Name: Lane Cake
Yield: Makes 10 to 12 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon grated orange zest; 1½ cups sugar; 2 cups sugar; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 2 large egg whites; 8 large egg whites, beaten till stiff; 3½ cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (fresh or frozen); ½ cup bourbon; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar; 1 cup seedless golden raisins; 1 cup chopped pecans; 1 cup sugar; ½ pound (2 sticks) butter; ½ cup water; 10 large egg yolks; 1½ cups whole milk; ½ teaspoon salt

Preparation info

Makes
10 to 12
servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Glory of Southern Cooking

By James Villas

Published 2007

About

If ever there was a true Southern ceremonial layer cake, this is it. Created in Clayton, Alabama, by Emma Rylander Lane and called simply “Prize Cake” in her hometown cookbook of 1898, Some Good Things to Eat, the cake quickly assumed her name, and its fame spread far and wide. There were no pecans or coconut in the original recipe, only raisins and “one wine glass of good whiskey or brandy,” but as t