Mount Vernon Cake

Someone, somewhere, remembers the legacy of the Washingtons of Mount Vernon, Virginia. In times past, on Christmas Day, visitors to the Mount Vernon estate were offered copies of the original recipe for Martha Washington’s famous cake.

Martha Washington’s Great Cake

(One of Mrs. Washington’s favorite recipes)

(Shown 1/4th Actual Size!)

“Take 40 eggs and divide the whites from the yolks and beat them to a froth. Then work 4 pounds of butter to a cream and put the whites of eggs to it a Spoon full at a time till it is well work’d. Then put 4 pounds of sugar finely powdered to it in the same manner then put in the Yolks of eggs and 5 pounds of flour and 5 pounds of fruit. 2 hours will bake it. Add to it half an ounce of mace and nutmeg half a pint of wine and some fresh brandy.”

Notes: In making the great cake, Mount Vernon’s curatorial staff followed Mrs. Washington’s recipe almost exactly. Where the recipe called for 5 pounds of fruit, without specifying which ones, 2 pounds of raisins, 1 pound of currants, and 2 pounds of apples were used. The wine used was cream sherry. Since no pan large enough was available to hold all the batter, two 14 (inch) layers were made and stacked (note: the original was one single tall layer). The layers were baked in a 350 degree oven for 1.5 hours. Should be iced with a very stiff egg-white based icing, flavored with rosewater or orange-flower water.

The image, Another shot of Liz’s Mount Vernon cake, was originally uploaded by readhd59. It is posted here from Neddy’s favorites.

Patriot Alexander Hamiliton

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a great book!

The author brings to life a forefather who left a more lasting legacy on American history than some of the men who attained the Presidency. The young Hamilton experienced a brutal childhood as an orphan in the West Indies, yet his inherent brilliance enabled him to become aide de camp to the great General George Washington, a battlefield hero, the primary author of the Federalist Papers, the catalyst for the two party political system, and the first Secretary of the Treasury. As the architect of our financial system, Hamilton’s skill enabled our fledgling country to survive and prosper. Author Chernow masterfully writes the story of Alexander Hamilton as an entertaining and well-documented 700 plus page saga. Our forefathers were astonishing men, men of their times, and Ron Chernow tells us that Hamilton was one of them.

Editorials of Alexander Hamilton

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This is one of the graves of soldiers and patriots of the American Revolution at the Old Cathedral “French and Indian” Cemetery in Vincennes, Indiana. The image, Louis Victor Edeline, was originally uploaded by cindy47452. It is posted here from Neddy’s favorites.

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This is one of the graves of soldiers and patriots of the American Revolution at the Old Cathedral “French and Indian” Cemetery in Vincennes, Indiana. The image, Pierre Grimard, was originally uploaded by cindy47452. It is posted here from Neddy’s favorites.