Hartford Election Cake

January 2021, continuing. The dissertation research is underway in earnest now. I have access to the full dataset from Dr. Ochoa project and I am building my own analysis around a specific question: what is the role of the teacher-child relationship in moderating the effects of early adversity on language outcomes? This is a more specific version of the question I have been asking since I started at UAB. The data is there. I am learning to hear what it says.

I am working through the index cards in order. Card three: Gloria mother pound cake, which is different from Gloria own pound cake recipe. Her mother used cream and a tablespoon of almond extract and the result is more delicate, more perfumed. I made it Sunday and brought it to Prattville. Gloria tasted a slice and was quiet for a moment and said: that tastes like Mama kitchen. She said it the way you say something that surprises you with its presence. Yes. The recipe carries the kitchen. That is what forty-seven cards mean.

Priya has started her nursing job and has moved to a different part of Birmingham. Her replacement roommate is a quiet young man named Marcus who is in graduate school for music composition and who keeps odd hours and who, when he smells something good from the kitchen, comes in and says: I brought wine. He has good instincts for social navigation.

What Gloria said — that tastes like Mama’s kitchen — is still in my head when I bake. That sentence is the whole argument for the index card project in one breath. The Hartford Election Cake is another card in that same tradition: a recipe with deep American roots, the kind that survived because someone thought to write it down, and someone else thought to keep it. It is spiced and a little dense and completely itself, and when you pull it from the oven the kitchen smells like something that has been going on for a long time. That felt right for this particular Sunday.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 20 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105–110°F)
1/2 cup warm whole milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/4 cup brandy or sweet sherry
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground mace
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 cup currants or raisins
1/2 cup mixed candied citrus peel
Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Instructions

Proof the yeast. Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand 5 minutes until foamy. Stir in the warm milk and 1 cup of the flour until a loose batter forms. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine wet and dry. Stir the brandy or sherry into the butter mixture. Add the yeast sponge and stir to combine. Sift in the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour with the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, and salt. Fold until a thick, cohesive batter forms.
Fold in fruit. Stir in the currants and candied citrus peel until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Second rise. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Transfer batter into the pan, smooth the top, cover loosely with a clean towel, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until slightly puffed.
Bake. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the cake for 50–55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is deep golden brown. Tent loosely with foil after 35 minutes if browning too quickly.
Cool and serve. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before slicing if desired. Serve in thick slices at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Hartford Election Cake — The Recipe That Carries the Kitchen