Over the weekend I prepared Mrs. Teddy Roosevelt's Clove Cake recipe, or a variation of it that I found in Best of the Best from Tennessee, 1987. The recipe is called 100-Year Old Clove Cake, but I suppose we can call it 130-Year Old Clove Cake since this version of the recipe was drawn from a 1984 cookbook called Our Favorite Recipes. This will likely be the newest cookbook I dive into for this project. I made an exception for this particular recipe, since it's much older than the book.
I used real unsalted butter unsalted instead of the margarine. It also calls for a cup of sour milk. I squeezed 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring cup (vinegar works too). Fill with whole milk until mixture measures 1 cup. And just let that sit for at least 5 minutes.
I put my electric mixer to work without hesitation. Halfway through mixing I realized that if I were true to the original recipe, I would do all of it by hand. Maybe in the future, I will keep the technology to a minimum! I expected the cake to be deeper in color, but the finished result was a gorgeous golden brown. The flavor was great too, especially when it was still warm. I may make this again around Christmastime, it seemed so festive. Full recipe below, typed up exactly as it is in the book.
100-Year Old Clove Cake
1 cup margarine (2 sticks)
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups sifted flour
1 tablespoon cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour milk
Soften margarine. Gradually add sugar and cream well. Beat eggs thoroughly in a separate bowl. Add to sugar mixture and beat until light. Sift dry ingredients together and add 1/3 at a time to batter. Add 1/2 cup sour milk and another 1/3 of dry ingredients; mix well. Stir soda into remaining milk and mix into batter with remaining flour. Bake in well-greased and floured 10-ince tube pan at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until cake pulls away from side of pan. Cool 10 minutes. Remove to cake rack and cool thoroughly.
This cake is the one used by Mrs. Teddy Roosevelt. Does not need frosting, it's so good.
Our Favorite Recipes