Lady Baltimore Cake -

5 from 6 votes

Lady Baltimore Cake

A Lady Baltimore Cake features white cake topped with 2 frostings, toasted walnuts and sherry-soaked raisins. It's truly a unique dessert!

Prep Time1

Cook Time45

Cooling Time1

Total Time2 45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Southern

Keyword: cake, lady baltimore cake, raisin, walnut

Servings: servings

Calories: 555kcal

Author: David

Ingredients

For the Cake

1 cup raisins
1 cup sherry
2 cups cake flour
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup milk
1 tsp almond extract
3 large egg whites room temperature

For the Soft Icing

1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

For the Hard Icing

2 large egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup water
½ tsp cream of tartar
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup chopped walnuts lightly toasted

Instructions

For the Cake

Using a small bowl, add raisins and sherry; let soak for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Spray (2) 8” round cake pans with nonstick baking spray; set pans aside.
Using a large bowl, sift together cake flour, salt and baking powder; set mixture aside.
Using a countertop mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (~2-3 minutes on medium speed).
Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter and sugar; mix until well combined.
Add the milk and almond extract; mix until well combined.
Add the remaining flour mixture; mix until well combined.
Using a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. (Tip: To save time, use an electric mixer!)
Fold half of the beaten egg whites into the batter. Repeat with remaining egg whites.
Divide batter evenly into the 2 prepared pans.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out mostly clean. (Note: While the cake is baking, prepare the soft icing.)

For the Soft Icing

Using a small saucepan, add sugar and water. Place over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until sugar has fully dissolved.
Remove saucepan from heat and stir in vanilla and almond extracts.
Once the cakes have baked, let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cakes to a wire rack. (Tip: Place rack over a rimmed baking sheet so that it will catch any runoff in the next step.)
Slowly spoon soft icing evenly on top of warm cakes; let cakes cool completely.

For the Hard Icing

Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer; set bowl aside.
Using a small saucepan, add sugar and water. Place over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until temperature reaches 240°F.
With an electric mixer (fitted with whisk attachment) running, pour the sugar mixture in a slow stream over the egg whites.
Add cream of tartar, lemon juice and almond extract. Continue beating for 8-10 minutes, or until mixture cools and thickens noticeably. (Note: This icing will begin to harden fairly quickly, so plan on frosting the cake as soon as the icing is ready.)

To Assemble

Place one cake layer on a large plate. Spread ~½ cup of hard icing on top of cake.
Drain raisins and sprinkle half of the raisins and half of the chopped walnuts on top of the hard icing.
Place second layer of cake on top. Spread remaining hard icing on the top and sides of cake. Sprinkle remaining raisins and chopped walnuts on top. Let icing harden before slicing and serving. (See note)

Notes

Recipe from the kitchen of Mrs. Emily Whaley.

Note: The hard icing may be a bit loose. If necessary, let it cool a bit longer before frosting the cake. As a side note, I chose to continue pouring small amounts of the frosting on top of the cake. Then I used an offset spatula to push the frosting to the edges of the cake. As it dripped down the sides, I used that same offset spatula to smooth the frosting around the edge of the cake.

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