, very soft, divided 5 ounces (1 stick + 2 tablespoons)

Half-and-half ½ cup

All-purpose flour 8 ounces (1½ cups)

Cornstarch 1 tablespoon

Baking powder 2 teaspoons

Salt ½ teaspoon

Eggs 6

Superfine granulated sugar, divided 10 ounces (1¼ cups)

Water ¼ cup

For THE FrosTing

Cooked-Meringue Buttercream (recipe follows)

1 recipe

YIeld: One 9-inch layer cake

1. Preheat the oven to 335°F and place the rack in the middle position. Line the bottoms of two 9-by-2-inch round pans with parchment.

2. Melt the chocolates, 1 ounce of the butter, and the half-and-half in a double boiler over steaming water. Once melted, remove the pot from the water and whisk to combine the ingredients. Set aside.

3. Measure the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Separate the eggs and set the yolks aside.

4. Combine 6 ounces of the sugar and the water in a saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.

5. Place 4 of the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. (Discard the 2 leftover whites or reserve them for another use.) When the sugar syrup measures 240°F on a candy thermometer, drizzle it slowly into the meringue while

the mixer is on high speed. Whip for another 20 sec-onds and then remove the meringue from the bowl and set aside.

6. Add the reserved yolks and 2 ounces of sugar to the mixer’s bowl and whip with the wire whip—there’s no need to clean the bowl or whip. You can even leave the cooked meringue that’s stuck inside the whip. Whip on high speed until the yolks are pale yellow, about 2 minutes.

7. Reduce the speed to low and add in the remaining 4 ounces of butter. The yolk base will lose volume—that’s okay.

8. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the melted chocolate to the mixer about a quarter at a time with-out pausing for the ingredients to combine. Detach the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the cooked meringue in two stages. It will be stiff at first. Use cau-tion not to overmix it or you will deflate the batter.

9. Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top appears dry, soft, and flat. It will give slightly to a very light touch.

10. Cool the cakes for about 20 minutes, then run a metal offset spatula around the rim of each and invert the cakes onto a flat surface. Cool completely.

11. To assemble the cake, slice each cake in half horizon-tally with a serrated knife to create four layers.

12. Spread about 1 cup of frosting between each layer with an offset spatula and stack into a four-layer cake. Then pipe on the frosting with an open star tip to cover the top and sides of the cake, or just spread it lavishly with the spatula.

cookEd-mEringuE buTTErcrEamThis is a wonderfully rich but light buttercream. Because of its super-smooth

texture it’s often mistaken for whipped cream. I highly recommend it for frost-

ing and decorating—just be sure to work with it and serve it at room tempera-

ture. It will keep well in the fridge and freezes easily.

Superfine granulated sugar, divided 10 ounces (1¼ cups)

Water ¼ cup

Egg whites 5

Unsalted butter, softened and cut into tablespoon-size pieces

16 ounces (4 sticks)

1. Combine 8 ounces of the sugar and the water in a small, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium to high heat and cook until the temperature registers 245°F on a candy thermometer.

2. Meanwhile, whip the egg whites on high speed to stiff peak in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment. Time everything so that the sugar syrup reaches 245°F at about the same time the egg whites form stiff peaks.

The name devil’s food cake was coined at a time when people associated all things white with angelic qualities and all things dark with devilish ones. While we’ve all come a long way from such far-fetched ideas, the name re-mains with us. Besides, from today’s perspec-tive it’s safe to say that the cake’s decadence makes people see it as a sinful indulgence.

SPEAk Of THE DEvIL

YIeld: Enough for one 9-inch layer cake

3. Just before the sugar syrup is ready, drizzle the remaining 2 ounces sugar into the egg whites and continue to whip on high speed.

4. In a slow and steady stream, pour the sugar syrup between the revolving wire whip and the side of the bowl. Reduce the speed to medium high after 30 sec-onds and continue to whip for another 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Add the butter to the meringue and increase the speed to high to fully incorporate it.

6. Add any flavoring desired (see box, page 136).

STATE THE FACTS

STATE THE FACTS

STATE THE FACTS

when abraham

lincoln and mary todd were courting in

springfield, illinois, she served him vanilla-

almond cake, which became a favorite in the

lincoln white house.