It’s too easy to lose track of the origin of some of the many wonderful recipes that we all love–but have no idea where they came from!
One of our Sisters, known for her love for cooking and her creative culinary skills, has a great intro to one of her favorite recipes… that lives on to this day!
“My mother, who came to this country as a young girl, first obtained a job doing housework for a wealthy family on 5th Ave, N.Y. The lady of the house had a special liking for a tall, moist, three-layered cake from a nearby bakery—with a creamy custard filling, generous swirls of maple-flavored frosting and lavishly sprinkled with finely chopped walnuts. My mother soon cultivated a taste for this culinary wonder also—and developed her own recipe for the cake by taste and instinct.”
And now, through the years, it’s been passed on to us, with modifications and adjustments, and continues to be the quintessential dessert for the right occasion.
SERVINGS8-10CHANGE SERVING SIZE |
COOK TIME1hour |
PREP TIME1hour |
READY IN2hours |
Ingredients
- Step 1 - Cake
- 2 cups flour sifted
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 medium eggs separated
- 3/4 cup milk
- Step 2 - Custard Filling
- 2 cups milk
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 pinch of salt
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp banana flavoring
- Step 3 - Maple Frosting
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 4 egg whites
- 1 tsp maple flavoring add extra to taste
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped, add to taste
Instructions
- Lightly grease and flour (3) 8 inch cake pans
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt
- Cream together butter and sugar; add vanilla
- Beat in egg yolks and add milk alternating with flour mixture; mix well
- Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cake batter
- Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until cakes tests done, using a toothpick
- Cool before filling and frosting
- Scald milk and let cool slightly
- Beat eggs and whisk into milk
- Place milk back on medium heat and whisk in sugar, flour, cornstarch mixture
- Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter, vanilla and banana flavoring
- Allow to cool and thicken before filling cake
- Melt brown sugar in the water and bring to a boil.
- Gently continue boiling for about 15”, until it reaches the soft ball stage, about 240 degrees.. The thickness should be similar to maple syrup.
- Beat egg white until stiff. While continuing to beat, slowly pour in brown sugar mixture. Add in maple flavoring to taste; continue beating until cool, and it appears to be of a spreading consistency.
- Fill and frost cake; cover with chopped walnuts
- The cake holds well in refrigerator.