Yesterday for St. Patrick’s Day, for whatever reason, instead of making corned beef and cabbage or boxtys or anything else, I made a cake. A carrot cake.
“If you can’t act fit to eat at the table, you can just set here and eat in the kitchen!”
(Calpurnia to Scout)
“Soon as I can get my hands clean and when Stephanie Crawford’s not looking, I’ll make him a Lane Cake. That Stephanie’s been after my recipe for thirty years,
and if she thinks I’ll give it to her just because I’m staying with her she’s got
another think coming.” (Miss Maudie)
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of another.” (Miss Maudie to Scout and Jem)“Your fat streaks are showin’.” (Jem to Scout, referring to the white lines in her Halloween costume)
“They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs.” (Miss Maudie to Jem and Scout about mockingbirds)
Aunt Alexandra comes to Maycomb to live with the Finch household. To celebrate the occasion, Scout notes that: “Miss Maudie Atkinson baked a Lane Cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight.” What does “shinny” mean?
A. It’s a slang term used in the 1920s and 30s for illegal liquor.
B. It means to maneuver up a tree or post.
C. It’s coffee that is very strong and bitter.
D. It’s a type of orange juice that is very sour.
Lane Cake is a symbol of the SouthThe first recipe for Lane Cake was first printed in Some Good Things to Eat, by Mrs. Emma Rylander Lane, which she self-published in 1898. It was originally called Prize cake because it placed first in a baking contest at a county fair in Columbus, Georgia, where Mrs. Lane was demonstrating ranges.For more than a century, it has been a special occasion cake in the South and the pride of the state of Alabama.Lane Cakes look simple from the outside but there is more to this cake than meets the eye.Lane Cakes generally are considered by many to be difficult to make due to the complicated preparations and multiple ingredients.A traditional Lane Cake is a white cake, a type of sponge cake, made in layers. It has four layers separated by filling. Each layer is supposed to be made in a pie tins instead of cake pans, making each layer smaller. The layers each have different ingredients, which is what makes the cake unique – and more labor-intensive. For example, coconut, dried fruit, and nuts are common additions, but they are not included in the original recipe.The outside usually has a white frosting made of water, sugar, and whipped egg white. It has a filling of butter, raisins, and whiskey. and each layer has different ingredients. For example, one layer may have pecans and coconut, the next layer almonds and raisins. The recipe has been modified many times through the years.
Next, mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Now, the vanilla. Now add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Don’t mix too much, just until it comes together:
Here are the grated carrots I did in the Cuisinart:
Add those carrots plus the pecans, mix, and pour evenly in each of the cake pans or pie tins:
After 25-30 minutes, the cake should be done:
Once these are cool, make the icing. In a clean Kitchenaid bowl, mix together the butter and cream cheese, then when that comes together well, the confectioners sugar. It will take a while of mixing in the Kitchenaid for it to reach a good spreading consistency (probably about 6 or 8 minutes). Add in the pecan pieces, mix again:
Flip the cake over onto a plate, spread the icing on top, then the next layer of cake, and spread the rest of the icing all over the top and sides:
It’s sooo good!