Alabama Lane Cake Recipe
My grandmother made her Lane Cake recipe for very special occasions. For example, it was her go-to Christmas cake. But she also made it for me when I’d come over, which was a LOT, so I think I must have been pretty special to her.
Memories of Granny Gray and Her Lane Cake
Every single time I went over to Granny’s, I’d sit in the same chair and she’d serve me my favorite foods. Her Lane Cake happened to be one of them, and it always made me feel as if my visit was an important occasion.
That’s what this old-fashioned cake does when you serve it: it makes people feel special. It’s been having that effect ever since Emma Rylander Lane of Clayton, Alabama published the recipe for her prize cake in 1898.
Harper Lee helped make this cake even more famous by mentioning it several times in To Kill a Mockingbird. Miss Maudie Atkinson bakes a Lane Cake to welcome Aunt Alexandra to the Finch family home. (I don’t use nearly as much bourbon in my recipe as Miss Maudie did — just enough for flavor!)
Make It to Make People Feel Special
Today, anyone who sees this homemade cake on the table for potlucks at church, Christmas, or a birthday knows where you stand. They know you took the time to make something truly wonderful for them.
Garden and Gun thought the cake was so special they posted the recipe from my book! What an honor.
One appeal of this cake is that it looks old fashioned. You could “modern” it up, and I may do that one day. But for now, I make and decorate it just like Granny did. The thick layers of nougat with the light-as-air icing and the toasted pecans decorating the top in a circle are just perfect.
That’s why it had to make it into the chapter “Life is a Cakewalk” in my cookbook and memoir Love Language of the South. The book is all about food and life in the South, and it wouldn’t be the same without my Granny Gray, her food, and her cakes. She loved people, and the best way to show that love was through food.
What is a Lane Cake?
It’s clear why this cake is called Lane Cake, after its creator. But what is it, exactly? The best Southern Lane Cake is a labor of love for the ones you love: 3 layers of moist white cake alternating with a rich coconut-bourbon custard filling. The fluffy white frosting and pecan garnish are the finishing touches.
Figure on about an hour of hands-on time to prepare a Lane Cake. For best flavor, make it a day or two ahead of when you plan to serve it.
Click here for more of my favorite cake recipes.
Alabama Lane Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup 2 sticks butter, softened, plus more for preparing the pans
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 egg whites (reserve yolks for filling)
Filling
- 8 egg yolks
- 1 `cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 ½ cup golden raisins, finely chopped
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup cold water
- 4 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 4 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour 3 9-inch cake pans. (You can also use parchment paper.) In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Stir in the vanilla.
- In the clean bowl of a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, whisk the 8 egg whites until stiff. Save the egg yolks for the filling. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, divide batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cakes spring back, but have very little color on the top. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and allow them to cool completely.
- While the layers are cooling, make the filling. In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, whisk together yolks, sugar, and butter for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Remove mixture from the heat and stir in raisins, coconut, pecans, bourbon, and vanilla. Allow mixture to cool before spreading over the layers of the cake.
- To make the frosting, fill a saucepan with 2 inches of water and set a metal or glass mixing bowl over the top, creating a double boiler. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water but should be just under the bowl. Bring the water in the saucepan to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer. Add sugar, water, corn syrup, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and the egg white mixture is stiff and glossy, or about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat.
- To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a serving plate. Add 1/2 of the filling to the top of the layer. Repeat with the second layer, then place the third layer on the top. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the frosting. Store in the refrigerator.
