Chocolate Cherry Lane Cake

Chocolate Cherry Lane Cake!!! What???

I’m sure any Southerner who finds this recipe will be shouting at their computer screens. While there are a few variations these days, technically, Lane Cake is a white sponge layer cake with cooked fruit filling and a divinity-like, egg white frosting. It’s a cake with a 115 year history in the South and considered one of the Grande Dames of this region’s baking heritage. It’s the official cake of Alabama, named after a resident of that state who put it in a self-published cookbook in 1898.

(Curious? Find out more here. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1340)

Though it might be time to completely update the old girl, it’s not the purpose of this blog to upset hardcore traditionalists. We’ll just say this version is Ms. Lane’s younger, more intense cousin from Texas.

Since it’s a time-consuming cake to make, Lane Cake is usually presented at special occasions. I made mine for my birthday recently. In that respect I honored tradition. A few original elements of the cake were also kept – sponge cake, coconut, pecans, bourbon and cooked meringue frosting. Now, before I decided to tinker, I’ll be honest and admit I didn’t know the history of Lane Cake. I got curious during the four hours it took me to make my version. The recipe I altered came from “The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook”, published by Southern Living Magazine and released in 1983. (I got my copy at First Monday Trade Days in Canton, Texas 2 years ago.) For many of the cakes in this book, there are descriptions explaining origins. Other than a brief blurb with the photo, mentioning its connection to Alabama, there was no explanation of this cake’s name.

So, why mess with tradition? When I read the Lane Cake recipe, there was a lot I found appealing about it, such as the maraschino cherries in the filling. But I’m not a white cake fan. At first I was just going to jazz things up a bit by making a cherry layer cake. Then at the last moment, before I started the batter, my chocoholic tendencies popped up and insisted, “Why not?”

Overall, I was satisfied with the final result, except for one thing. The cake layers were a bit dry at first. After a couple days they absorbed moisture from the filling and frosting, which helped. If I make this cake again, I think I’ll punch up the chocolate flavor by increasing the cocoa to ¾ c. and decreasing the flour to 2 ½ c. When I made the cake I debated making a reduction in flour to accommodate the cocoa, but decided to just make the addition and see how it turned out. I also think my cake pans were an inch too big. The recipe calls for 9-inch pans. My layers looked thinner than the cake pictured in my book. I hadn’t used those pans in a little while and should have doubled-checked their size. I could have made a 2-layer cake instead (lots of left over filling that way), reduced the baking time by 5 minutes, or done some fancy math and increased the amount of batter being made. After all, who’s going to complain if they get a larger cake?

At the moment, I’m not as time-crunched as some people, and I don’t mind spending a few hours in the kitchen occasionally. For those who don’t want to spend more than 4 hours making a cake, it seems to me this rich beauty could have make-ahead potential. The frosting and filling can tolerate refrigeration if the baker wants to stretch this endeavor out over a couple of days. Just get those components out of cold storage before starting the batter, especially the filling. It will spread easier at room temp.

Here are a couple of other tips for increasing your success in making a layer cake. I find it easier to get layers out of pans if I place parchment paper at the bottom first. Use a pencil to trace around a pan bottom. After cutting out the rounds, spray the inside with oil to keep the parchment in place. Then prepare the pans as you normally would. Also, do you want to get the same amount of batter into each pan? Use a kitchen scale to weigh your empty mixing bowl. Before dividing the batter, weigh the bowl again and subtract the bowl’s weight from the total amount. Divide the remaining amount by 3. Now you know how much batter to place in each baking pan. Put the first 2 pans on the scale. Make sure your tare, or zero out, the scale before pouring the batter into the pans. The last pan doesn’t need to go on the scale.

Cake:

1 c. Butter, softened

2 c. Sugar

3 ¼ c. Cake flour, sifted

2 tsp. Baking powder

2/3 c. Cocoa

Pinch of salt (1/8 -1/4 tsp.)

1 c. Milk

2 tsp. Bourbon

8 Egg Whites (reserve yolk for filling)

Preheat oven to 375°. Cream Butter. Gradually add sugar, beating with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Combine dry indredients. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla. Beat room temp egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the batter.

Pour batter into greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 20 min. or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 min. before removing to cooling racks. Allow to cool completely before assembling the finished cake.

Filling:

8 Egg yolks

1 c. Sugar

½ c. Butter

1 c. Maraschino Cherries, finely chopped

1 c. Pecans, finely chopped

¾ c. Tart, dried cherries (substituted for raisins in original recipe)

¾ c. Unsweetened flake coconut

2 tbsp. Bourbon

Combine egg yolks, sugar, and butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, about 20 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Let cool before spreading on cake.

Another tip: To make things easier on myself I put the fruit and nuts together in my food processor before adding to the cooked mixture.

Frosting:

I wanted cherry flavored frosting. Since I couldn’t find cherry extract, making a substitution for vanilla in the book’s recipe became problematic. I used this recipe instead. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Fluffy-Cherry-Frosting

One person reviewed this recipe and noted that the maraschino cherry juice made the frosting taste like cough syrup. Taking note, I used the same amount of Torani Cherry Syrup instead. I also substituted the extract with bourbon. If you are like me and don’t have a candy thermometer, set your timer and follow the time recommendations. This was my first time making a cooked meringue frosting. By observing the recommended times, the finished product turned out fine.

Have some fun and play around with traditions a little. Who knows? You might create something new that becomes a tradition for generations to come.

The Project Queen