Vintage recipe test: Good Neighbor Cake

This recipe comes to you from Cooking Bold and Fearless, a 1957 Sunset Magazine publication that features recipes from "Chefs-of-the-West," predominantly male, as far as I can tell.

The Good Neighbor Cake recipe is signed by Fred Nehsmann, a writer in Lemon Grove, Calif. I tried looking him up on the internet to no avail, so I'm not sure of his credentials and why he was deemed worthy of inclusion in the "Chefs-of-the-West" group. 

A neighborhood block party provided the perfect occasion to try this out. I know it's never a good idea to test out a new recipe on guests or party-goers, but I put a lot of faith in the title. I've always loved the idea of baking something to take to a neighbor, but have been too shy to do so, so a block party provided a way to quietly set something on a table and let people try it, no pressure. I also loved the seasonal ingredient of apple at an October gathering.

The Good Neighbor Cake a basic layer cake with orange zest, and the frosting is made with egg whites and sugar, studded with apple. Otherwise, nothing terribly fancy.

While it turned out fine, a few modifications along the way probably made it better than as written, and had I been more of an expert in making layer cakes, I probably would have realized sooner that caster sugar is better for cakes and frosting, and that I overwhipped my egg whites for the batter. 

The cakes also sunk quite a bit, and I wonder if that was because of the egg whites, or because I forgot to turn on the oven ahead of time, so the pans with the batter were sitting out longer before going in the oven.

The simple frosting called for freshly grated apple, and I worried that the apple would cause the mixture to separate due to wetness, or make the cake soggy. I elected to squeeze out as much juice as possible before adding it to the frosting, and while it was still kind of a sloppy frosting, it held up okay on a cool evening (the juice was also very tasty on its own!). But I wish I'd used powdered sugar because you could feel the grit on your teeth.

Also, how do we feel about eating uncooked egg whites? I'm OK with it, but it's one of those things I probably wouldn't tell people before they eat it... that's the kind of Good Neighbor I am.

Here's the original recipe:

And my version:

Good Neighbor Cake

Adapted from Cooking Bold and Fearless

Ingredients

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c. sugar

Zest of one large orange

4 eggs

2 c. sifted cake flour (i.e., sift the flour before you measure it)

4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. whole milk

For frosting:

One Granny Smith apple

1 c. powdered sugar or fine/caster sugar (or just blitz regular sugar in the food processor for a few seconds)

2 of the egg whites from the four eggs above

Make the cake

1. Heat the oven to 350. Grease and flour two cake pans.

2. Separate the eggs: using three bowls, place all four yolks in one bowl, and two egg whites in another, and the remaining two in the third bowl (this will be used for the frosting - place these in the fridge until needed). 

3. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside.

4. Cream butter and sugar together until light, about 5 minutes on medium speed. Add the orange zest.

5. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition, scraping down the bowl as necessary. 

6. Alternate adding portions of the flour mixture with the milk, beating until smooth, several rounds. 

7. In a separate bowl, beat the two egg whites until stiff peaks form, but not dry (I overbeat these, I think, which might have caused my cakes to sink). Fold gently into batter until there are no white streaks.

8. Pour batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake 25-30 minutes, until tops are springy and lightly browned. Remove from pans and completely cool on a rack.

Make frosting

1. Peel and grate the apple.

2. Beat the remaining 2 egg whites until stiff, then gradually beat in a cup of powdered sugar (I used regular sugar but found the texture rather grainy; I think powdered or at least caster sugar would have worked out better).

3. Squeeze excess juice from the apple and beat into the frosting. Frost the cooled cakes and layer together. Keep cool in the fridge until serving.