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The phrase "Let them eat cake" is often misattributed to Marie Antoinette. It is said when she heard about that the people of France were starving, she suggested they eat cake. While Marie Antoinette could be criticized for a lavish lifestyle, she never said this. Listen to the podcast to learn more about this historic phrase and the history of cake.
This episode's choice bake may seem plain - it is a modernized version of Eliza Leslie's 1832 pound cake. While not followed in most recipes (even historic ones!) these cakes were originally called pound cake as they used a pound of each main ingredient - flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. While a recipe might say this often those who made a pound cake would weigh their eggs and match the other ingredients to that weight. We did use rose water and brandy in it but these are optional.
Recipe
Equipment
Stand mixer with paddle attachment
Loaf pan or tube pan
Prep Time: 1 hour
Bake Time: 50 min
Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups Flour (250 Grams)
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/4 cup sugar (125 grams)
8 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mace
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp rose water
1 tablespoon brandy
Lemon zest
Mise en place:
Bring butter and eggs to room temperature. Do not skip this step! Eggs are the raising agent in this bake eggs at room temperature are important for the cake to be able to get the rise.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and dust pan with flour. Set aside.
Sift flour and salt in a bowl.
Mix mace, cinnamon, and nutmeg with flour. Set aside.
Combine brandy and rose water. Set aside.
Beat butter 1 minute in mixer. (low speed)
Beat in sugar (in a stream) and lemon zest. Beat 5 minutes (medium speed)
Add eggs one at a time. Beat 30 sec after each egg.
Add flour and brand alternately into the butter bowl. Begin and end with flour. Best to incorporate with a spatula.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 50 minutes. Do not overbake. Remove when toothpick comes out clean.
The Historic Recipe Eliza Leslie's 1832 Pound Cake published in Seventy-five receipts for pastry cakes and sweetmeats
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