American Cake - Cake #18: Ocracoke Fig Cake

Time Period: 1980-1999

I wasn't aware there was a place in America that figs proliferate, but you learn something new every day. Ocracoke Island lies off the coast of North Carolina, and holds an annual fig festival to celebrate their local export. Apparently, the weather conditions there make figs very happy, but once they're harvested, they don't keep well, so they've got to be eaten or preserved quickly. So, when I was looking for a recipe to make for Christmas, I decided to veer away from a traditional fruitcake, but still wanted something seasonal. A cake that incorporated fig preserves sounded perfect, and I decided to whip up a batch of my family's lemon curd to accompany it.

Happily, everything came together. The cake is not a complex one; toasting and chopping the pecans was the most time-consuming step, and even that is quick if you've got a food processor. The final product is quite tasty, though adding whipped cream or the aforementioned lemon curd is highly recommended for a burst of extra texture and flavor. It was a very nice finale to our holiday meal, and we're still snacking on it a couple of days later.

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American Cake - Cake #17: Cowboy Cake

 Time Period: 1800-1869

Americans have always been a people on the move, so in order to satisfy their cravings for sweets, recipes were developed that didn't require a lot of the equipment or ingredients necessary for a lot of traditional cakes. 

Cowboy Cake is a perfect example: It's baked in a Dutch oven, and doesn't use eggs, butter, or milk. Pioneers and prospectors could simply stir together some flour, sugar, spices, fruit, and water, set it on the fire, and voila. Dessert is served.

I took the book's suggestion, and replaced the raisins in the recipe with dried apricots and peaches. The fruit was simmered in water, and shortening was then dissolved in the infused liquid. Once you stir in the dry ingredients, you've got a batter. Then I made the syrup with additional water, shortening, and sugar, and poured it over the top. Then simply bake until done.

It's a pretty tasty cake, and if I hadn't stupidly burned myself on the syrup, would have been a fairly simple preparation as well. We always think that cowboys were limited to things like trail mix and beef jerky, but as it turns out, they could turn out a cake worthy of anything available back in the urban jungle.

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American Plate - Bite #81: Jell-O

Even though there are plenty of Bites on the list that reach far back into American history and have changed over time, strangely it may be the weird concoction called Jell-O that has gone through the most iterations of use and reputation.

Phase 1: In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, animal bones and cartilage were simmered down into a stock that would gel when cooled, forming the basis for a lot of classic French dishes. Rich people were also enamored with transparent fruit gelatins for dessert.

Phase 2: In 1894, Charles Knox developed unflavored gelatin, which could be sold door-to-door in sheets. Shortly thereafter, in 1897, Pearle Wait invented an instant, fruit-flavored gelatin that his wife May named "Jell-O". As America rolled over into the twentieth century, the Waits sold their patent to Francis Woodward, who decided to take the bull by the horns and declared Jell-O "America's most famous dessert." The gambit worked, and the public took him at his word, boosting sales quickly. It helped that big names like Normal Rockwell (who illustrated some Jell-O ads) and Jack Benny (who plugged it on his radio show) were involved. It even made its way to the White House, where Eleanor Roosevelt had the cook serve molded Jell-O desserts in the '30s.

Phase 3: In the 1950s, Baby Boomers hop in. This is the generation that has brought us those hilarious cookbooks full of incredibly vile concoctions, and it's no surprise that they thought Jell-O was the height of culinary sophistication. Not only was it served at Independence Day celebrations and church picnics, but it made its way into actual recipes to be presented with pride at dinner parties.

Phase 4: In the 1980s, Jell-O was a cheap and colorful way to delight the kids. The cupcake and donut crazes were decades away, and I remember looking forward to trips to Grandma's house, thanks in part to the assumption that there would be a bowl of lime Jell-O waiting for me there.

Phase 5: Aside from its welcome use in Jell-O shots at colleges and parties, and its less-welcome use showing up sweating under lamps at buffet restaurants, Jell-O has mostly faded from the cultural consciousness. 

I wanted to do something more than just whipping up a single flavor, so I did the layer method: Prepare a box of Jell-O, let it set, and then repeat twice so that you get a rainbow effect. I remember I once did this with a full set of six boxes, but went with three this time. Actually, since I used the sugar-free kind, it worked pretty well as a dessert for calorie counters. 

Jell-O may no longer be in the regular dessert rotation in American households, but given how many stages it's gone through, we may well see it surge again. 

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American Cake - Cake #16: 1917 Applesauce Cake

Time Period: 1917 - 1945

It came as absolutely no surprise to learn that this cake was extremely popular around the time of WWI, and that it's popularity expanded in times of economic turmoil. Need to conserve ingredients? This is the cake for you! Applesauce was used to substitute for fat and/or eggs, and a handful of spices and raisins took care of the flavor element, eliminating the need for frosting. Saving on food was a point of pride for Americans eager to support the war effort, and this cake was able to satisfy the national sweet tooth without being overly fussy.

That simplicity definitely carried over into modern preparation. A lot of the cakes so far have taken significant effort. Most of them have been a joy to make, but I can't deny that they tend to require a big chunk of a weekend afternoon to prepare, and often involve dirtying a huge pile of dishes.

I knocked out the 1917 Applesauce cake in less than an hour and a half on a Friday afternoon, and that includes clean-up. There are no eggs, and barely any butter in this recipe; the applesauce substitutes for all of the liquid components.

Can such a plain cake truly satisfy? Yup! The spices give a nice hit of flavor, while the applesauce and raisins provide moisture. The cake did benefit from some whipped cream on top, in my opinion, but that's purely optional. 

This recipe might not impress at a royal gala, but if you ever need to whip out a quick dessert during a busy week, this humble cake will be a welcome ally in your baking arsenal.

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American Cake - Cake #15: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Time Period: 1917-1945

Hey, it's my first cake from this time period! I've made pineapple upside-down cake before, but never with this recipe, so it was still an adventure. It's from a time that baking powder was the new, novel ingredient that everyone was getting into. As with any cake that's been popular since the 1920s, it's gone through any amount of variation, from the fruit used (apple or pear at various points), to other flavors introduced into the cake batter (lemon or almond). Several recipes include cherries, mostly just for visual purposes, but I detest those, and left them out.

Naturally, I was a little curious about how this cake fared during the Great Depression, since I imagine that getting canned pineapple in from Hawaii was beyond the buying power of a lot of people. Unfortunately, the book doesn't go into this, but indeed, based on a study I found ("Advertising and the Hawaiian Pineapple Canning Industry, 1929-39"), between 1931 and 1932 the production of canned pineapple fell by 60 percent. Fortunately, it was able to bounce back later and Americans were able to once again enjoy this tasty concoction.

This cake is grand fun to make, but wow, does it take just about every dish in the house to bake it. Set aside lots of prep and clean-up time, because you're going to need it. Happily, all that work is definitely worth it, because it came out looking great, and the flavor was delightful as well. I just used basic canned pineapple from the store, so I can only imagine what a punch this cake would pack if I used fresh slices of fruit.

Part of how I've been ranking these cakes is via the metric of "Will I ever make this again?" and in this case, I definitely will be. It's zingy, it's pretty, it's comforting, and it makes me think of lying on a Hawaiian beach. What's not to like?

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American Cake - Cake #14: Fraunces Tavern Carrot Tea Cake

Time Period: 1650-1799

Back in the days of colonial America, sugar could be prohibitively expensive. So, taking a note from their English ancestors, early Americans turned to cheaper ways to sweeten their baked goods, such as using cooked carrots. This recipe appeared on the Fraunces Tavern menu as early as 1783, and Byrn notes in the book that other cookbooks have modernized carrot cake with the use of vegetable oil and/or baking soda, but in order to stay closer to its roots (so to speak), this recipe leaves those on the shelf. That means there isn't much leavening agent in the cake, so it turns out a pretty dense, almost bread-like texture.

Modern carrot cakes also rely on cream cheese frostings to add some sweetness, which this recipe also eschews, suggesting instead to serve with whipped cream. Colonial bakers would have mashed the cooked carrots and strained their juices, but I went with the alternate method; cooking the carrots briefly, allowing them to cool, and then grating them to get the necessary amount.

I have a complicated history with carrot cakes, in that I tend not to like them. Still, two factors drove me forward. First, it's a necessary component of the American Cake Project. Secondly, I like to try foods I dislike every five years or so to see if they still repel me or if I've changed my mind. Several foods have actually been able to redeem themselves this way.

I'm happy to report that carrot cake is now among them, because I enjoyed this cake quite a bit. It doesn't rank among my favorites or anything, but I really liked its chewy texture and the fact that it didn't punch me in the taste buds with overwhelming sweetness. Consider my horizons broadened.

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American Cake - Cake #13: Angel Food Cake

Time Period: 1870 - 1899

As with many cakes with origins in eras that didn't keep great records, it's not entirely certain who first devised angel food cake. One story holds that it was invented by Linus Dexter, a businessman who owned bakeries in four major American cities. It's mentioned in his obituary that he was the creator of "angel cake". I prefer the theory that it was invented by the Pennsylvania Dutch, who were using egg yolks to make noodles, and wanted to do something with the leftover egg whites. This recipe was also prized by the temperance movement, since it doesn't include yeast, that nasty little bugger that's used to create - dun dun duuuuuun - alcohol.

For this cake, egg whites have to be beaten mercilessly to get enough air into them so that the cake will rise. This was much more easily accomplished when rotary egg beaters were introduced. Angel Food Cake has gone by other names in its long history, from Silver Cakes to Lady Cakes to White Sponge Cakes. Much like angels themselves, this cake is temperamental. Beating it too much can ruin it. Not beating it enough can ruin it. Greasing the pan can ruin it. Not cooling it upside down can ruin it. Getting it out of an ungreased pan can ruin it. This was my first attempt, so guess what? I kind of ruined it.

Though I followed the recipe faithfully to the letter, it didn't get the rise I had hoped for, it was underbaked in the middle, and getting it out of the pan made it ragged and unappealing. It's not a giant loss, as Angel Food Cake has never ranked among my favorites, but I was hoping I could at least turn out a serviceable one. Nope. This angel is sentenced to Hell.

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American Plate - Bite #64: Peanut Butter

As with a lot of Bites on the list, peanut butter is one of those foods that can be made in individual batches fairly easily, but required a tech boom to be made on a large scale. Its progression throughout history is unsurprisingly steady. In 1884, Marcellus Gilmore Edson got a patent for peanut paste, and in 1895, John Harvey Kellogg got one for the process for preparing nut butters. And of course, there's the most famous peanut booster of all, George Washington Carver, who encouraged peanut crops and peanut butter consumption as both healthy food, and as a way of making small farmers less reliant on cotton. Growing a "self-sufficiency" crop such as peanuts was an immense boon to African American farmers, and peanuts didn't fall prey to the boll weevil, which was destroying cotton crops.

Peanut butter has also been hailed for being very economical in times of poverty, so it flourished again during the Great Depression. Then it got another bump in the post-World War II era, when it became the sandwich lunch staple we all know today. You'd be hard-pressed to claim peanut butter is healthy these days, but that's mostly due to the sweeteners and extra sodium added to the ones you find on the shelves; natural peanut butter is still readily available, and is not difficult to make from scratch.

I don't bother with that, though. I'm a choosy mom, and I choose Jif. Peanut butter is, unsurprisingly, extremely popular in my household, whether it's for sweet or savory snacks. As seen above, I make buckeyes and cookies out of it, and can always heartily enjoy a traditional American PB&J for lunch as well (try it with currant jelly and thank me later). Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the dominant candy at Halloween, and if all else fails, there's nothing wrong with just eating spoonfuls of peanut butter right out of the jar. Just writing this entry is making me want some right now.

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American Cake - Cake #12: The Wacky Cake

Time Period: 1946-1962 

This cake is not misnamed; it's one of the strangest preparations I've ever made. Wacky (sometimes called "Whacky") Cake dates back to the 1940s, and its popularity spread for a few vastly different reasons: 

1) It arose during the rise of local cooking schools and home demonstration agents. In the time before televised cooking shows, demonstrations were carried out by attending or hosting a demonstration, and Wacky Cake is a natural fit for these arenas, because...

2) It uses staple ingredients that a home cook is likely to already have on the shelves. No exotic or expensive ingredients had to be purchased for this one, and demo chefs didn't have to worry about too many dishes, either, because... 

3) The ingredients are combined directly in the cake pan they're going to be baked in. No mixers needed! Wacky Cake may also have become quickly popular because... 

4) It's so damn strange and interesting. Not only do you mix everything in the cake pan itself, but there are no eggs, milk, or butter in the cake batter. You make a few wells in the mixed dry ingredients and pour in vinegar, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Then, you pour an unbelievable amount of warm water over everything, making it look like a mess of a soup that you're absolutely sure will never solidify into a cake.

 

But it does! The last cake I baked for this project was a bit dry, which is never appetizing. This one unsurprisingly had no such problem - my biggest worry was that it would be too liquidy, and thankfully, it wasn't. The book pairs this cake recipe with a caramel icing topped with pecans, which was a good idea. 

The hurdle that all new cake recipes must pass is the "Will I Ever Make This Again" test. Wacky Cake, with its relatively simple preparation and sheer weirdness, may not go into a regular rotation, but yeah, I could see easily see myself throwing one together for a potluck or birthday party. You know, if we can ever have those again. Here's hoping society gets a little less wacky soon.

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American Plate - Bite #84: Pizza

As I've no doubt mentioned tons of times, some of the Bites of this project are far easier to obtain than others; I'm still blown away that I was able to get my hands on some beaver tail. There are other entries that will be somewhat challenging to source, but on the flip side, some of the entries are so easy that they can basically be put off until whenever it's most convenient. Say, a global pandemic? Even trapped in our homes, it's no trouble at all to enjoy a Bite that is so common to Americans, it can be found in every settlement in the country. Styles and toppings may differ, but just about everyone loves pizza.

You'd be hard pressed to name a more representative food for America, even if its origin lies in Naples, Italy. So how did it travel from being served to visiting royalty in 1889 to being served on every street corner in the USA? Well, the first pizza parlor was founded in New York City in 1905, but it took until the end of World War II to become a national phenomenon. Soldiers returning from the Italian battlefields told tales of the delicious concoction, and once it caught on with teenagers, it was the hip new snack that every cool kid wanted to eat. It didn't take long to become a commodity for franchise owners, and the marriage of pizza and fast food gave it another popularity explosion.



Different regions celebrate it in different ways, of course, from the deep dish Chicago style to the cracker-thin St. Louis style. I tend to prefer the good ol' fashioned New York style, and when it comes to toppings, I may be one of the few remaining people who love a pizza piled high with delicious, salty anchovy.

Whether it's the cornmeal crust of Pi, the cheesy goodness of La Pizza, or the experimental toppings of Dewey's, there's no shortage of terrific local options. But no matter where in America you call home, there's no doubt a slice of heaven waiting nearby.

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American Cake - Cake #11: 1-2-3-4 Cake

Time Period: 1870-1899

When you think of the platonic ideal of "American cake", the 1-2-3-4 cake is likely what pops into your head: Yellow/vanilla sponge with a chocolate icing. The use of vanilla extract in cakes dates to about the Civil War (no correlation that I know of, but wouldn't that be wild?) and recipes for this type of cake started popping up shortly thereafter. Versions of it have been traced to an 1870 Michigan newspaper, a couple of regional cookbooks, and finally, The Joy of Cooking in 1931.

It's called 1-2-3-4 Cake because of the proportions of its ingredients. 1 cup of butter. 2 cups of sugar. 3 cups of flour. 4 eggs. Recipes vary on what else gets added, but this one makes sure to include a little liquid (milk) and some leavening (baking powder). There were also a couple of other interesting details. I generally use all-purpose flour for my baking, but this recipe insisted on cake flour. I didn't think there'd be much of a difference, but was amazed to see how much more quickly cake flour combined into the batter. This is also one of the rare times I made a frosting on the stovetop instead of in the stand mixer.

The circumstances this cake was baked in are (hopefully) once in a lifetime as well. It was meant to be a birthday cake for Tiddy in March, but that became impossible. For one, it was made in the midst of organizing the stuff we just moved into the new house; you can see the boxes in the background of the picture. I had to hunt through piles of dishes to track down all the pans and racks that I'd need. And then there came a little thing called global pandemic, which has affected every aspect of life, as you can imagine. Finally, though, we were able to amass all of the necessary ingredients and equipment, and I was able to give Tiddy a belated dessert.

So, how was it? Frankly, a bit dry. I think sponge should be moist enough on its own, and not need an assist from the frosting. I don't know that this recipe will be going into the cake rotation, but overall, though, it's not too bad. It's certainly better than the other desserts available in the culinary world right now.

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American Cake - Cake #10: Chez Panisse Almond Torte

Time Period: 1963-1979

Whatever your opinion on what Alice Waters' ethos has brought to the world of food, there's no denying that she's an influential force in the recipes that flowed out of California in this time period. Her pastry chef, Lindsey Shere, was a rancher with an Italian heritage who baked the restaurant's desserts in a back cottage. I'm not sure how symbolic of America as a whole this adapted recipe of Shere's is, but I'm always happy to see an almond cake come my way. The recipe calls for almond paste, which I generally taste in those (non-fortune) cookies served at Chinese restaurants. None of the stores around me carried it, but it was easy enough to order.

Though I love my stand mixer, I'm secretly delighted every time I see a recipe that calls for the mixture to be made in a food processor, because I know I'm about to save all sorts of time and dish washing. I was able to throw the batter together one morning, and by the time some friends stopped by to play board games, it was baked and cooling. When I served it at dinner that night, it had a wonderful moistness in the center while still keeping that tasty crust on the outside. I can see why this torte was a hit back in the day, and it'll be joining modernity as well, because this one is definitely going into the recipe rotation.

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