Tips for baking success

Imagine Marilyn Monroe breathlessly singing, “Happy Birthday, Mr. President: Happy birthday to you,” to Abraham Lincoln.
 
Then imagine Abe's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, whacking him upside the head as he smiles at Monroe. OK, I can't imagine it either. I mean, Lincoln was such a good guy.
 
He was honest, he helped a pig get unstuck from the mud, and he freed the slaves, according to my elementary school books. That's why he was my childhood hero.
 
I mentioned that fact to a friend who recently called me after she had just visited the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois. So she surprised me with a copy of the “Lincoln Heritage Trail Cook Book” for Christmas.
 
In it is Mary Todd's White Cake recipe, which Lincoln is said to have remarked was the best cake he had ever eaten. So, with his birthday coming up on February 12 and Presidents' Day on February 16, I thought it would be appropriate to test a similar cake.
 
I asked the owners of Goldsboro's Bakery to bake an adapted version of the recipe for this article, and Bobby Goldsboro happily obliged.
 
He also agreed to share some tips for baking success with readers who have wanted to bake but are hesitant because they lack experience.
 
Just follow any baking recipe exactly as it's written the first couple of times you make it, he said. Then you'll know what to expect.
 
After that, you can experiment with a recipe and make it your own, he said. Does it need more flavor? Add a little more sugar or salt. You can even add cinnamon to recipes that don't call for it, he said.
 
Butter adds flavor as well, and Goldsboro said he prefers it over margarine for cakes and cookies.
 
Does the recipe seem a little dry? Add a little more milk or whatever liquid the recipe calls for. Too moist? Add a little more flour, he said.
 
Weather can also affect a baking recipe. If a recipe has always worked out just right, but on a hot, dry day it seems to be a little drier than usual, you may need to add more liquid, he said.
 
Likewise, humid weather can create the need for slightly more dry ingredients, he said. After awhile, you'll just know how to adjust baking recipes.
 
He should know. Although he took time out for a college education in business management and culinary arts, he's been baking at the family-owned business for about 10 years now.
 
Experience has taught him that butter is easier to cream with sugar if the butter has softened at room temperature. And it has taught him that cakes that need to bake for about an hour or so will generally burn on the bottom if the pan has been greased and floured.
 
So he recommends greasing a pan and using parchment paper as a liner on the bottom instead of dusting the pan with flour.
 
Just place the baking pan on a sheet of parchment paper and trace the pan's shape with a pen. Then cut out the shape and line the pan before pouring in the cake batter, he said.
 
Always use the highest grade ingredients, he said. And use cake flour - which is much finer than bread flour - for cakes. If cake flour is not available, then use all-purpose flour, he said.
 
Sometimes, a cake may need to bake for longer or shorter lengths of time than a recipe calls for. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the cake is done, he said.
 
Whenever trying to decide whether a cake needs to bake longer or not, it's always best to overcook one by a few minutes than to undercook one, he said. A slightly overcooked cake may be a little dry and it may crack, but it's edible, he said.
 
An undercooked cake, however, will sink in the middle and is not good to eat, he said.
 
As for the white cake that Abraham Lincoln allegedly said is the best he had ever eaten, I wondered aloud how it compared to modern-day recipes Goldsboro bakes daily. 
 
“If old Abe said it's the best, then it's the best,” he said, grinning. “I'm not going to argue with a president.” Then he hustled back to all the baking orders awaiting him.
 
Meanwhile, his staff iced the cake with a cream cheese frosting and boxed it up for me to take home. I can attest it is one of the best cakes I've ever eaten. It has a delicate texture, and the tender almonds enhance its sweet flavor.
 
If you're going to try a baking recipe for the first time, I highly recommend the following one. If you're an old pro, then bake it anyway. It's well worth it.

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White cake with almonds

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 cup slivered almonds
3 teaspoons baking powder
6 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar. Sift flour and baking powder together, then add to butter and sugar, alternating with milk. Stir in three fourths of the slivered almonds and beat well. Then fold in the egg whites and vanilla. Grease 10 inch round baking pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Pour batter in pan and sprinkle remainder of slivered almonds on top. Bake one hour at 350 degrees, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cake cool, then turn onto cake plate. Frost and decorate as desired.

Adapted from Mary Todd's White Cake recipe in “Lincoln Heritage Trail Cook Book."