Recently I received an email from one of my readers asking for more recipes from Aunt Lou's Archives. So, after pouring through some of her old recipes, my husband and I agreed on Feather Cake, which by the way is not really "light as a feather".
Reading this recipe, like many others, made us laugh. For one, there were no instructions. Yup, you got it, no instructions other than "bake in loaf"! Just figure it out. Don't worry, I am providing instructions.
Old-fashioned measurements
The next curiosity we were confronted with was a measurement we have never ever seen before: "butter size egg." This rather arbitrary culinary term makes "handful, dash and pinch" sound exact. Well, after scratching our heads for what seemed an eternity my husband called his mother who knew "exactly what butter size egg meant." You see, in Aunt Lou's time, butter was sold by weight at the market, in the same manner than one buys cheese or lunch meats at the deli counter. You told the grocer how much you wanted, he would slice off a chunk, wrap it in butcher paper and off you went.
Our instructions
Now, when trying to figure how much butter to use for a recipe the home cook, would often equate the amount needed to an object they were familiar with, let's say: an egg!!! Well, my husband likes things to be exact, and butter size egg wasn't going to do it. So, he resorted to the laws of physics, mainly displacement. Yes, this was quite the culinary experience. My husband took a Pyrex measuring cup, added 1 cup of water and dropped the egg in. The difference in measurement was the amount of butter needed. This ended up being about ¼ cup. See photo below.
Why its so memorable
Feather cake is lighter than pound cake and much denser that your typical birthday cake. We tried this recipe with two different types of flour (cake flour and all purpose flour) to see which one we like better. Well we decided that we liked the feather cake made with all purpose flour. It made for a denser cake which we felt was more true to the old fashioned type cake. The batter comes together quickly using the creaming method with the butter, sugar and egg. This is a super simple cake to make!
We served feather cake with strawberries, no cream! I think it makes a great alternative to strawberry shortcake, and it has an interesting story too!
If you want to make some other interesting dessert recipes here are some of my favorites. You can bookmark them and try them later or pin them on Pinterest.
Try this classic Spanish style custard: coconut flan has a lovely flavor of coconut and cinnamon.
Pistachio rosewater cookies are a Middle Eastern style shortbread cookie with just a hint of rosewater.
Authentic Lithuanian tinginys are a no-bake sliced cookie with a nice chocolate flavor and dried cherries.
Tarte Normande is a rustic apple tart with custard from the Normandy region of France.
Chocolate Drop Cookies are a chewy, chocolatey cookie treat from the family vault.
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Feather Cake Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅔ cup milk
- ¼ cup butter "butter size egg" ¼ cup at room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350'F
- Using a mixer, beat sugar and butter until light. Add the egg and beat until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Slowly add the flour and baking powder. Add milk and vanilla. Beat on low for 30 seconds and on high for about 3 minutes.
- Pour in a greased and floured loaf pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes. Test with cake tester for doneness. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
- When cake is cool to the touch, invert onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.
- Serve with strawberries or other berries.
dina
it looks like a lovely cake!
Analida
Thanks so much! It is an old family recipe: my husband's grandmother's aunt!
Chris @ The Café Sucré Farine
I love old timey recipes like this. It looks like this one was well-loved by Aunt Lou! It's wonderful that you're able to recreated these treasured recipes. What a legacy for your family!
Analida
Yes Chris! Indeed it is great to be able to recreate her recipes. Some are a challenge since they have ingredients but no instructions or arbitrary measurements, lol. Anyhow. Thanks for your comment. BTW... I have seen your site and love it!
Laura @MotherWouldKnow
Love this recipe - so simple but I bet it's fabulous as a light summer dessert. So which size egg comes closest to 1/4 cup? Large? I'll do the experiment myself, but thought I'd save the effort if you already know the answer:)
Analida
Thanks Laura! LOL, we ended up using a large egg. 🙂
Melanie Redd
Yum! This cake looks really good!
I came over on Wonderful Wednesday, and I'm glad to find your site.
Hope you have a blessed day~
Melanie
Analida
Thanks Melanie! glad you liked it.
A blessed day to you too,
analida
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass
Looks scrumptious Analida! Pass me a fork! And I love your husband's science experiment!
Analida
Thanks Allie. I know, the science experiment, lol!!! he is always coming up with stuff like that.
Kim~madeinaday
Love old recipes they tend to be the best~ Thanks for linking up to Merry Monday! Sharing on MM Pin Board! Have a great week!
Kim
Analida
You are welcome Kim! Yes, old recipes are awesome. Have a super week too!!
Michaela Kenkel
Analida! I truly love recipes like this one the most!! Sentimental and sweet!! I will be trying this soon! <3
Analida
Hi Michaela!
Yes, it is very sentimental and sweet indeed.
Ari B.
I've just been given my grandmother's recipe box, and there's a card here with a handwritten Feather Cake recipe with no real instructions besides "drop an egg in a cup, and fill the cup with sweet milk" and then "butter the size of a walnut creamed into the sugar". So it looks like her recipe wanted all the liquid ingredients mixed together, the sugar and butter creamed together, and dry ingredients were in an entirely different list. So I'll just beat the eggs and milk together and add them alternately with the dry ingredients and see how that goes. These old recipes are a hoot.