By Kevin Williams
This is unusual to find a printed recipe for a scratch-made Amish wedding cake, so I'm excited to share this with you. This is in an old Amish cookbook. The recipe was submitted by a Mrs. Jacob Hershberger in Gladwin, Michigan. Cake customs vary from Amish community to Amish community. This cake sounds simple, not sure what differentiates it from an ordinary cake, i.e., what makes it a "wedding cake" per se. Anyway, check out the recipe! The recipe has nothing about frosting, so I'd just add your own buttercream frosting. It also recommends making it in a round pan but if you can use a 13 X 9 inch oblong pan. If you do that, she says to add 2 more tablespoons of flour. So this is a pretty precise recipe.
Anyway, Amish wedding season will begin ramping up in some of the largest Midwestern Amish communities so I thought this would be a timely time to share this recipe!
An Amish wedding cake in the Fedonia, Pennsylvania community
- 3 cups sifted cake flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1 /2 teaspoons salt
- 5 egg whites
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 2 / 3 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 2 /3 cup sugar
- 1 1 /3 cup milk
- 1 1 /2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 /4 teaspoon almond extract
- Twice sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat egg whites till foamy.
- Add the 6 tablespoons sugar one tablespoon at a time, beating until mixture stands in soft peaks.
- Cream shortening and add sugar gradually.
- Cream till lightly and fluffy.
- Add flour alternately with milk, a small amount at a time.
- Add egg whites and flavorings.
- Beat thoroughly, about one minute.
It would not be easy to even make the cake much less the icing. Recipe gives no instructions on preparing pans, baking time or temperature. I would not waste the ingredients.
Agreed, Nary, the instructions are pretty spare...I just printed it as I had it.
Is there someone that you can ask about the time, temp and pan sizes?
Do we grease and flour the pan? Oven temperature?
Hello. I never even noticed the lack of instructions. I guess I figured it came from an Amish cookbook, so I figured that most Amish bakers would be able to figure out what needed to be done based on other recipes. I am sure all Amish girls are taught the basics of baking. Pretty much any cake pan would be greased and floured. For most cakes the temperature of the oven is 350. Up at the top it says 40 minutes. It would depend on what size pans you are using but if you bake you pretty much know know you need to check the cake after 25-35 minutes. You can check a recipe you already have if you aren't quite sure. Now I know my 13 year old granddaughter would be asking me for help if I was there. At that age a non Amish girl may not have a lot of experience yet. Anyway, Kevin posted the recipe as it was in the cookbook. As he said, many Amish don't write down their recipes. Anyway, life is too short to get upset over a recipe. Hoping everyone stays safe and happy.