Stories about the Lady Baltimore cake are full of contradictions.  It is said to have originated in "The Lady Baltimore Tea Room" in Charleston, South Carolina, toward the  end of the 19th century, and not in Baltimore, Maryland, as one might assume.  It has also been suggested that it is a variation on a cake that was favored by Dolley Madison (1768-1849), wife of the Fourth President of the United States.

The Lady Baltimore for whom it was named probably never ate the cake or knew anything about it.   She may well have been Ann Arundel (d. 1649), for whom a county in Maryland is named.  Ann was the wife of an Irishman who inherited the entire state of Maryland from his father in 1632, but who, like the first Lord Baltimore, never set foot on the American continent.  For more information on the Lords and Ladies Baltimore, click here for an article on the website celebrating the city's Bicentennial.

At the turn of the last century, Owen Wister  was a popular novelist  best known forThe Virginian, published in 1902, and often called the first "Western" ever written.  The story was made into a stage play, has been the subject or more than 8 feature-length films and one TV series. Part of the popularity of the story is The Virginian's unforgettable line, "When you call me that, smile..."

According to legend, Wister had been given a cake by a southern lady, a Miss Alicia Rhett Mayberry from Charleston, and he enjoyed the cake so much that he decided to write about it in a novel.  Consequently, in Lady Baltimore, published in 1906, Wister wrote of a young man who enters a tea room in a southern city (modeled after Charleston), and orders his own wedding cake. The cake he chooses is called a Lady Baltimore cake, but at that time it was not considered a proper wedding cake. Today, however, it is often listed by pastry chefs and wedding consultants as an interesting alternative to a plain white wedding cake.  If you'd like to read the 246 pages of the original novel online, click here.

What makes the cake distinctive is the combination of chopped nuts and dried or candied fruits in a fluffy white frosting.  The most "authentic" of the cakes seem to be those that combine pecans with chopped figs and raisins. Variations that include chopped maraschino cherries and  macaroon crumbs tend toward what is called the Lord Baltimore cake,  which has a yellow rather than white cake base.  For the busy cook with an eye toward convenience and simplification, a modern adaptation is also suggested below.

Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt and sift together three times.  Cream butter thoroughly, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy.  Add flour, alternately with milk, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth.  Add vanilla.  Beat egg whites until they hold up in soft peaks.  Stir quickly but thoroughly into batter.  Bake in two greased 9 inch layer pans at 375F for 25 to 30 minutes.  Spread Lady Baltimore Filling between layers and Lady Baltimore Frosting over tops and sides.

Combine egg whites, sugar, water,and corn syrup in top of double boiler, beating with a whisk until thoroughly mixed.  Place over rapidly boiling water, beat constantly with whisk and cook 7 minutes, or until frosting will stand in peaks.  Remove from boiling water, add flavoring and beat until thick enough to spread.  For filling, scald figs and raisins and chop.  Add enough frosting to chopped fruit and nuts to make a filling that will spread easily.  Spread between layers.  Spread remaining frosting on top and sides of cake.  While frosting is soft, sprinkle top of cake with copped cherries and additional chopped figs, raisins and nuts.

 Please Note: The sketch of the lady with the parasol comes from The Old Time Clip Art Collection. To visit the site, click on the black and white drawing at the top of the page, or click here.

Who Cooked That Up? is copyrighted 1999 by J.J. Schnebel
Revised February 2002
all rights reserved for your pleasure and enlightenment

Return to Starview Home Page

FastCounter by bCentral