Bring Back Election Day Cake!

            Poor Marie Antoinette got in BIG trouble for saying: “Let them eat cake”, but I will take the risk with the hope of increasing Election Day turnout this year. What I am referring to is the traditional Election Day Cake that originated in New England, but now seems to have gone out of fashion.

            I was first made aware of this tradition a year ago by my sister in law Joyce, who loves to bake with both an international and historic bent. A bit of research on my part uncovered a wealth of information as well as recipes.

The history goes back to Colonial times, when eligible young men were summoned for military duty to the nearest town. The stressed women of the town would spend days baking for the expected onslaught of hungry men, so called Training or Muster Cakes. After the Revolution, American voters would travel great distances and either bring their own provisions or be hosted by the towns where the election was held.

Thus evolved a yeast based large and dense cake with fruit, spices and raisins, sometimes augmented with brandy or sherry to keep up the strength of the voters together with vast quantities of ginger beer.  The cake was baked as a large loaf or in an 8 or 10 inch tube pan. The ingredients sound a bit like fruitcake, but the product is somewhat lighter.

The Election Cake first associated with Hartford Connecticut was so popular, that it was included in the 1796 edition of American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons. Here is her original recipe, though it might be a bit extreme for the average household.

            Election Cake (A. Simmons)

“Thirty quart flour, 10 pound butter, 14 pound sugar, 12 pound raisins, 3 doz. eggs, one pint wine, one quart brandy, 4 ounces cinnamon, 4 ounces fine colander (coriander?) seed, 3 ounces ground allspice;  wet flour with milk to the consistence of bread over night, adding one quart yeast; the next morning work the butter and sugar together for half an hour, which will render the cake much lighter and whiter; when it has rise light work in every other ingredient except the plumbs (plums/raisins??), which work in when going into the oven.”

No mention is made of baking conditions, but then you were expected to know how your oven would work with this many loaves of cake, enough to feed all the voters from a town. It was evidently a costly proposition, since there are records dating back to 1771 of Hartford’s General Assembly reimbursing an individual for the ingredients of an Election Day Cake. A more accessible modern day recipe is provided by the  Culinary Institute of America, in case you would like to serve this special treat at your house.

            Election Day Cake (Culinary Inst. of America)

Dissolve ½ cup sugar in ½ cup water and when cool pour over  1 ½  cups dried fruit (cranberries, golden raisins, blueberries), add ½ cup American whiskey and set aside. In medium mixing bowl combine ½ cup warm water with ½ cup milk, stir in 1 package rapid rise yeast combined with 1 cup whole wheat flour and allow to sit 30 minutes. Lightly spray and flour an 8 inch tube pan. Sift together ½ cup whole wheat flour, 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ tsp. ground nutmeg, ½ tsp. ground cloves, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. salt and set aside. Drain the fruit mixture, reserving the syrup for later use as a glaze. In a standing mixer beat together ¼ lb unsalted butter cut in cubes with 1 cup sugar, then beat in 3 eggs. Turn the beater with a paddle attachment to low and add the flour and yeast mixture (the sponge). Add the flour mixture and mix until well blended, stir in the drained fruit. Place the batter in the pan, cover and set in a warm place to rise, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Bake cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes and turn out on a wire rack to cool.  When cooled, brush on reserved syrup and cover with the glaze.  The glaze: combine 1 cup confectioners sugar with 2 Tblsp. reserved fruit syrup and stir until smooth.

So, let us revive this tasty and filling Election Day tradition!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)