$200 cake? What the?
We flipped through the pages of Aunt Lou's recipe binder and came across a recipe, written in fountain pen I might add, with a simple title that just said $200 Cake. I said to my husband "we need to try this!" $200 would have been a small fortune during those times.
Recipe History
Aunt Lou didn't put a date on this recipe. It was written in fountain pen. Hmm. The ball point pen was widely introduced in the 1950's. I am going to go with 1940 just to keep it simple. I ran this through the CPI inflation calculator. In today's dollars, a cake in 1940 that was $200 would be valued at $3,341.66 in 2014! Wow, that would rank up there with cakes made by Chef Duff!
Given the amount of stains on the page it looks like Aunt Lou made this cake more than just a few times.
We were presented with a small challenge: it just had a list of ingredients and at the bottom "#325." Which I took to mean 325 degrees. The only other indication of any type of procedure was a small line drawn between "2 teas baking P, 1 vanilla and 2 egg whites stiff".
Making the cake
Cream the butter and sugar first, then add the egg yolks. 1 cup of water and then the cake flour. This made a very sticky, gluteny (is that even a word?) almost like a runny pizza dough type batter.
We set that aside in a separate bowl and whipped up the egg white mixture. We then combined the two mixtures and it came out looking like a pretty nice smooth cake batter.
The cake turned out heavy but with a nice smooth texture. It's lighter than a pound cake, and heavier than your typical store bought sheet cake.
Taste testing.
I took one to my office and shared with my co-workers and they loved it. The prevailing comment by my academic colleagues was that " it's taste and texture was what cake is supposed to be." Someone also said it reminded them of eating strawberry shortcake in a "cake" version.
If you want to try some other interesting cake recipes here are some to bookmark for later. Here is another recipe from Aunt Lou for feather cake that is similar to pound cake but a bit lighter. If you want to try something a little more exotic for a baking project try this Swedish Tusendbladstarta or Swedish almond cake. If you like tropical flavors, here is a cake from the Caribbean: Jamaican toto has a wonderful coconut flavor.
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Aunt Lou’s $200 Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake batter:
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 egg whites
Whipped cream frosting:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup sugar super fine or powered sugar
- 4 Tbsp strawberry pureé
Instructions
- Beat the sugar and butter until well combined.
- Add egg yolks until fully combined.
- Add the water and flour and beat slowly until combined and the batter is smooth and sticky, set aside.
- In a separate bowl beat the egg whites, baking powder and vanilla until you have stiff peaks.
- Fold the egg white mixture into the batter until smooth and consistent.
- Aunt Lou writes: "If seems thin, add a little flour."
- Pour into 2 or 3 nine inch cake pans evenly distributed and bake at 325 for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Frosting:
- Whip the heavy whipped cream until very thick.
- Add the powdered sugar.
- Add the strawberry puree.
- Whip until thick and stiff.
Alice Edwards
I was one of the lucky people who got to try a piece and this cake is fantastic! I love dense cakes but the whipped cream frosty balanced it so well. Delicious!
Analida
Thanks Alice. I am glad you enjoyed it. I will have to bring another one in!!
dina
i love old recipes. this looks great!
Cyrus
Based on the recipe, it might really seem like this would be worth the $200 🙂 Going to have to give this one a try!
Analida
LOL!!!
It is really good. I brought it to a breakfast meeting at the office and everyone loved it!! 🙂
Analida
You know Renee, I never thought about it much. You could be right. I always assumed that it was one of those "gimmick" names. 🙂
Let me know how it turns out.
Lydia @ Thrifty Frugal Mom
That's some expensive cake! 🙂 It looks delicious though and I think that often those older cake recipes made denser cakes, at least the ones that I have from my Grandma and in an old cookbook are that way too. I kind of like them that way for different. And I love the idea of using whipped cream to make the frosting. Sound perfectly delicious!
Analida
Yes Lydia!!! These cakes are denser, and they are so good!. I brought one to work the other day and my one co worker tried it and wanted to take the rest home 🙂
Let me know if you make it!!!
Jennifer Tammy
What an amazing legacy -- pinning and stumbling to try later 🙂
Analida
Thanks Jennifer!!!
Laura @MotherWouldKnow
Analida, Love this type of dense cake - and even more the recipe with its inscrutable notes. What a treasure for you - thank you for sharing it with us.
Analida
Laura, you're so welcome. I am so glad I could share. Yes, this is a treasure indeed. I also love dense cakes!! 🙂
Lorena
Aww, I love the story behind this cake. Makes me wonder if my grandma has a recipe book herself. The problem is she used to write Sütterlin, an old German handwriting :/ Your Aunt's cake looks beautiful!
Analida
Oh my Lorena, that would be tough to figure out!!! 🙂 Thanks for your comment on the cake.
Tiffany
Hi, Analida ~ This cake looks delicious! Delicious enough to be worth $200 or $3400! :0) I definitely want to try this recipe. Although, I'll have my daughter or my husband make it--I'm a disaster creator in the kitchen. Thanks for linking up with at the Merry Monday Link Party! See you again on Sunday night!
Analida
Thanks Tiffany. Try it out. I took one into my office a few months ago and everyone loved it. Someone said that the dense cake reminded them of their grandma's cake. Love linking up!
Jess
Wondering if perhaps, after you cream the butter with sugar & add the yolks, if you first add one third of the flour, then half of the water, one third more of the flour, remaining water, then the rest of flour, then fold in the egg whites, that make fix the texture of the cake. Most cake recipes alternate the additions of the wet and dry rather than add them each all at once separately. I will try and let you know!!
Jess
Okay! I've got it! If you add the flour to the butter mixture first, the flour will become coated in fat so that no gluten can form. On the other hand, if you mix the flour and water at the same time, the flour gets wet & forms gluten... It becomes stretchy- the exact opposite of what you're looking for in a cake - like a runny pizza dough!! I'm intrigued! I must try this 3,500.00 cake!!
Analida
Hi Jess, let me know how it turns out. This cake, as I explained, is an old family recipe. The instructions were sketchy to say the least. I did take it into work and my co workers loved how it was dense, like an old style cake. Hope it works for you.
Miz Helen
What a very special cake, it looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing it with Full Plate Thursday. Have a great week and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Analida
Thanks Miz Helen! This cake is awesome. I am glad I could share.
Niki
Trying this for sure. Have decided = rightly or wrongly, l don't care - that it's called the $200 cake because that's the prize your Aunt Lou won for it at a county fair. I have a weakness for old recipe books (and recipes)problem is the method was often so well known by readers of the era that it isnt even mentioned. I would be inclined to alternate wet with dry then gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites etc at the end. Would definitely mix by hand and as little as possible after l add the flour as too much mixing increases the gluten and makes for a tough cake.
Analida
Niki, thanks for your comment. I think you are right about why it is called $200 cake. We just never gave it much thought in the family. You are also right about cooking methods employed in the past. I think the cooks were so well versed in their skills that amounts and processes were second nature to them. I think you process idea for preparing this $200 cake is good and will work. Definitely too much mixing will make for a tough cake. I hope you enjoy it.
Veena Azmanov
Old is Gold and surely this is one too. Looks delicious and never to miss option too.
Elaine Benoit
I loved reading this, especially the part about what the cake would be worth now with inflation! Your aunt Lou's cake looks scrumptious! I adore old recipes and the few I have from my grandmother are abbreviated and when I figured out what she wrote, I was happy to have the recipes!
Colleen
How wonderful to be able to bake up a little piece of history, especially with such an intriguing title. And, that the recipe works and it looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Aleta
I love finding old treasures like this cake recipe. My granny had all sorts of little treasures like this, your recipe has brought back some memories 🙂 Thanks for sharing, I can't wait to try it
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen
What an amazing find! I'm so glad it was a hit for everyone, I think I might try it soon!
Tammy
Definitely a hidden gem!! $200 is still a lot xD This cake sounds and looks marvelous though. I love the fresh strawberry cream too!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
What a unique story behind this post!! With inflation, as you say, this cake has GOT to be good! I even think a $200 cake these days better be pretty tasty 😉
Neha
Wow! I love a dense cake and this one looks so promising! Need to give this recipe a try, $200 got me hooked! 😉
Marisa F. Stewart
What a treasure you found in that cake. Love the idea of Aunt Lou's recipes and trying to find the winners. Apparently the cake certainly is. I never thought about adding fresh fruit into the whipped cream. Makes a nice finish to the cake. I've got to try it.
Anne Lawton
I love these old family recipes and that cake looks like it is worth every penny!
Jenni LeBaron
I love that you found an old recipe to decipher! I wonder if the recipe won $200 in a contest? Either way, a fantastic reason to eat cake! I especially love the sound of the strawberry whipped cream frosting!
Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life
What a fun piece of family history! I inherited my grandmother's cookbook after she passed and I've been dying to try some of the recipes. My dad was always particularly smitten with her orange cream pie so I might have to start there. Thanks for the inspiration!