In the 18th and 19th centuries, colonists celebrated after casting their ballots on Election Day, which was considered a holiday.
In honor of the 2020 Election Day, food historian Stephen Schmidt shares a traditional election cake recipe adapted from Lydia Maria Child in the 1833 edition of "The American Frugal Housewife," and Dean of Students, Chef Lorne Feldman, demonstrates making the cake on .
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water, lukewarm
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup whole milk, heated to lukewarm
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and forming
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup currants
Directions
- Pour the water into a 4- or 5-quart mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and set aside until the yeast dissolves, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the warm milk, then beat in 1 1/2 cups of the flour, making a stiff batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes (no longer).
- Beat in the butter, egg, sugar, spices and salt. Then work in the remaining 11/2 cups flour, making a soft, rough dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Knead the dough until smooth, for 5 to 10 minutes. It will be very soft and sticky. Gradually add more flour as necessary, a few tablespoons at a time, to form a smooth dough.
- Knead in the currants. Roll the dough into an 8-inch log. Cut the log into 4 equal pieces, then divide each piece into 6 little rolls. To create surface tension so the rolls will puff up round, roll each into a little ball. One at a time, pinch 1 side of the ball with your fingers as though stretching loose skin, then tuck the stretched dough into a pucker at the bottom of the ball. Do this several times until the surface looks taut. Dredge the rolls in flour and arrange pucker-side down in a greased 9x13x2-inch baking pan, 4 rows across, 6 rows down.
- Loosely drape with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until generously doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The rolls should all be touching.
- Set a rack in the lower-middle level of the oven. Heat the oven to 375°F. Bake the cake until all the rolls are puffed and richly browned, and those in the center register at least 190°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 20 minutes. Let the cake rest in the pan for 3 minutes, then gently shake the pan back and forth until the cake loosens. Invert the cake onto a cookie sheet, then re-invert it onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, preferably on the day of baking.
