1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, separated
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup whole milk or half-and-half
1 cup chopped hickory nuts or pecans (I used pecans since hickory nuts are quite hard to come by!)
½ teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Directions
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a Bundt pan.
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the butter is creamy – about one minute. Slowly add the sugar and beat on medium speed until light and creamy – about two minutes.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beat until combined. Set the bowl aside.
Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and sift to combine everything together evenly. Set the bowl aside.
Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form – this generally takes about 4 minutes. Set the egg whites aside.
Stir the lemon juice into the milk.
Add the flour mixture and milk mixture to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just enough to combine.
Beat in the hickory nuts (or pecans) and if desired, the almond or vanilla extracts, on low speed until thoroughly combined.
By hand, fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, just until combined.
Pour the batter into the greased pan and place the pan in the oven.
Bake the cake until it is golden brown and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, for about 55 to 60 minutes. Do the “toothpick check” to confirm that it’s done.
Remove the cake from the oven and cool for at least twenty minutes.
Run a knife around the edges of the pan, give the pan a gentle shake, then place the cake onto a baking rack to cool for about 30 minutes.
Slice and serve. You can serve plain or sprinkle confectioners sugar over the top.
Today in American History…Sarah Childress was born on September 4, 1803 to Elizabeth and Joel Childress at their plantation home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Sarah Childress and James Polk were formally introduced by Andrew Jackson – who just so happened to be a close acquaintance of Sarah Childress. Legend has it that Andrew Jackson urged James Polk to marry Sarah and referred to her as “wealthy, pretty, ambitious, and intelligent.” The couple were engaged in 1823 and married at her family’s plantation home on January 1, 1824.
Sarah and James Polk around 1846
For the era, Sarah Polk was a well educated woman. She had attended the exclusive Moravians’ Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, NC in 1817 – which was just one of few schools in the US at the time that allowed women to enroll and attend.
Mrs Polk became First Lady when her husband was sworn in on March 4, 1845 as our eleventh US President. Several First Ladies throughout history, including, Mrs Polk, have been very much a strong influence and active behind the scenes when it came to their husband’s political careers. Mrs Polk was one of the first First Ladies to take an active role in her husband’s electoral process and campaign. She was known to be charming, intelligent and a good conversationalist. They had from all accounts a true partnership and he relied on her very much from typing his official correspondence, speaking to world leaders and sharing with her issues pertaining to the government while in office.
She was also very pious and observant of her faith. Mrs Polk was a devout Presbyterian and unlike the previous administration of President John Tyler, Mrs Polk banned dancing, hard liquor and card games at official receptions. Unlike former First Lady Julia Tyler’s entertaining receptions, The Polk’s receptions were very dull and subdued. Some even referred to Mrs Polk as “Sahara Sarah.”
Sarah Polk was the very first First Lady to be photographed at The White House. She is also the first First Lady to have had a picture taken alongside her husband while he was in office.
President and Mrs Polk on the South Portico of The White House. If you look closely, you will see future President James Buchanan on the far left and Dolley Madison second to to right (wearing a turban). (Photo Credit: George Eastman House, 1848)
The Polk’s retired from public office in 1849 and returned to Tennessee. He had the shortest retirement of any former President and passed away on June 15, 1849. According to traditional accounts of the time, his last words were to his wife telling “I love you, Sarah, for all eternity, I love you.”
Sarah Polk passed away in Nashville, Tennessee on August 14, 1891.
Did you know that one of former First Lady Lucy Hayes favorite desserts was a traditional white cake? Here is her own personal recipe (among others!) at Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums:
“There is not to be found a better receipt
for white cake than the following. The cake is mixed contrary to the usual rules of making cake, but it is the best mode of making it fine-grained and delicate.
Ingredients: Whites of six eggs, scant three-quarters of a cupful of butter, one and one-quarter cupfuls of pulverized sugar, two cupfuls of flour, juice of half a lemon, one-quarter of a tea-spoonful of soda.
If soda is used, mix it well with the flour, and pass it through the sieve several times to distribute it equally. Beat the butter to a light cream, and add the flour to it, stirring it in gradually with the ends of the fingers until it is a smooth paste. Beat the whites of the six eggs to a stiff froth, and mix in them the pulverized sugar; now stir the eggs and sugar gradually into the flour and butter, adding also the lemon-juice, and mix it smoothly together with the egg whisk. As soon as it is perfectly smooth, put it into the oven, the heat of which should be rather moderate at first. When done and still hot, spread over it a frosting made with the white of one egg, pulverized sugar and a flavoring of lemon. The frosting is a decided improvement, and, according to the receipt
, only requires a few minutes to prepare.
This cake may be made with one-tea-spoonful of baking-powder, or with prepared flour, or with the one-quarter tea-spoonful of soda and one-half tea-spoonful of cream of tartar, when the essence of lemon should be used instead of the lemon-juice.”
I decided to do a modern version of the traditional white cake in the kitchen tonight. This is a recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction that I always used and it literally never fails me. It always comes out incredibly fluffy and moist.
White Cake
Ingredients
2 and 1/2 cups cake flour (spoon & leveled)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cup (1.5 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar
5 large egg whites, at room at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper.
Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans.
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add 110 the egg whites. Beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 24-25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
Cream Cheese Frosting
I always use the recipe from Sugar Spun Run for the best Cream Cheese Frosting. I’ve tasted a few in my life but this is the ultimate best!
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese softened (brick-style, not spreadable)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ÂĽ teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar
Directions
Combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or you may use an electric mixer) and beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free.
Add vanilla extract and salt and stir well to combine.
With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined.
Several U.S. Presidents had pets during their tenure at The White House. Several of them had dogs. President Lincoln and family had goats and ponies strolling about at one point through the Executive Mansion.
At one point, the Kennedy family had eight dogs. One in particular was Pushinka, a gift from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Pushinka on the White House Lawn in 1963
Abraham Lincoln was very fond of his dog, Fido. When he realized it wasn’t a good idea to take his beloved dog to The White House, he asked his good friend and neighbor, John Roll, to care for Fido until he returned to Springfield after serving as President. He had a long list of concerns and requests for the daily care of Fido. According to the website America Comes Alive, some of the requests were:
-They were never to tie him up in the backyard by himself.
He was a house dog, so he should be allowed inside when he scratched at the door.
-He was not to be scolded for having muddy paws.
-He should be permitted to join the Roll family at dinner. Fido was accustomed to being fed by everyone at the table.
Lincoln also had one other thought. Would the family like their couch that was specially made for Abe? It was green horsehair—7 feet long to accommodate the president’s height. Fido loved being on or near the couch, too.
Abraham Lincoln’s dog, Fido
A few other Presidential dogs were:
Gallagher with President Grover Cleveland King Tut with President Herbert Hoover and Mrs. Hoover (AP Photo) Fala with President Franklin Roosevelt (AP Photo) Freckles with President Lyndon Johnson (AP Photo) Liberty with President Gerald Ford and daughter Susan (AP Photo) Buddy and President Clinton (AP Photo) Barney and Miss Beazley with President George W. Bush (AP Photo)The Obama Family with Bo and Sunny (AP Photo)
I love stumbling across old recipes and trying them out in my kitchen. Sometimes I’m successful…other times? It can be a little dicey. It’s always a fun time researching and exploring though! Some recipes I get really excited about. Other ones like a former President’s squirrel stew recipe not so much.
The other day I came across a recipe for Norman Rockwell’s favorite oatmeal cookies and I was so excited like a kid in a candy store. Oatmeal cookies are my personal favorite (peanut butter closely behind it) so I just had to make them. Plus, it’s always such a fun thing to taste what people in history enjoyed too!
Norman Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator. He is most famous for his cover illustrations of every day life in America which were published in the Saturday Evening Post for nearly five decades.
Today in American history…former First Lady Rosalynn Carter was born on August 18, 1927 in Plains, Georgia.
Happy Birthday, Mrs. Carter! 🇺🇸
Rosalynn Smith at age 13 in her hometown of Plains, Georgia Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter on their wedding day on July 7, 1946 in Plains, Georgia Official White House Photo
In honor of Florence Harding’s birthday, I whipped up one of her family’s favorite meals: Chicken Pot Pie.
Florence Harding was well known for her chicken pot pie recipe as well as her popular waffle recipe.
I envision on a special night like her birthday, the family may have had their favorite chicken pot pie as well as possibly President Warren Harding’s favorite almond cookies for a dessert.
I tried to research her personal recipe for chicken pot pie online but could not come across one. There is a cookbook of her recipes though…I may have to add to my collection!
I decided to just make my own version of Chicken Pot Pie with a recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman. Can’t go wrong there!
Today in American history…former First Lady Florence Harding was born on August 15, 1860 in Marion, Ohio.
Florence Harding was the first future First Lady to vote in a Presidential election following the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Consititution.
During her tenure as First Lady, she used her platform to advocate for animal rights, veterans welfare and women’s equality.
Florence Harding and her brother in childhood Official White House Portrait
The Historical Homemaker 