A Historical Look at the Mexican Wedding Cake Cookie

Ah, Mexican Wedding Cakes: one of my favorite cakes that is not a cake at all, but a cookie!

And oh, what a cookie. These rich cookies rolled in confectioners' sugar to resemble sweet little snowballs crumble in your mouth in the most delightful way: basically butter and (usually) finely chopped nuts held together by flour and sugar, they begin to shatter and disintegrate the moment they hit your tongue. You may know them as Mexican Wedding Cakes. Or you might know them, with slight variations, under another name: Snowballs, Moldy Mice, Bullets, Russian Teacakes, Melting Moments, Mandulás kifli, Polvorones, Sand Tarts, Sandies, Butterballs, Almond Crescents, Finska kakor, Napoleon Hats (whew!).

These cookies hail from as many countries as they have names: talk about a universal cookie.

Considering the many variations, is it possible to connect the cookie to a particular place? Well, you might first look back to sugar-rich medieval Arab cuisine. Sweetmeats, candies, and confections containing nuts (usually almonds) and spices were served at special occasions. Next, you spread it to Europe, a sweet tradition quickly adopted by Moors and taken to Spain. From then on it’s like playing Telephone: the concept of the cookie traveled far and wide, with each region taking on their own variations based on ingredients available at the time. This sweet cookie concept was then introduced to the New World by early explorers. Fast forward, and you've got a cookie tradition that has persisted due to the cookie's relative ease in preparation and simple but ultimately satisfying tastiness. 

In the 1950s, they started to appear in American cookbooks as Mexican Wedding Cakes, but it seems that it's really just a new name for an old cookie. They're nearly identical to Russian Teacakes, which were a popular dish at noble Russian tea ceremonies in the 1800s. A popular book in Russia from this era, entitled A Gift to Young Housewives, contains several morsels that are constructed similarly; it’s not hard to see how these treats came to be called Russian teacakes. So what's with the name's cultural makeover? I'm wondering if perhaps the name change was a Freedom Fries-esque name change in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Soviet Union and the United States were at odds with one another? It does seem to have coincided with a period during which TexMex cuisine made its entry into American culture in a big way.

But no matter what you'd like to call them, one thing remains true across cultures: these simple cookies are easy to make, and absolutely delightful to eat.

Mexican Wedding Cakes (Printable version here!)

Makes about 2 dozen 1-inch cookies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Confectioners' sugar, for rolling

 Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the flour gradually, beating well after each addition; pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Add the nuts and vanilla; beat just until evenly mixed in.
5. Shape the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter and place on the cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the position of the pans halfway through baking; the cookies are finished when they are lightly browned on the bottom and have a dull finish on top.
7. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. While the cookies are still warm, gently roll them in a bowl of confectioners' sugar. Tap off the excess, and allow them to cool completely. When cool, roll them in the confectioners' sugar a second time before serving; the first coat tends to slightly melt into the cookie, and the second coat will ensure a pretty, snowy appearance.
8. Store in a single layer in an airtight container for up to four days.

Baker's Dozen: 13 Books I Love

This list is not too scientific: it's just 13 books (in no particular order) that I love. I thought I'd share the love in case you've never heard of some of them! 

Bake It in a Cupcake: 50 Treats with a Surprise Inside It's clever, the photos are adorable, and who wouldn't be delighted by a cupcake that's not just a cupcake but a vehicle for stuff like mini pies and rainbows--as well as frosting? Buy it.

Betty Crocker's Cooky Book: Originally released in the early 60's, this groovy volume is my go-to source for cookies of all sorts. The retro-kitch stories and simple, solid recipes--not to mention the weirdly technicolor photos--make scoring an early edition of this volume a MUST for any baker. 

Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients: I am a huge fan of every book by the BAKED boys, and the newest one is no exception. In fact, I'd say it transforms the previous two books into a unit with this one: a true trinity of awesome. The latest book focuses on key ingredients and snailshells out from that, with recipes which speak to the uniqueness of regional specialties while retaining an aspect of deliciousness that nobody can deny. What I love about these books is that they gently educate, and deliver delicious results.

The Daily Cookie: 365 Tempting Treats for the Sweetest Year of Your Life : When I started my website nearly 6 years ago, I reached out to a few websites which struck my fancy in order to get advice, introduce myself, and just kind of sweetly network. One of the earliest websites I loved was Cookie Madness. And now Anna Ginsberg, who I have since met, has a great book. It focuses on the most delicious year of your life--one in which you can indulge in a daily cookie fantasy. It pays homage to wacky food holidays and seasons with a cookie for every day. It's a fun read even at your bedside, no baking required, but it's even better if you dig in to some of the recipes. 

The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts: Yes, this is my new book. But I am awfully proud of it, and you can conveniently pre-order it now! :-) 

The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook: This is a fantastic all-around baking book, including sweets and savories and breads. I love how it includes informative, sometimes storytelling-esque headnotes and the recipes are just perfect.

A World of Cake Krystina Castella: Again and again I kept coming back to this book this year. Engaging stories about all sorts of cake, and recipes too? It is a global cake adventure, perfect for bakers and travelers, of which I am both. 

Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops by Dorie Greenspan: Who is immune to the lure of Parisian sweets? So beautiful, so buttery. This is a sugar-coated love letter to the city of light, and a pleasure to bake with.

Beat This! Cookbook: Absolutely Unbeatable Knock-'em-Dead Recipes for the Very Best Dishes: A re-issue, this book is packed with so much butter in its recipes that it will make you fat just reading it. But a happy fat, you know? Plus, the writing style is so delightful and slightly bratty that you'll fall in love with the writer, just like I did!

Taste of Home Baking All-New Edition (with Bonus Book): 125 Bake-Sale Favorites!: The recipes in this book may not surprise you, but every version of the classics is spot-on, from cakes to cookies to pies and fancy desserts. I've never baked anything and had it come out wrong. 

Sweets for Saints and Sinners: An illustrated little gem which includes the original recipe for Chocolate Decadence from Narsai's. I like the "sinner" section better than the "saint" section, of course.

Rare Bits: Unusual Origins Of Popular Recipes: A very fun book with the stories behind popular recipes. A majority are savories, but there is a respectable amount of sweet, too. Regardless, a book that reads like a particularly pleasurable novel.

Alpha-Bakery Gold Medal Children's Cookbook: A classic, and a favorite of mine growing up. Recipes both sweet and savory, one for each letter of the alphabet. My favorite? X-tra Special Celebration Cake, of course. 

The Wizard of Oz Cookbook: Breakfast in Kansas, Dessert in Oz : This odd but charming book contains recipes inspired by...well, you guessed it, The Wizard of Oz. Funny, retro recipes. Each chapter is themed: think a dinner party in Kansas, a kids' party in Munchkinland, a dessert party in Emerald City, et cetera. Recipes include "Emerald Castle Cake", "Kansas Crullers", and "Yellow Brickle brownies".

Teatime Tastiness: Lady Baltimore Cake Story and Recipe

Here’s a cake that was built for genteel tea parties: a large layer cake filled with chopped nuts and dried fruits and topped with a dramatic (but ever ladylike) billow of boiled frosting. But while one might suppose that this distinguished cake was named after Lady Baltimore, that's not quite how the story went. Like many cakes, its origins are disputed--but like any teatime gossip, this makes the story so much more fun to delve into. A very helpful resource in my delving was The Old Foodie, by the way. Oh, and if you like tales like this, you should probably pre-order my new book, The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts.

Let's start with the tales that are likely false. First: the Lady Baltimore connection. Highly unlikely that the cake dates back to her day: the Lady, whose Irish husband inherited Maryland in the mid-seventeenth century, never even lived in America, and in any case baking powder leavening agents were not invented until well into the nineteenth century – making a cake of this sort not very likely to have been invented as a casual teatime treat during her day. The Big Fella of American Cookery, James Beard, says of Lady Baltimore that it is “said to have originated in Maryland, this one one of the first fine-textured cakes mentioned in old cookery books. It required a delicate touch in mixing and exact measurements--this, in the days of no standard measuring cups, teaspoons, or tablespoons.” Second: the Dolley Madison connection. Some say that the cake rose in popularity due to the fact that it was similar to a cake enjoyed by Dolley Madison, the fourth First Lady but this story fails to explain why it is not then called Dolly Madison cake. Also, she's already got an ice cream named after her—isn't that enough?

And now, the favored explanations for the cake—likely, the true story is a combination of the two. First: It originated in Charleston at the end of the nineteenth century, at “The Lady Baltimore Tearooms”, and was a variation of another popular cake.

Second: novelist Owen Wister is the one who made this cake famous--while writing his 1906 romance, Lady Baltimore, set in a fictional city based on Charleston, he was extremely taken with the city and a cake he ate there. In fictional form, it is described as being not unlike a wedding cake, and the suggestive passage is as follows:

"I should like a slice, if you please, of Lady Baltimore," I said with extreme formality. I thought she was going to burst; but after an interesting second she replied, "Certainly," in her fit Regular Exchange tone; only, I thought it trembled a little.

I returned to the table and she brought me the cake, and I had my first felicitous meeting with Lady Baltimore. Oh, my goodness! Did you ever taste it? It's all soft, and it's in layers, and it has nuts--but I can't write any more about it; my mouth waters too much.

Upon reacting in a strongly favorable way, the narrator realizes that the girl he’d been speaking to was the cake-maker. He finds that it has broken the ice, and their sweet flirtation continues. Some say that it is an instance of art imitating life: could it be possible that Wister had been served some delicious cake by an appealing Southern belle, and was inspired to immortalize the experience?

Supporting this is the fact that there seems to be no mention anywhere of a cake called “Lady Baltimore” until the first known publication of the recipe in 1906. Suddenly there was a flood of newspaper articles mentioning the cake; one writer in 1907 only agreeing to part with the recipe ‘with the sanction of Owen Wister’. Most likely? The cake preceded Wister's novel, but was renamed toute-suite after the novel's popularity became evident. Perhaps some entrepreneurial cake-shop owner took note after reading the book and tweaked the recipe to live up to the novel. Perhaps it was even the ladies at the Lady Baltimore Tea Rooms in Charleston.

Lady Baltimore, in cake form, has a male companion: the Lord Baltimore Cake. This yellow cake variation was created as a clever way to use up all of the egg yolks discarded while making the Lady version of the cake, yielding a rich, decadent counterpart.

Delicate and fine-crumbed, this cake is nicely paired with the rich fillings and toppings which keep it from being too light and angel food-like. Precision with the cake is necessary to get the “lift” from the egg whites, but it's worth the effort: it makes for sweet, easy eating, and the cake's history will make for some fascinating conversation.

Lady Baltimore Cake (printable recipe here!)
16 servings

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 7 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Boiled frosting (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour the bottoms and sides of three 8-or 9-inch round cake pans; line with rounds of parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes on medium speed. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2-3 additions, alternately with the milk, and stir the batter until it is just combined.
5. In another large bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks.
6. Stir a portion of the egg whites into the batter to lighten the mixture; follow by gently folding in the remaining whites.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Use a spatula to smooth the top of the batter in the pans.
8. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
9. Let the cake layers cool in the pans on racks for 10 minutes, turn them out onto the racks, and let them cool completely. If the cakes have formed a dome on top, slice using a serrated knife to level. 

Boiled frosting

• 6 large egg whites
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried figs plus sliced dried figs for garnish
• 1 cup pecans, toasted lightly and chopped fine, plus pecan halves for garnish
• 1/2 cup raisins, chopped

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and the water, stirring occasionally. Once it comes to a boil, continue stirring, more frequently, until the sugar is dissolved; boil the syrup until it registers 248 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
3. With the mixer running add the hot syrup to the egg whites, in a slow, steady stream.
4. Add the vanilla, beating the icing until it is smooth and cool.
5. Transfer two cups of the frosting to a bowl. With the remaining portion of frosting, fold in the chopped figs, pecans, and raisins.
6. Place the first cake layer on a serving plate, flat (un-cut) side up. Spread it with half of the fruit and nut-filled frosting, keeping a ½ inch margin around the edges—the weight of the next layer will spread the filling to the edges. Place another cake layer on top of the frosting, once again so that the flat side faces up. Spread the remaining fruit and nut-filled frosting on top of this layer, once again leaving a margin. Place the third cake layer on top, flat side up. Use the reserved plain frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with any remaining fruit or nuts.

Mural Time!

Hello, Sweet Readers!

Guess what? I'm in Delaware right now, painting a mural. Since the house is still under construction, I don't have much internet access.

So til I return home for regular sweet dispatches on Wednesday, enjoy my snapshots of the progress so far!
Love, CakeSpy

CakeSpy Undercover: Nook Bakery and Cafe, Philadelphia

There it is, hidden in plain sight in the middle of a busy city block: Nook Bakery. 

I say hidden not because it really is, but because somehow I had walked by roughly a zillion times without ever actively noticing that it said "Bakery" on the door. I thought it was just a coffee shop! No offense to coffee shops, of course, but for me, bakeries hold higher interest. 

But you can bet your bottom dollar that on the day I had my glasses prescription updated and finally noticed the word bakery, I went right in to buy something. 

They have a very nice bakery display, including cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and bars. I hope nobody minds, but I snagged a few photos from their Yelp page to give you a better idea, because I only had my phone camera. Here are some of the things you might see there. 

After much debate, I settled on a brownie and an apple custard bar.

Mostly, I am going to talk about the apple custard bar, though, because that was my favorite.

What seemed a pie like pastry molded into a Napoleon shaped brick, this apple custard bar had a sturdy bottom shortbread-y layer and a sturdy brown sugar crumb topping, but the inside was all gooey yum. The custard was smooth and played oh so nicely with the light spice of the apples, which permeated all parts with a sweetness that was most welcome to this mouth.

I would definitely need another. 

I will certainly be visiting Nook again, and I have my sights set on more bar cookies and the delicious looking cupcakes (one of which is pictured above, courtesy the Nook Yelp page).

Nook Bakery and Cafe, 15 South 20th Street, Philadelphia; online here.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

This cake was made using a decorating kit! So cute! From Ella Vanilla Cake Decorating Kits.

Girl Scout Cookie Season: Homemade Samoas.

Want to eat it: S'mores creme brulee.

Bundt I love history! Mary Todd Lincoln Bundt Cake.

Yumsies: Nilla Wafer Cupcakes.

Exploding ice cream scoop? Yikes.

Easter is coming, so you need pastel meringue nests. Yup.

Beautiful and inspiring cakes: Sweet Element Cakes.

Make your ice cream awesomer: chocolate chip cones.

Yum: honeyed rye biscuits.

51 Rainbow food ideas: taste the rainbow.

Why not...enter a raisin bread recipe contest?

Still a fave: cake mix science!

OMG: Amazing sale items at CakeSpy Shop's online retail!

Does Cake Taste Different Depending on Your State of Mind?

Cake always tastes delicious. That's a fact and nobody can take that away from you.

But here's a question that, once it occurred to me, made me pause to ponder: does the same cake taste different depending on the time of day and your state of mind? Obviously, there was only one way to find out: I had to make myself a cake-eating guinea pig in this important experiment.

So I made up a batch of cake--cupcakes, in fact. Vanilla with chocolate frosting. Actually, it was the cupcake version of my birthday cake from last year. So I know it's a cake I like. I put several in the freezer so they wouldn't go stale, and then rationed them out to myself over the next several days, experimenting with how the cake would taste at various times of day and centered around different activities.

Oh, the things I do for science! Here's how it went. 

Wake n Cake: Cake eaten directly after waking up. That's right. I had the cake at the ready, so that when I woke up, I literally turned over to my night table, grabbed the plate of cake, and dug in (what I do for the sake of research!). Believe it or not, it isn't the first time I've done something like this, but it is the first time I tasted mindfully and really observed the experience. I still had morning breath and felt sleep-fuzzy, and the cake almost seemed like an interloper in my sleep world. My taste buds rejected it at first as foreign, odd. But the more I ate, the cake taste coated my mouth and I tasted sweet, not sleep. Not a bad way to wake up the taste buds, but I think I'll wait at least 10 minutes in the future before going for the cake.

Cake Interrupted: Cake while eating TV. It basically went like this: I'm eating, I'm eating, it's sweet, and then it's gone. Wait, how did that happen? I realized that while the cake tasted good, I barely registered the experience. I felt like I'd had just a bite or two, and I wanted more. I can see why eating in front of the TV is not good for you--you don't eat mindfully at all!

Cake OM: cake after yoga class. This was probably the best cake of all. I felt like my senses had been awakened by stretching my body, and walking outside into the brisk coldness and walking two blocks home, I felt invigorated. Still in that zen state of mind, I ate quietly, slowly, and mindfully. I tasted every bite, and every bite tasted like a sweet reward. I highly suggest eating cake after yoga or exercise. 

Virtuous cake: cake eaten after salad. Have you ever eaten a slice of cake directly after eating a salad? It's weird, man. You've got the natural sweetness of the salad ingredients--the crispy lettuce, carrots, etc. And the tartness of the vinaigrette. Then you have a slice of cake, and it just tastes weird and sour for a few bites. Luckily, after the initial few bites my taste buds were acquainted with the cake, and I found it an enjoyable experience. But the first few bites were really not that enjoyable.

Naughty cake: cake eaten post cheeseburger. I'm told that eating a fat slice of cake after eating a nice fat burger is not so good for you, healthwise. But I'm here to make an argument for its nourishment of the soul. The gorgeous contrast of the soft sweetness of the cake following the savory salty unctuousness of the burger is an absolute thing of beauty. It felt like yin and yang. I craved ice cream with the cake, or to have the cake slightly chilled for even more of a cooling, sweet contrast, but the room temperature cake seemed to do just fine. Verdict: Thumbs up. 

Cake Walk: cake eaten while walking around the block. Eating and walking is an interesting experience. For me, it is a mixed bag. It's enjoyable because I like the feeling of eating outside--the air on your skin, even cold, stimulates my taste. But eating a slice of cake (a strange food to be eating while walking) made me self conscious, and I think this took away from tasting because I was concerned about people looking at me. Verdict: thumb halfway. 

Cake Dreams: Cake eaten right before bed. Do sweet foods give you sweet dreams? Well, I thought they might at first, because eating cake at night in bed is AWESOME. Not so awesome, however, is a half hour later when you're trying to sleep and find yourself all sugar-fired-up and ready to like, dance the macarena or something. Of course, I am not a big late-night eater, so this made me uncomfortable and too energized before bed. 

Frozen Hot Chocolate from Holy Cacao, Austin TX

It started out innocently, really.

We were going to Gourdough's to get some big fat doughnuts. Yay for big fat doughnuts!

But on our way, we were sidetracked by something heaven-sent: Holy Cacao. If you're not familiar with the way the food truck scene is set up in Austin, Texas, let me tell you that it is epic. In my opinion, it's like Portland's food truck scene, but like, times ten. There are food truck "pods" or mini communities, set up in lots all over. Some even have communal seating areas. It makes for a really friendly atmosphere and really promotes trying products from multiple vendors.

And while exploring other vendors on our way to Gourdough's, this was the one that caught this Spy's eye. Specializing in chocolate and cake pops, it was right up my alley. Even more so when I noticed their tag line: Las cosas claras y el chocolate espeso." (Ideas should be clear and chocolate thick.) - Spanish proverb. I like that way of thinking.

You should probably get one of everything here. They offer cake balls in all sorts of flavors, shakes (including! A cake shake!), and drinking chocolate. And it's the drinking chocolate that is the base of their Frozen Hot Chocolate. 

If you have never heard of frozen hot chocolate, let me educate you. It's an incredibly rich chocolate base that is then mashed with ice cream and ice and blended to smooth, creamy confection perfection. It's not quite a milkshake, but it's more than just chilled hot chocolate. When done poorly, it's like a grainy coolatta. When it's done well, it's magic. It's famous the world at a place called Serendipity 3 in New York City.

At Holy Cacao, they do it right. You start by choosing a hot chocolate flavor - Holy, Cacao, The Mexican, or Peppermint Patty, and then they will blend it with ice and Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream (because in Texas, you're in Blue Bell country), carefully adjusting their blender and mashing down uncrushed ice and blending again to ensure the correct consistency. What you get is, as they aptly declare on their website, "a rich, chilled chocolate experience."

My companion, who grew up in New York City with Serendipity 3 as the guiding light and standard of what a Frozen Hot Chocolate can and ought to be, not only approved, but (watch out) declared it superior. And I can agree that it is very, very, very good. 

It doesn't really get so cold in Austin, it more trends toward hot, and this beverage is the perfect way to cool down, deliciously.

And the perfect warm-up to a doughnut.

1311 So. 1st Street, Austin; online here.

Sweet Product: Unicorn Shaped Sprinkle Shaker

Image: thefancy.comOMG, people. I was alerted to this important and life-changing news this morning by my cakey BFF Bakerella: a unicorn-shaped sprinkle shaker exists.

It's available on thefancy.com. As the product info page reveals,

Shower your sweet treat with some sprinkles dusted by the fairytale-like Unicorn Sprinkles Shaker. Holes at the top of the unicorn's body release the sprinkles after you flip it upside down and shake. Multi-coloured sprinkles will scatter over your ice cream, cake or anything that you want to add a sugary and colourful taste to. The mythical unicorn will add a more mystical look to your kitchen as well as adding a magical taste to your food.

I love this thing! The news of its existence, by the way, was broken to me in the most effective way possible: via twitter. Bakerella put it succinctly: "@cakespy," she said, "you must get this!".

Truer words have never been spoken, because yes, I need this thing. And you do too. Here's the link to buy.

Happy and Sweet President's Day!

May you enjoy a happy and sweet President's Day, and hopefully, a day off of work on which to eat plenty of cake!

Might I urge you, on this most wonderful day off, to check out this post about desserts named after Presidents? I guarantee it will make your day sweeter.

Find the post here. Have a sweet day off!