"Oregon: Cake for the Governor"

Source: This Week Magazine, February 20, 1949, pages 20-21

Miss P (Paddleford) arrived at 395 Jerris Avenue, Salem, Oregon, the home of Mrs. Douglas McKay--or as we would say today, "the Governor's Mansion.

As Miss P traveled around the state of Oregon everyone told her to go see Mabel McKay who made "this fabulous angel cake."

"From 1933 to 1940," Paddleford wrote, "the McKay cake had taken the first prize annually at the State Fair. In 1941 it came off with the grand prize and Mrs. McKay retired from the contest to give other good bakers a chance."

Gee, our County Fair was on Friday, July 24. Maybe I will need to keep this recipe in mind for next year. And I will want to make the cake a few times to see how it turns out. As always, a few practice runs before entering it into a contest is a good idea and if the cake turns out, it will be good eats also. Plus, I will have time to learn how to make the perfect cake.

If you decide to use this recipe for a County or State Fair, let me know how you placed.

Recipe

1 1/2 cup egg whites (about 13 large)
Pinch of sale
1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (*note* make sure this had not gone beyond expiration date)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup and 1 tablespoon sifted cake flour (*note* be sure to use cake flour)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put egg whites into a large mixing bowl, dust with two shakes of salt. Beat with a wire whip until whites are frothy or use an electric mixer. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until the mixture makes little mountains, but not too stiff. Sift sugar six times, add this to the eggs, one tablespoon at a time, folding it in gently, so gently. Next add the flour, this too is sifted six times, and added one tablespoon at a time. Add the vanilla last. The batter is poured into a 10-inch flour dusted aluminum tube pan.

The cake is started in a cold oven, set at 150 degrees F. for 10 minutes, then 200 degrees for another 10 minutes. Next increase the temperature 25 degrees every 10 minutes until the oven is at 300 degrees F. Now give the cake another full 10 minutes and at this point, increase the temperature to 350 degrees and leave it 10 minutes longer to take on the delicate macaroon color. In all, one hour and 10 minutes and out comes the cake to turn upside down on a rack and let cool for two hours. Then the cake is removed from the pan, frosted or left plain. Yield: 12 servings.

Douglas McKay
In 1952, Douglas McKay was named by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as head of the Department of Interior.

Clementine Paddleford

Clementine Paddleford Papers