A white layer cake — typically four layers of almond-scented white cake — filled with a boozy, rich mixture of bourbon or brandy, shredded coconut, chopped pecans, raisins, and egg yolks cooked into a custardy base. The filling is the point. Created by Emma Rylander Lane of Clayton, Alabama in the 1890s. Embedded in Black Southern baking tradition and referenced by Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird as the cake that signaled a serious occasion.
Lane Cake is the Alabama equivalent of the Apple Stack Cake — a labor-intensive, special-occasion cake that signals someone was worth the effort. In Black Alabama households, a Lane Cake at a gathering meant the host had spent the better part of two days cooking. It is also an Alabama claim to national culinary history — To Kill a Mockingbird's Miss Maudie bakes one, which is the most famous food reference in American Southern literature.
The filling's pecans provide monounsaturated fat, magnesium, and zinc. Raisins contribute iron and potassium. The bourbon is present in quantities that largely cook off during filling preparation. A celebration food with no pretension to being a health food — but the pecan-and-raisin filling carries more nutritional weight than most cake fillings.
Make the filling first — it needs to cool completely before the cake is assembled. Cook egg yolks, sugar, butter, and raisins in a double boiler until thickened, then stir in coconut, pecans, and bourbon off the heat. For the cake layers, beat egg whites separately and fold in for a light crumb. Assemble with a full spread of filling between each layer and a white boiled icing or meringue on the exterior.
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