Washington Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Beat first 6 ingredients and 1/2 cup sour cream in large bowl with mixer until blended. Stir in apples.
• Pour into greased and floured 10-inch tube pan or 12-cup fluted tube pan.
• Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 5 min. or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan with knife. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove pan. Cool cake completely.
• Whisk sugar, 1 tsp. water and remaining sour cream until blended; drizzle over cake. Let stand until glaze is firm.

Steps:

• 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.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Soak raisins and currants in water in small bowl overnight.
• Combine orange peel, lemon peel, citron and cherries in mediumsize bowl, sprinkle with brandy; let stand overnight.
• Grease two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch pans.
• Beat egg whites in medium-size bowl with electric mixer until foamy white. Beat in 1/4 cup of the sugar slowly until meringue forms stiff peaks; reserve.
• Beat butter, remaining sugar, egg yolks and lemon juice in large bowl with electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, about five minutes.
• Sift flour, mace and nutmeg onto wax paper. Stir into batter alternately with sherry, blending well.
• Drain raisins and currants. Add to batter with candied fruits and brandy, mixing well.
• Fold in reserved meringue until no streaks of white remain. Pour batter into pans. Place in a roasting pan on lowest rack of oven. Fill halfway with boiling water. Place cakes on middle rack of oven.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 325 degrees and bake 55 minutes longer until centers spring back when lightly touched with fingertip. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.
• To store: wrap in sherry- or brandy-soaked cheesecloth; place in tightly covered containers for a month or longer. Pour more sherry or brandy over cake when cheesecloth dries out.
• Garnish with candied cherries, if you wish.