lane A favorite of President Jimmy Carter, it is perhaps the doyen of
Southern Christmas cakes. The Lane cake is not for the fainthearted. This
four-layer white cake makes use of lots of egg whites, with the yolks
reserved for the thick custard filling, spiked with bourbon-soaked raisins
and then encased in a white frosting.
More than 100 years ago, Emma Rylander Lane of Clayton, Alabama,
won a baking competition at a Georgia county fair with her prize cake.
She later published a cookbook, “Some Good Things to Eat,” and in it was
her recipe for Prize cake (which later became known as Lane cake in her
honor).
It became an American icon after appearing in Harper Lee’s “To Kill
a Mockingbird.” Miss Maudie Atkinson — the Finches’ neighbor — was
known in the fictitious town of Maycomb for her famous Lane cakes.
It’s difficult to find this rich layered cake on menus, but Lexi Ginsberg
Motta, owner of The Cakerie in Birmingham, Alabama, is a young baker
restoring its popularity around Christmas.
Ginsberg Motta’s recipe is based on the recipe by the late Southern
cookbook writer Edna Lewis, which she has adapted to just three layers
instead of four and includes coconut and pecans.
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WBM december 2017