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- Feb 15, 2015
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I stumbled upon the interesting story of the legend behind the Lady Baltimore Cake after I discovered its recipe in a vintage cookbook. A Southern belle named Alicia Rhett Mayberry baked and served the recipe to author Owen Wister in Charleston, SC. As the story goes, Wister loved the recipe so much, he named his novel Lady Baltimore after the cake. Wister even describes the cake and its flavors in the novel -
While the above legend sounds like a good one, many food historians disagree with it. The cake may have originally been first made in Charleston's Lady Baltimore Tea Room, where it was developed based on a modified version of the common Queen cake from the late 19th century. Supposedly the manager of the tearoom Florence Ottenlengui mailed Owen Wister a cake to thank him for making their creation famous. The tearoom also was known to ship hundreds of these cakes around the country at Christmastime.
The first recorded mention of the cake with it's name began to appear around 1906 with newspaper articles referring to "Lady Baltimore Cake" as the famous or original recipe.
Wherever it originated from, it's been a classic favorite for many years. This recipe version is from The American Woman's Cook Book by Ruth Berolzheimer from 1951 -
"I should like a slice, if you please, of Lady Baltimore," I said, with extreme formality ... I returned to the table and I had my first felicitous meeting with Lady Baltimore. Oh, my goodness! Did you ever taste it? It's all soft, and it's in layers, and it has nuts—but I can`t write any more about it; my mouth waters too much.
Delighted surprise caused me once more to speak aloud and with my mouth full. "But, dear me, this is delicious!" ~ Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister
While the above legend sounds like a good one, many food historians disagree with it. The cake may have originally been first made in Charleston's Lady Baltimore Tea Room, where it was developed based on a modified version of the common Queen cake from the late 19th century. Supposedly the manager of the tearoom Florence Ottenlengui mailed Owen Wister a cake to thank him for making their creation famous. The tearoom also was known to ship hundreds of these cakes around the country at Christmastime.
The first recorded mention of the cake with it's name began to appear around 1906 with newspaper articles referring to "Lady Baltimore Cake" as the famous or original recipe.
Wherever it originated from, it's been a classic favorite for many years. This recipe version is from The American Woman's Cook Book by Ruth Berolzheimer from 1951 -
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