Munchie Monday: Lemon Cake

Louisa Macculloch (1785-1863) resided in Morristown from 1810 until her death in 1863. She was active in her church and led several charities in the Morristown community. While we have very few letters written by her, her cookbook does provide a glimpse into her home on Macculloch Avenue. This week we share one of her several cake recipes, a lemon cake recipe, to enjoy with your family!

A little background history on lemons shows that lemons were actually human-made, a hybrid of the bitter orange and the citron. The first lemon seeds were planted in Hispaniola in 1493. Today, the top lemon-producing states are California, Arizona, and Florida.

Lemon Cake
1 cup butter
3 cups sugar
3 ½ cups flour
1 cup milk
5 eggs
1 teaspoon of soda
1 lemon

Adapted Lemon Cake Recipe
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 lemon or equivalent of 2 tablespoons of lemon juice plus lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy in a mixer or with hand mixer. Add one egg at a time and mix until combined. In separate bowl, sift flour and baking soda. Alternately add sifted ingredients and milk to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture. Add lemon juice and zest. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

If you would like to add a glaze to the lemon cake, foodnetwork.com provides this glaze recipe:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 ½ tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Using wire whisk, mix ingredients until smooth and pour over the top of the lemon cakes.

Compare Louisa Macculloch’s recipe to that of Melinda Russell: https://malindarussell.com/2021/06/09/juneteenth-recipe-suggestion-lemon-cake-from-mrs-malinda-russells-1866-cookbook/

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Resources: 

• For some interesting facts about food in early New Jersey visit www.foodtimeline.org.