Wedding Cake from the Martha Stewart of 1913

Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Lyles Wilson adapted a favorite white cake recipe to bake a small heart-shaped bride's cake decorated in pink and white frosting for the White House wedding of President Woodrow Wilson's daughter.

Before Martha Stewart, there was Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Lyles Wilson. She is not related to President Wilson, however, she did make the Bride's Cake for President Woodrow Wilson's daughter's wedding. She made a white cake, shaped like a heart for this special wedding.

The president's second daughter, Jessie Woodrow Wilson (1887 -1933) was a Princeton Graduate. At age 26, she married Frances Bowes Sayre in the Whitehouse on Monday, November 25, 1913. Wilson was a political activist and worked for women's suffrage.

Here she is at her wedding, below.

The Bride's Cake for President's Daughter, Jessie Wilson

As seen in this advertisement, it is the second cake, after the Thanksgiving Cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening

• 2 cups sugar

• 5 teaspoons of baking powder

• 4-1/2 cups flour, sifted

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 1/4 cups milk

• 8 Egg whites

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  

Cream 1 cup shortening and 2 cups sugar together well. Sift 5 teaspoons baking powder, 4-1/2 cups flour, and 1/4 teaspoon salt together five times; add alternately a little at a time with 1-1/4 cups sweet milk, and beat thoroughly.

Add 8 egg whites which have been beaten stiff, and 1 teaspoon almond extract, and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract last.

Bake in slow oven at 325°F until perfectly firm to the touch, or about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Makes one 9-inch round loaf.

Decorate the wedding cake using traditional white icing and trim with pink.

Buttercream Frosting and Apricot Filling

*This is NOT the suggested frosting. Please see Betty Lyle's recipe below for her "Decorative and Plain Frosting. "

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or ½ pound), softened (but not melted!) Ideal texture should be like soft serve ice cream.

• 3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED

• ¼ teaspoon table salt

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• Up to 4 tablespoons heavy cream, half and half, or milk **heavy cream is best

• 20 oz. jar of apricot preserves (I use McCutcheon)

  
  

Instructions

1. Beat the softened butter for 5 minutes with a mixer using the paddle attachment on medium speed.

2. Turn off the mixer, add the 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar, and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. The mixture will look clumpy – don’t worry, it’s supposed to!

3. Increase mixer speed to medium and add the vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of cream and beat for 2-3 minutes until it is whipped, fluffy, and creamy, in appearance.

4. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining cream 1 tablespoons at a time.

Frosting the Cake:

1. Divide each cake in half using a cake pan, or I cut it with dental floss, sometimes. Now you will have 4 cakes to layer and frost

2. Put first cake down and spread with apricot preserves on. Then spread buttercream frosting over.

3. Next cake, just spread buttercream. (I find that one 20 oz jar will only cover 2 cakes - which is fine for flavor!)

4. Third cake: spread with apricot preserves then spread buttercream frosting over.

5. Next frost all over and pipe and decorate the cake. You can add sugar flowers found at a cake store to decorate it.

   
   

Baking Tip:

When using this frosting to decorate a cake, keep loose cake crumbs by applying a thin layer of frosting (a skim coat or crumb coat) to the cake. Refrigerate for 15 minutes until firm before applying the rest of the frosting for a smooth result.

Below, is Betty Lyle's Bride's Cake recipe and icing recipe from the book, Mrs. Wilson's new cook book (revised) a complete collection of original recipes.

Traditional Wedding Anniversaries and celebration themes

• 1 year, Cotton

• 2 years, Paper

• 3 years, Leather

• 5 years, Wooden

• 7 years, Woolen

• 10 years Tin

• 12 years, Linen

• 15 years, Crystal

• 20 years, China

• 25 years, Silver

• 30 years, Pearl

• 40 years, Ruby

• 50 years, Golden

• 60 years, Diamond

• 65 years, Blue Sapphire

• 70 years, Platinum