Lane Cake

By pattie_d

Lane cake is a tall, fluffy, snow-white cake filled with a rich, sweet mixture of egg yolks, butter, raisins, and “a wineglass full of good whiskey." Our simplified Lane Cake recipe capped the number of layers at two, and using a food processor streamlined much of the tedious prep work. Replacing sugar with boiled corn syrup in our frosting quickly brought the whipped egg whites to a safe temperature without resorting to a candy thermometer or complicated (and unsafe) guesswork.

We like bourbon, but any whiskey will work.

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 6 large egg whites
• 12 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup of milk at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2-1/2 cups of cake flour
• 1-3/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Filling:
• 1/3 cup of sweetened coconut
• 3/4 cup pecans and golden raisins
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of corn starch
• 5 tablespoons of bourbon or whiskey
• 3/4 cup condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• Frosting:
• 2/3 cup of corn syrup
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• pinch of salt

Details

Servings 10
Adapted from cookscountry.com

Preparation

Step 1

Butter & flour 2-9 inch pans. Preheat oven 350 degrees- Bake cakes on middle rack. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.

In mixing bowl, add cake flour and on low speed drop in butter chunks. Fold in, until mixture resembles coarse pieces. Add 1/2 cup of milk to mixture and beat on high, then add the remaining 1/2 cup of milk to mixture and mix by hand. Pour into floured & greased pans.

When done, remove cakes from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before removing.

Also, put a piece of plastic wrap on 9 inch cardboard rounds. Grease the rounds, place on top of layer, invert to remove layer. Do the same for other layers. Place cakes on racks to cool.

Filling:
In food processor, finely ground the coconut, then add the pecans and golden raisins. Continue grating until mixture is ground.

In a fry pan, cook this mixture in 4 tablespoons of butter. Stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn.

In a small bowl, mix heavy cream, pinch of salt, and cornstarch until dissolved. Then add to hot mixture in pan. Mixing throughly.

In another bowl, mix together bourbon, vanilla and condensed milk . Pour into filling mixture. Mixing throughly. Place mixture in a bowl to cool, for 30 minutes.

Frosting:
Whip egg whites on low speed until little bubbles appear, then turn to high speed and begin adding the cream of tartar and vanilla. Shake in sugar on the inside edge of bowl until throughly mixed.

In another pan cook corn syrup on medium until big bubbles appear. Remove from heat and add to egg whites and beat on medium-high to high speed until soft peaks appear.

Assembly:
Place the filling on one layer, spreading to the ends, then place the other layer on top and frost. Frost the top of the layer first, then the sides.

Can add some crushed pecans around the the bottom edge.