"I should like a slice, if you please, of Lady Baltimore"

 

 

I've been known to use copious amounts of Swan's Down cake flour. I don't care if inside most professional kitchens cake flour is nowhere in sight and AP dominates the dry storage. Cake flour is soft and lovely and makes your baked treats light and fluffy. I especially love the Swans Down graphic and cheery red box which has remained pretty much unchanged since the 1920's. I'm a sucker for good design and packaging. 

I found that first beautiful image and recipe above for a Lady Baltimore Cake after doing a little web search on desserts from days gone by. Instantly, I fell in love with the cake even before tasting it. This cake was popularized by the 1906 novel, "Lady Baltimore" by Owen Wister, but the recipe was first printed in an 1889 Ladies' Home Journal. I've found that there are a few variations of the cake (which was often used as a wedding cake) but pecans, walnuts, and cherries seem to be key ingredients. Some recipes call for dying the cake swoon-worthy light pink, adding sherry to the mix, and even pouring in a little rose water. What a heavenly cake! 

After finding this dreamy cake, I of course wanted to know who Lady Baltimore was and how her name lent itself to this cake. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information on the internets which Lady Baltimore the cake was named after (there were three, after all) and why, but it seems that Lady Joan Calvert, wife of Lord Calvert of Baltimore, is associated with the cake. Turns out, one of the Lady Baltimore's also has a pretty hibiscus named after her.  The one thing that food historians seem to agree on? Lady Baltimore cake has no connection to the city of Baltimore.

Lucky Lady Baltimore to have such a dreamy cake named after her. I can't wait to make a rose flavored, light pink, candied cherry-centric Lady Baltimore cake. If you've made one, tasted one, or know more about the history of the cake, please tell me all about it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Andrea]

Wow, such a pretty cake. The layers look so pink and fluffy!

[naomi]

Vanessa, I love all the rich history you give! I can't to try this and share with you how it goes.

[Vanessa M.]

I'm a history major and foodie enthusiast. I just stumbled across your blog and will have to make this cake now! I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks!!