Mary Moore’s Alfretta’s Prize Cream Cake
Mary Moore was a Canadian newspaper food editor who’s column appeared in Canadian newspapers for 50 years, from 1928 through 1978. She was born in 1903 and died shortly after her cookbook, “The Mary Moore Cookbook”, was printed in 1978. It’s a rare book and used copies sell for $ 75 to $ 100.
“I have my mother’s prize-winning cream cake recipe from 1904… I want you all to try it so you will know the kind of cook my mother was. This morning I enjoyed immensely making Alfretta’s Prize Cream Cake…” Mary Moore wrote, in the Ottawa Citizen, May 21, 1964.
Alfretta’s Prize Cream Cake
2 cups sifted soft winter wheat (cake) flour
3 1/2 teaspoons single acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
1 cup 32 percent cream
Beat the eggs and sugar together with rotary or electric beater on high speed for at least 5-minutes until they increase in volume and are thick and opaque.
Do not fail to beat the yolks and sugar mixture until thick.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the cream, 1/3 of each at a time, folding them in.
To make the batter smooth, beat with rotary or electric beater for 5-seconds only.
Turn into 2 buttered, 8 1/2 inch layer cake pans lined on bottoms with buttered wax paper.
Bake on center oven shelf at 350 degrees F for 20 to 23 minutes.
Turn out on racks, peel off paper. Cool.
Put together with Rich Cream Filling.
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Rich Cream Filling
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
In heavy pan mix together sugar, cornstarch and salt until blended.
Add heavy cream and milk. Stir constantly over direct heat until smooth and boiling.
Reduce heat and boil 1 minute, stirring.
Beat egg yolks slightly, add some of hot mixture to them and return to hot mixture.
Cook an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly until thick. (This may lump a little but keep stirring and the lumps will smooth out.)
Remove from heat and add one teaspoon vanilla.
Cool to room temperature before spreading between layers.
Frosting
1/2 pint 32 percent cream, whipped, unsweetened
16 canned peach crescent slices, well drained
Frost top and sides attractively with 1/2 pint 32 percent cream, whipped until stiff. Do not sweeten the whipped cream.
Decorate top with border of 16 crescents of well-drained canned peaches.
Source: Mary Moore cooking column, Ottawa Citizen newspaper, May 21, 1964