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colonial washington cake

phoenixmaine75 avatar
Recipe by
Melanie Ross
@phoenixmaine75
Rumford, ME

Washington cake is an early 19th century creamed cake (a variation of pound cake) flavored with spices and frequently raisins and dried currants. The result is a moist, harmoniously spiced cake with a tantalizing flavor unnecessary to mask or enhance with frosting. It is not cured with alcohol and aged like a denser, more intense Christmas fruitcake. Washington cake is akin to and sometimes identical to the chemically-leavened (but less patriotically titled) composition cake, which emerged around the same time. Both treats arrived shortly after the inauguration of the nation’s first president

yield serving(s)
method Bake

Ingredients For colonial washington cake

  • TWO 8-INCH PANS: BAKE 45 MINUTES
  • TUBE PAN: BAKE 70 MINUTES
  • 3/4 c
    butter
  • 1 c
    sugar
  • 3
    eggs
  • 1/4 c
    red wine
  • 2 1/2 - 3 c
    flour, measured after sifting
  • 1 tsp
    baking soda
  • 2 tsp
    nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    cinnamon
  • 1/2 pt
    heavy cream or sour milk

How To Make colonial washington cake

  • 1
    Cream the butter and sugar until light.
  • 2
    Beat eggs, add wine. Combine with butter and sugar mixture.
  • 3
    Sift together flour, baking soda, and spices.
  • 4
    Add one-third of the flour mixture and half of the cream, then add one-third of the flour mixture and the remaining cream, and then add the remaining flour mixture, blending well after each addition.
  • 5
    Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, pour in the batter, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or use a tube pan and bake for 70 minutes.
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