Williamsburg Queens Cake Recipes

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE: Combine first 10 ingredients. Blend with an electric mixer 30 seconds on low speed; beat 3 minutes on high speed. Stir in raisins and pecans.
• Pour into 3 greased and floured 8 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely. Spread Williamsburg Butter Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish cake with orange rind and sections. Yield: one 3 layer cake.
• FOR THE BUTTER FROSTING: Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add orange rind and juice; beat until smooth. Yield: enough for one 3 layer cake.
• The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan, two 9-inch round cake pans, or three 8-inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix in butter, shortening, buttermilk, eggs, raisins, nuts, orange zest and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes on high speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Bake 9x13 inch pan 45 to 50 minutes, or layers 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool, and frost with Williamsburg Butter Frosting.

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE: Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract. In a small bowl, blend the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour milk or buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Blend well after each addition. Stir in the raisins, walnuts and orange peel. Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured 8 inch square pan, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Leave the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and cooling it thoroughly on the rack. Cover the cooled cake with the glace icing.
• FOR THE GLACE ICING: For this recipe use 2 tablespoons sweet sherry instead of water, and flavored with 1 tablespoons grated orange peel.
• Stir the warm water and the confectioners' sugar together until the sugar dissolves completely and the icing is smooth. The icing should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it is too thick, add more liquid; if too thin, add a little sugar. The icing should be used at once. Makes about 1 cup.
• To make coffee flavored icing replace the water with strong black coffee. Once it is made, plain glace icing may be flavored to taste with vanilla, almond or peppermint extract, or with a liqueur. Liqueur must be added in large amounts than more concentrated extracts; if you use liqueur, reduce the amount of water used in the icing by about 1 Tablespoon. For chocolate flavored icing, melt 2 ounces of semisweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot water. Let the chocolate cool slightly, then stir it into the prepared icing.
• The Early American Cookbook.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir raisins and nuts into the dry ingredients and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening and blend in 1 cup of the sugar.
• Beat the eggs and add to the creamed mixture. Add vanilla and orange zest and mix well.
• Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with 1/2 cup buttermilk, and mix until well blended. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch square pan and bake for 40 minutes.
• While the cake is baking, combine the orange juice with the remaining cup of sugar.
• Spread tthis glaze over the top of the hot cake and immediately return it to the oven for about 10 minutes, until the glaze bubbles and the cake tests done when you insert a toothpick or wooden skewer near the center.
• Let the cake cool in the pan before turning it out onto a serving plate.The glaze may be sticky so run a dull knife around the edges of the cake before coaxing it out of the pan.