Martha Washington's Great Cake

"Just the other day--while laying on the couch being sick--I watched Martha Stewart's TV program. Caroline Kennedy is writing a book featuring recipes from our country's past. Martha brought out her old catering service HUGE Hobart mixer, and it was fun (being sick & all "fun" is relative!) to watch her put this together---WOW! Today I was paging through a "Christmas traditions" book my SIL gave me a few years ago and wow--here's the recipe Martha S. & Caroline Kennedy were re-creating on the TV program. The book says, "From an old manuscript dated 'Mount Vernon, 1781" made by Martha Custis Washington for her grandmama." I'm purely guessing on the serving amounts."
 
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Ready In:
2hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
9
Yields:
1 huge cake
Serves:
40
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ingredients

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directions

  • WRITTEN AS PER MARTHA WASHINGTON'S DIRECTIONS.
  • Take forty eggs and divide the whites from the yolks, and beat them (whites) to a froth.
  • Then work the butter to a cream, and put the whites of the eggs to it, a cup at a time, until well-worked.
  • Then add sugar (finely powdered) to it in the same manner (one cup at a time).
  • Then put the egg yolks and flour and fruit to it.
  • Add to it mace, nutmeg, wine and brandy.
  • Two hours will bake it. (350 degrees).
  • In the TV program: Martha Stewart baked this in a 16x16x3-inch square pan (it was HUGE!). I suppose you could divide the batter between two 13x9 pans, too.
  • She frosted it with a meringue (whipped egg white & sugar) that was lightly baked to give it a crunch -- and claimed that it would keep for weeks if the cake wasn't cut.
  • She's got a smaller version on her website.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p><img src=http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage21/10.gif alt=/ /> &lt;&gt;&lt; wife &amp; mother of seven (four adopted foster children grown up now &amp; three biologicals)--my baby(!!!) is a 12th grader! ... plus five grandkids (ages 5 - 21 y.o.); been married 34 years now to the *same wonderful &lt;&gt;&lt; man.* .....</p> <p>Love cooking and being the happy little home-maker. .....</p> <p>Enjoy writing my own blogs and maintaining their FB pages:</p> <p>Blog, Facebook, Pinterest: &nbsp;TitusTwoFriends.blogspot.com (Twitter handle @Titus2Friends )<br />Blog, Facebook, Pinterest: &nbsp;NatureStudyLessons.blogspot.com (Twitter handle @NatureLessons )&nbsp;</p> <p>Pinterest: &nbsp;<a href=http://pinterest.com/debberlynn></a>http://pinterest.com/debberlynn/ &nbsp;</p> <p>Instagram: &nbsp;<a href=http://instagram.com/debberlynn>http://instagram.com/debberlynn</a></p> <p>..... as well as quilting, writing, flower-gardening, and home-organizing, ...and very active in our &lt;&gt;&lt; church, Bible study, teaching, and singing alto in choir. Plan to get back to writing and earning money at it!&nbsp;&nbsp; AND I work as a virtual assistant--check out www.elance.com for more info on VA-ing.</p> <p>&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;***God is good!***&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;<br /> <br /><strong><em>. . . C O N T E S T S . . . </em></strong><br /> <br />My little Rosebud Cottage was a winner in the Basic Category in the 2009 Gingerbread House-Making Contest. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>.&nbsp;</p> <p>. <br /><strong>B A R B E C U E ... S A U C E</strong></p> <p>I entered my mother-in-law's excellent recipe in the contest (Recipe #241146) and won the Family Friendly category! &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><img src=http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/ruemke/ff.jpg alt=/ /></p> <p><br /><span>. . . E V E N T S . . .&nbsp;</span><br /> <br /><strong>Z A A R . . W O R L D . . . 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M Y . . T H R E E . . C H E F S . . . </strong><br /> <br />2009 (November) <img src=http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2/kiwidutch/my3chefs2009final-1.jpg alt=/ />My themes were Rise-n-Shine Breakfast and Autumn Suppers OAMC <br /> <br />2008 (Summer) <img src=http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/flower753/Food/my3chefs2008Small.jpg alt=/ /> My themes were Ruh! Ruh! Rhubarb! and Sparrow Guts! and Quick Fix: Pizza For Lunch! <br /> <br />2007 (June) <br />My themes were <br />*Picnic &amp; Lunch Box Snacks* <br />*Canning Up Summer's Bounty* <br /> <br /><strong>. . . P I C K - A - C H E F . . . </strong><br /> <br />PAC Autumn '09 <br /><img src=http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/Animation6.gif alt=/ /><img src=http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/PACsticker-Adopted.jpg alt=/ /> <br />My children were Chef #1273716 and chef #321816; my mother was Chef #226863. <br /> <br />PAC Spring '09.... <br /><img src=http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg271/MrsTeny/Permanent%20Collection/PACSpring09Participation.jpg alt=/ /><img src=http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg271/MrsTeny/Permanent%20Collection/PACSpring09Iwasadopted.jpg alt=/ /> <br />I adopted Chef #176481 and Chef #892963. I then had a late-in-PAC baby named Chef #619505.... And I was adopted by Mom2Rose!!! <br /> <br />PAC Autumn '08 ... <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PACfall08partic.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br />My small family included Chef #434123; and then I got myself adopted by Chef #361931(my sheep-mother, NOT my step mother!). :rofl: <br /> <br />PAC Spring '08 ... <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PAC08Main.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br />My children Chef #797028, Chef #532407, Chef #28177, Chef #510821, Chef #356933 &amp; Chef #429493 and from the preemie nursery I picked up Chef #488944 and Chef #665370. Charlotte J was my little mother! <br /> <br />PAC Autumn '07 ... <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/smPACp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /> My children were Chef #179488 from KY, Chef #207616 from NC, Chef #38901 from TX...and from the newborn nursery Chef #351525 and Chef #21667, and my littlest one is Chef #469264 all the way from the Philippines! And I was adopted by Chef #451700 over in Norway! She took the MOST beautiful pictures of my recipes!!! <br /> <br />PAC Spring '07 . . . <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/pacbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/200_PACpic.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /> My children included Chef #396078, Chef #402846, Chef #37593, Chef #122993, Chef #48439 from the Newborn Nursery, Chef #321820, Chef #59476, Chef #293042, Chef #236959, and Chef #196248. ... I was adopted by Chef #186802 <br /><br />&nbsp;<br /></p>
 
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