Saturday, December 09, 2006

Martha Washington Cake

I had received a recipe at Mount Vernon for a cake that Martha Washington supposedly made (see Great Cake Recipe from Mount Vernon). It calls for 55 eggs, 4 lbs of butter, 5 lbs of flour, 4 lbs of sugar, and 5 lbs of fruit. Since I got that recipe I have always wanted to make it. I did that today. Well, at least the cake part. Tomorrow, I will do the icing.


I ended up with 3 complete two-layer cakes (2 8" round and 1 9" square) plus I have one oblong one-layer cake. When I cut the cake pieces to get it to lay flat on the layers, I got to taste it.


The cake is certainly different. I don't like fruit cake with all that sweetened fruit. There is none of that in this cake. I added just fresh fruit and nuts except for some dried blueberries and cherries (not dried sweetened cherries that taste like they were made by some chemical company found in fruit cakes today). The cake is moist, firm, and sweet. The icing is going to make it sweeter (and better). I plan on serving it at a holiday party that I am having at the house tomorrow.


I also finished my apple center piece and the stairway decorations. I finished the wreath the other day but only remembered to take a picture of it today. I put out the candles on the windows and the poinsettias at the fireplace. The house is ready for Christmas!


Happy Holidays everyone.

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