The Essential James Beard Cookbook (69 page)

Spread the filling between the cake layers, then on the top and sides. After an hour, if any has dripped off, just spread it back on the sides. Repeat if necessary. Cover with a cake cover or loosely with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

1-2-3-4 CAKE

MAKES ONE 3-LAYER CAKE; 12 SERVINGS

This layer cake was a standard in our house. This recipe is a very old one that people could keep in their heads because of the utter simplicity of the formula that gave the cake its name—1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, and 4 eggs. The juice mixture will give the cake a lovely, fresh, fruity flavor and it is not rich like an icing.

For the Cake

Softened butter and flour, for the pans

3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon plain salt

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

1 cup whole milk, at room temperature

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Filling and Topping

¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

¾ cup sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

Butter and flour the bottom and sides of three 8 by 1½-inch cake pans with the softened butter, tipping out the excess flour.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until it is light, creamy, and fluffy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar into the butter, and beat until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. As the sugar blends in it will change the color of the butter to a much lighter color, almost white.

Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl until they are well blended. Gradually beat into the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, starting with the flour mixture, add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with two equal additions of the milk, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. In a clean bowl using clean beaters beat the egg whites until they form firm, glossy peaks. Do not overbeat until they are stiff and dry. Fold the whites into the batter.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it equally among them. Give the filled pans a little knock on the countertop to level the batter. Bake in the center of a preheated 350°F oven for 25 minutes, or until each cake springs back when touched in the center. Remove the pans from the oven and put them on wire cake racks to cool for a few minutes, then loosen the layers by running the flat side of a knife blade around the sides of the pans, put a rack on top of each pan, and invert so the cake comes out onto the rack, top side down. Then reverse the layers so they are top side up.

Mix the orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, and orange rind together and drizzle the mixture over the still warm cake layers, being careful not to let it all soak into one spot; then pile the layers on top of each other. Let the cake cool.

POUND CAKE

MAKES ONE 12-INCH TUBE CAKE; 12 SERVINGS

Editor: Beard was the spokesperson for the Cognac industry for many years, and he found myriad ways to sneak Cognac into dishes that might not typically include liquor. However, liquor does enhance flavor, so don’t leave out the Cognac, as it adds an unexpected dimension to this old-fashioned cake.

Softened butter and flour, for the pan

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

10 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon plain salt

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground mace

2 tablespoons Cognac

Butter and flour a 12-cup tube pan. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and very fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Beat the egg yolks in another bowl until they are light and lemon-colored, about 2 minutes. Add to the butter mixture. In a clean bowl using clean beaters, beat the egg whites and salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold into the butter mixture. Add the sifted flour, mace, and Cognac, and mix until combined. Pour into the prepared tube pan. Bake until golden brown and a bamboo skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 1½ hours. Let cool on a wire cake rack for 20 minutes. Loosen the cake from the sides and center tube of the pan, and invert onto the cake rack. Turn right side up and let cool completely.

VARIATION

FRUIT OR NUT POUND CAKE:
Dark seedless or golden raisins or chopped walnuts or pecans may be added to this basic recipe. Mix about 1 cup of either with ¼ cup of the flour and fold into the finished batter.

PIES AND TARTS

Apple Pie

Blueberry Deep-Dish Pie

Rich Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Shoofly Pie

Pear Tarte Tatin

Pear and Chocolate Tart

The Coach House Quince Tart

Simple Strawberry Tart

Lard Pie Pastry

Rich Tart Pastry (
Pâte Brisée
)

APPLE PIE

MAKES ONE 9-INCH PIE; 8 SERVINGS

If I am to enjoy apple pie at all, it must be made with juice-laden apples of good flavor and crunchy fresh texture, preferably left in their natural state, apart from sugaring, and it must have a fine, crisp crust. Simple enough, but these qualifications are rarely achieved by the standard two-crust pie served in this country, which is generally nutmeged and cinnamoned to the point where the fruit hardly matters, and it invariably has a soggy bottom. [
Editor: Beard fixes these blemishes in this recipe, which uses lard pastry, a minimum of nutmeg, and bread crumbs to soak up the apple juices to prevent the dreaded soggy bottom.
]

For the Filling

8 tart apples, cored, peeled, and cut into ½-inch-thick slices

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Lard Pastry

¹
⁄
₃
cup dried unflavored bread crumbs

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

For the Egg Wash

1 large egg

1 tablespoon heavy cream

To make the filling: Combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and nutmeg in a bowl, and toss well.

Roll out the larger ball of pastry into a 12-inch round to make a bottom crust for a 9-inch pie pan. Ease it into the pan, fitting it in loosely but firmly. Sprinkle the bottom of the pie shell with bread crumbs. Fill the crust generously with the apple mixture, spooning it in with a slotted spoon so as to drain off any excess liquid, which would otherwise make the crust soggy. Dot the layers of apple with the butter. Roll out the remaining pastry ball into a 10-inch round for the top crust. Brush the rim of the pie shell with cold water, put on the top crust, and trim, seal, and crimp the two crusts. Cut vents in the top crust to allow the steam to escape.

To make the egg wash: Beat the egg and cream together in a small bowl with a fork. Lightly brush the top crust with the egg wash. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 45 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and the juices are bubbling through the vents. Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting and serving.

BLUEBERRY DEEP-DISH PIE

MAKES ONE 10-INCH DEEP-DISH PIE; 8 SERVINGS

Editor: Beard believed that the beginning cook could learn a lot from making pastry dough by hand. This was meant literally, without a pastry blender or spoon, as it is only when working the dough with your hands that you can really judge the texture of the dough, which should be moist and malleable, but not dry or crumbly. Try it this way at least once as an exercise.

For the Pastry

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon plain salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

4 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch cubes

¼ cup ice water, as needed

For the Filling

Softened butter, for the pie dish

6 cups fresh blueberries

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 large egg yolk, beaten

Maple or vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream, for serving

To make the pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a mound on a wooden cutting board or marble slab. Add the butter and shortening, and quickly rub them into the flour with your fingertips until crumbly. Then add just enough ice water to hold the pastry together. Pull off lemon-size bits, smear on the work surface with the heel of your hand, and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Butter a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate lightly. Pour in the blueberries, keeping them higher in the center. Dust with the flour, then add sugar (use more or less depending on the sweetness of the berries) and dot with butter.

Roll out the pastry slightly larger than the pie dish, and cover the berries with the crust. Trim away the excess pastry. Flute the edges, and cut a vent in the top. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg yolk. Bake in a preheated 450°F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue to bake until the crust is browned, about 40 minutes more.

RICH PUMPKIN PIE

MAKES TWO 9-INCH PIES; 8 SERVINGS EACH

I prefer to serve this pie on the warm side with Cognac-flavored and sweetened whipped cream.

Editor: This recipe is a variation on Beard’s mother’s pumpkin pie. She would use steamed Hubbard squash, rubbed through a sieve, instead of canned pumpkin.

Plain Pie Pastry for two 9-inch pie shells (
here
)