Abraham Lincoln's Tennessee Cake with Cider Sauce (1835)

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 4 tbspns salted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup coarse cornmeal, preferable stone-ground
• 1/2 regular cornmeal 
• Cider vinegar sauce (see below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 7-x-11-inch baking pan. IN a large mixing bowl, using grease-free beaters, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg yolks and mix well. Combine the flour and cornmeals, then add to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Gently fold 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining beaten egg whites.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. let cool. Cut into squares and serve with cider vinegar sauce. Makes 14 servings.

Cider Vinegar Sauce

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tspns flour
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 tbspn cider vinegar
•  1 tbspn butter
• 1/4 tspn freshly grated nutmeg

In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and flour. slowly add the water, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar, butter, and nutmeg. Let cool. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

"Sauces were very common in thee nineteenth century to serve over typically firm, slightly dry cakes or with boiled or baked puddings."

More "Lost" Abraham Lincoln Recipes

Abe Lincoln's Butter-Browned Steak with Coffee-Mustard Sauce (1837)

Abraham Lincoln's Christmas Shortbread Cookies with Brandy (1861)

(Origin - "Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen" by Rae Katherine Eighmey. Published by Smithsonian Books, 2013.)