I have a ton of recipes for this cake. It seems that every Mid Century Cookbook I have present their version of the Lady Baltimore Cake.
Strangely I had never heard of this cake before I started this journey.
The cake is amazingly light and fluffy. I do believe that is because of the meringue folded in.
That is another thing that doesn’t seem to be a thing anymore. Beating the egg whites before adding them to the cake batter. Almost all of my Mid Century cake recipes call for this method to be used.
The recipe makes a lovely three layer cake. Again, the cake is very moist, but also hearty enough to hold up to the multiple layers.
The icing is also a meringue. It is silky and creamy and adheres nicely to the cake.
The additional of the fruit and nuts in the meringue give the filling layers a lovely crunch.
You also get the wonderful fig and raisins bursting through. The nuts (I used pecans) give the filling a nice crunch.
I do think the cake should be kept chilled. As the meringue warms up it has a tendency to slide a little. Not a lot, but a little. Keeping the cake in the refrigerator until I served it prevented this slide.
This is a lovely cake. It has amazing flavor. And, it has great presentation!
LADY BALTIMORE CAKE
3/4 Cup Butter
2 Cups Sugar
3 Cups Sifted Cake Flour
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
6 Egg Whites
FROSTING AND FILLING
3 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Water
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
3 Egg Whites, Stiffly Beaten
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 Cup Chopped Figs
1 Cup Chopped Raisins
1 Cup Chopped Nut Meats
Cream butter with half the sugar until fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Combine milk, water and vanilla. Stir the flour and milk mixtures alternately into creamed mixture. Gradually add remaining sugar into stiffly beaten egg whites and beat until the peaks round over gently. Fold into batter. Pour into three greased and lined 9 inch pans. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Boil sugar, water and cream of tartar to 238 degrees. Slowly pour over beaten egg whites, beating constantly and continuing to beat until the mixture is of spreading consistency. Add vanilla. Divide mixture in half. Add fruit and nuts to one portion and spread between the layers of the cake. Frost the top and sides with other half.
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