The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris: Silver Cake

In my novel The Girls of Good Fortune. Silver Cake is a delicious specialty of the protagonist, Celia, who bakes it for her daughter Pearl’s first birthday.  Silver Cake, a precursor to white cake, was popular in the 1800s. It includes a great number of egg whites (whereas gold cake, today’s yellow cake, features egg yolks). This results in a fluffy texture akin to angel food cake. And trust me when I say the unique key to this delicious treat is the fruit extract, versus the modern standard extracts of vanilla and almond.

-Kristina McMorris

The Girls of Good Fortune menu and Book Club Buzz

See Kristina’s Sold on a Monday Manhattan recipe

 

Servings

12 servings

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Print Recipe

The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris: Silver Cake

Recipe makes a generous amount of frosting.

For the cake
  • 1 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 8 egg whites
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅓ cup sour cream plus enojgh milk to make ½ cup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon peach, orange, or coconut extract (or any other flavored extract)
For the frosting
  • ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½–¾ cup heavy cream
  • Food coloring (optional, gel recommended for vibrancy)
To make the cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with greased parchment, or grease the bottoms.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and the sugar together until creamy. With the mixer on, add the egg whites in about four additions.
  3. Sift together the flour and the baking powder. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add to the butter mixture, stopping occasionally to scrape the bowl.
  4. Combine the sour cream, milk, and extracts. Add to the batter, mixing until smoothly blended.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Once cool, turn out the cakes and stack them with buttercream frosting in between. Frost the rest of the cake.
To make the frosting
  1. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter until soft and fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, occasionally pausing to scrape the bowl. Add the salt, vanilla, and a small amount of the cream. Blend on high speed until light and creamy, periodically scraping the bowl.
  2. Add the remaining cream as needed for desired consistency, as well as food coloring, if preferred.

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