Honest Abe just might have fallen for Mary Todd shortly after she whipped up this vanilla- and almond-flavored cake for him. Here's how to make it.
“Marry Me” recipes are all the rage right now, especially this time of year. By now, we’ve probably all made a version of Marry Me Chicken or Marry Me Pasta, and there are even Marry Me Cookies. So when I stumbled upon a recipe Mary Todd Lincoln supposedly made for Honest Abe, I started to wonder if it might be her own Marry Me Cake from the 1800s. According to sources, when she first baked this cake before they were wed, the future president described it as “the best in Kentucky.” That was enough to inspire me to give it a try!
How to Make Mary Todd Lincoln’s “Marry Me” Cake
Tracking down the recipe for this cake and analyzing it for historical accuracy took a bit of investigative work. A recipe for “Lincoln’s Favorite Cake” was shared on Reddit, and the poster credited it to the 1974 edition of the American Family Cookbook. Similar recipes have popped up in articles on various food websites as well. My mom has an extensive historical cookbook collection, so I checked out her American cookbooks and found almost identical recipes in three other books: The White House Cookbook from 1973, The First Ladies Cook Book from 1966, and another titled The First Ladies’ Cookbook from 2011.
All of the recipes I found describe a vanilla- and almond-flavored cake with chopped almonds folded into the batter. Some were baked in a tube pan, while others were baked in two round cake pans to create a layer cake. Some were served plain; others with a Fluffy White Frosting, which is essentially a cooked seven-minute frosting. A few of them called for candied cherries or even candied pineapple as a garnish. I decided to go the tube-pan route, but to forgo the cooked frosting. I figured it was not likely to be historically accurate, since it would be quite difficult to beat vigorously by hand for seven minutes straight without the aid of an electric hand mixer. I opted for a dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, and a sprinkling of candied cherries instead.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups sugar, divided use
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1-1/4 cups toasted blanched almonds, chopped fine
- 6 egg whites
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- Whipped cream, for serving
- 1/2 cup candied cherries, for garnish
Directions
Step 1: Begin the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 10-inch tube pan. Grease the pan and then grease the paper. Set the prepared pan aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and extracts. Add 1 cup of the sugar, and cream the mixture until it’s light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the creamed mixture. Mix in the nuts.
Step 2: Fold in the whipped egg whites
In another large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they’re frothy. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of sugar. Continue beating the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.
Step 3: Bake the cake
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for about one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 4: Cool and garnish the cake
Cool the cake for 15 minutes in the pan before removing it from the pan and transferring it to a wire rack. Cool it completely. Before serving the cake, dust it with powdered sugar. Serve slices of cake with a dollop of whipped cream and a few candied cherries.
Here’s What I Thought
I liked how the cake stood tall in the tube pan, resulting in lofty-looking slices on the serving plates. I also liked the fact there were enough almond pieces scattered about the cake to have one in every bite. Even with 2 cups of sugar, this cake isn’t overly sweet, so it paired well with a little sweetened whipped cream and the candied cherries. If I made it again, I think I would up the almond extract to 1/2 teaspoon or even a full teaspoon. I think adding more almond flavor would be lovely here.
Overall, I would say I doubt the actual historical accuracy of this exact preparation. I am sure Mary Todd was a wonderful baker and wooed Abe with her delectable desserts. However, during my research, I spoke with Bonnie Slotnick, owner of Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in New York City. Ever the wealth of knowledge, she pointed out that the pair were married in 1842, but baking powder wasn’t commercially available until the mid-19th century, at least 15 to 20 years later!
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