President Lincoln’s cake is a cake made with flour, almond powder, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, vanilla and yeast; sometimes covered with a white icing sprinkled with almonds.

According to Donna D. McCreary’s Lincoln’s Table, the vanilla almond cake was invented by Mr. Giron of Lexington, Kentucky, Mary Todd Lincoln’s hometown. This cake, intended for the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to Lexington in 1825, was such a triumph that the Todd ladies kept the recipe.

Mary Todd made this cake for Abraham Lincoln while they were dating in Springfield, Illinois. She continued to make it after she married and even as First Lady. This white almond cake was one of Mr. Lincoln’s favorite desserts. Unlike Mary, Abe Lincoln came from a modest Kentucky background. An able and successful lawyer, Lincoln helped end slavery and the Civil War. His assassination on April 14, 1865, just after his term in office ended, shocked the country. This almond cake thus became a symbol of Lincoln and was featured on menus at inaugural and military banquets in the 1870s.

Level of difficulty : easy

Prep time : 25 mins

Rest time : –

Cook time : 55 mins

Total time :  1 hour 20 mins

Yied : 6 servings

3 egg whites

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

0.5 cup sweet butter at room temperature

1 cup de sucre cristallisé

0.5 cup milk

3 cups coarsely chopped white almonds

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup icing sugar

Steps :

• Preheat oven to 360°F.
• Place egg whites in bowl and beat until stiff. Set aside.
• Sift flour and baking powder into a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Beat together butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
• Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture alternately with milk, beating after each addition.
• Stir in almonds.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the vanilla.
• Pour the dough into a 9 inch diameter savarin mold lined with parchment paper, lightly greased and floured.
• Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack.
• Let cool completely.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar or cover with white icing sprinkled with almonds.
• Serve and enjoy!