Wedding cake in "The Little House Cookbook" by Barbara M. Walker?
 

Has anyone tried to make it, with good results?

Here's what I said about it, in 2013:

Maybe I just didn't have good luck the only time I tried it, years ago, but I just don't understand the idea of trying to combine 10 stiffly beaten egg whites with a whole cup of butter! (It was a pretty heavy cake and unappealing - not like pound cake.)


Lenona.

Wedding cake in "The Little House Cookbook" by Barbara M. Walker?
 

On 2016-05-14 4:47 PM, wrote:
> Has anyone tried to make it, with good results?
>
> Here's what I said about it, in 2013:
>
> Maybe I just didn't have good luck the only time I tried it, years
> ago, but I just don't understand the idea of trying to combine 10
> stiffly beaten egg whites with a whole cup of butter! (It was a
> pretty heavy cake and unappealing - not like pound cake.)

The idea of combining stiffly beaten egg whites with butter seems more
than just a little strange to me. I am more used to the idea of creaming
butter and sugar and then adding eggs. Whites are usually folded into
the batter near the end of the process.

I have enough difficulty with the concept of a wedding cake being
something other than a dark fruitcake. My mother made the wedding cakes
when my brothers and I got married, and they were basically the same as
her Christmas fruitcakes, except that the had them professionally
decorated.

I know that a lot of people don't like fruitcake. When I was younger and
attending a lot of weddings, each guest was given a small piece of the
cake wrapped up and it seemed like no one was actually expected to eat
it. I always did, and if I was at a table with a bunch of people who
didn't want it I would take theirs too.

Wedding cake in "The Little House Cookbook" by Barbara M. Walker?
 

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> On 2016-05-14 4:47 PM, wrote:
>> Has anyone tried to make it, with good results?
>>
>> Here's what I said about it, in 2013:
>>
>> Maybe I just didn't have good luck the only time I tried it, years
>> ago, but I just don't understand the idea of trying to combine 10
>> stiffly beaten egg whites with a whole cup of butter! (It was a
>> pretty heavy cake and unappealing - not like pound cake.)
>
> The idea of combining stiffly beaten egg whites with butter seems more
> than just a little strange to me. I am more used to the idea of creaming
> butter and sugar and then adding eggs. Whites are usually folded into the
> batter near the end of the process.
>
> I have enough difficulty with the concept of a wedding cake being
> something other than a dark fruitcake. My mother made the wedding cakes
> when my brothers and I got married, and they were basically the same as
> her Christmas fruitcakes, except that the had them professionally
> decorated.
>
> I know that a lot of people don't like fruitcake. When I was younger and
> attending a lot of weddings, each guest was given a small piece of the
> cake wrapped up and it seemed like no one was actually expected to eat it.
> I always did, and if I was at a table with a bunch of people who didn't
> want it I would take theirs too.

You ate the groom's cake?

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/226856/grooms-cake

Wedding cake in "The Little House Cookbook" by Barbara M. Walker?
 

On Saturday, May 14, 2016 at 5:08:58 PM UTC-4, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2016-05-14 4:47 PM, wrote:
> > Has anyone tried to make it, with good results?
> >
> > Here's what I said about it, in 2013:
> >
> > Maybe I just didn't have good luck the only time I tried it, years
> > ago, but I just don't understand the idea of trying to combine 10
> > stiffly beaten egg whites with a whole cup of butter! (It was a
> > pretty heavy cake and unappealing - not like pound cake.)
>
> The idea of combining stiffly beaten egg whites with butter seems more
> than just a little strange to me. I am more used to the idea of creaming
> butter and sugar and then adding eggs. Whites are usually folded into
> the batter near the end of the process.
>
> I have enough difficulty with the concept of a wedding cake being
> something other than a dark fruitcake. My mother made the wedding cakes
> when my brothers and I got married, and they were basically the same as
> her Christmas fruitcakes, except that the had them professionally
> decorated.

All my life wedding cake has been white cake. No bride's cake. No
groom's cake. Just a big white cake frosted with white buttercream
(or similar white frosting).

I broke with tradition and had carrot cake at my first wedding
and no cake at all at my second wedding.

Cindy Hamilton

Wedding cake in "The Little House Cookbook" by Barbara M. Walker?
 

And here's someone who apparently didn't have much better results (I'm pretty sure I DID use an electric beater, not that that would have made it worse)

http://thehairpin.com/2014/02/winter...birthday-cake/

Wedding cake in "The Little House Cookbook" by Barbara M. Walker?
 

> wrote in message
...
> And here's someone who apparently didn't have much better results (I'm
> pretty sure I DID use an electric beater, not that that would have made it
> worse)
>
> http://thehairpin.com/2014/02/winter...birthday-cake/

I could be wrong here but perhaps in those days, a cake was meant to be
eaten as a tiny portion. Therefore, you would want something very dense and
rich.

These days, weddings seem to be big events that go on for hours with a
appetizers and a big meal following. And the desserts extend to beyond
cake.

When I was growing up, the reception had a cake that was usually white and
somewhat fancy looking. But in some cases the decorations were little more
than fresh flowers. You would get a very small piece of cake. Occasionally
there would also be ice cream. And it was standard to put out salted nuts
and some kind of mints. Often it was Cocktail peanuts and butter mints.
They were put out in such small quantities that if you did take them, it was
no more than a teaspoon (Ooh...I spelled it out!) each. And you could have
a small cup of punch, coffee or tea. The reception lasted perhaps an hour
if that and you'd leave.

I am thinking in the days prior to that, weddings would be even less lavish,
particularly on the prairie. But I could be wrong.

Wedding cake in "The Little House Cookbook" by Barbara M. Walker?
 

Your experience sounds like me trying to be successful with Martha's recipe
for Panettone....so much butter added in a soft state, it just weighed the
batter down and it didn't rise above the paper baking form. I was very disappointed;
it is the only recipe from her website I have tried that didn't work.

N.

Wedding cake in "The Little House Cookbook" by Barbara M. Walker?
 

On Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 11:48:39 AM UTC-7, wrote:
> And here's someone who apparently didn't have much better results (I'm pretty sure I DID use an electric beater, not that that would have made it worse)
>
> http://thehairpin.com/2014/02/winter...birthday-cake/

That blog post contains the actual recipe. You are supposed to cream the butter with sugar and fold in a mixture of the dry ingredients, alternatively with the beaten egg whites. That's a pretty common way to make cakes.

The blog writers probably didn't separate the eggs properly because their whites didn't ever get stiff.

On Top Chef they've used whipping eggs whites by hand as a competition. I think they did a dozen eggs: separate, whip by hand, hold the bowl upside down over your head as proof that it worked. It doesn't take that long.