Tag: desserts

Bernice Watson’s Coconut Cake

Mrs. Edward Z. Watson “disclaim[ed] any fame as a cook,” said a profile in the Afro-American in 1958. The article described the vivacious teacher, seamstress, and mother of two as a “party girl,” who “not only adore[d] going to parties but [was] not adverse to giving them either!”

They shared her cake recipe using “many of the newest methods,” including a MixMaster mixer. The title of the feature was “Mrs. Edward Watson makes the highest cake you’ve ever seen.”

Afro-American, 1958

The light and fluffy cake could be served a variety of ways. “For the chocolate frosting I use the recipe right on the Hershey can,” Watson declared. She also confessed to using ready-mix caramel icing. But Bernice Watson’s cake is no lazy feat. With egg whites beaten separately and folded into the batter, plus a seven-minute icing made over a double boiler, the cake requires plenty of attention and generates a fair amount of dirty dishes.

I just had to make it – particularly the coconut variation, which Watson would flavor with “lemon or almond” flavoring. (I used the latter.) I couldn’t find the canned style of coconut that she preferred, and I’m not skilled at cooked icings, but the recipe did indeed turn out a tall, light delightful cake.

“Sometimes I scarcely think it’s worthwhile. A big beautiful cake now. A few hours, no cake at all,” Watson sighed in 1958.

She was born Bernice Calverta Francis in Philadelphia in 1922, the granddaughter of a Sharp Street Methodist reverend, McHenry Jeremiah Naylor. After attending high school in Baltimore, and Coppin State Teacher’s College, she went into teaching at Baltimore City schools.

Along the way, she married fellow teacher Edward Z. Watson, who would serve a full career at BCPS as a teacher and later as an administrator.

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Lord Baltimore Cake, Grace E. J. Hanson

As Lady Baltimore cake ascended in popularity in the late 19th century, it was quickly joined by a lesser-known counterpart.

A 1900 cookbook, “Miss Olive Allen’s tested recipes : 200 selected from many hundreds gathered from all over the world,” touted alongside its Lady Baltimore Cake recipe that the cake is “Delicious! Not expensive when egg yolks are used for Lord Baltimore cake.” Later in the book, the recipe for the latter cake was provided. “Economical. Save egg whites for Lady Baltimore cake.” One cake is “delicious,” the other “economical.” Lord Baltimore never stood a chance.

But wait: Allen’s recipe for Lord Baltimore cake used a filling of raisins, figs, and pecans. Those are Lady Baltimore’s ingredients. The Lady Baltimore Cake, on the other hand, contained maraschino cherries, pecans, and chopped pineapple.

Fannie Farmer corrected this switcheroo and perhaps did the most to popularize Lord Baltimore Cake, which she included in several of her early 1900s cookbooks. In addition to a vanilla-flavored “Ice Cream Frosting” made from egg whites and sugar, Farmer’s cake is filled with excitement: candied cherries, Sherry, pecans, almonds, and crushed dry macaroons. (Farmer may have actually been referring to meringues.)

1953

Between the Ice Cream Frosting and the macaroons, an issue arises: the egg math on Lady & Lord Baltimore just doesn’t add up. If you make both cakes, you’re still going to have some egg yolks to spare. (Lucky you – make this egg pasta!)

This is no big loss since the two cakes don’t form any balance to one-another flavor-wise, either.

One occasionally finds Lord Baltimore on his own in a community cookbook, but such appearances are rare.

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Mayonnaise Cake, Marylee Felton

The Baltimore Sun ran a four-part series in the spring of 1988. The articles were about Baltimore City Public Schools, and they covered the usual woes we still contend with today – attendance, student performance, accountability, and standardized tests. The series was entitled “School Maze,” and was intended to “nettle defenders of the status quo.”

One family member of a student was surprised. They wrote a letter to share their positive view of Glenmount Primary School: “…when one enters the building [they notice] large well-made pictures on both walls of what the youngsters do and current events… Quietness is the order of the day. The PTA and other groups take part in the school work.” The reader, Frank J. Huebel shared anecdotes of his great-granddaughter learning math and reading and writing. “All of this tells me that Glenmount is a well-run school and that the youngsters are learning the basics, in spite of the ‘School Maze.'”

Huebel was not alone in his positive view of the school. A 1985 story about a blind student’s guide dog Lavette quoted the dog’s owner, Nancy Jaslow. “Everyone knows not to touch or play with a guide dog. My principal, Marylee Felton loves dogs and loves having Lavette around.”

A few decades after Lillian Lottier, Marylee Felton was taking the same path: serving the city and community through a career in education. Her position as a teacher and later as a principal would have her face school fires, understaffing, overcrowding, state politics, and all of the other tribulations faced by educators.

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Ritz Dessert, Maude Schell

New blog posts have been rolling in very slowly since I’ve been busy promoting “Festive Maryland Recipes.” Sometimes I get nervous about letting my research fall by the wayside.

But I’ve been tending to an aspect of Old Line Plate that has become every bit as important to me: connecting with people.

The pandemic made me realize how much this blog experience has changed me as a person. I am, yes, much more cheesy than I used to be, but also less insecure, and less drawn to the negative. My knowledge of how lucky I am to have this has helped me to hold it together when life gets confusing.

What I’d never have guessed is the myriad ways that Old Line Plate has helped me cross paths with kindness. I receive emails from people who find their family recipes on my website. But I’ve also met friendly eBay sellers, librarians, cookbook collectors, generous church groups, and other bloggers and writers.

Having to swallow my shyness and encourage bookstores to carry “Festive Maryland Recipes” was not the easiest thing for me to do. I didn’t know that the process would actually put me in touch with even more nice people.

Some of my favorite stories in “Festive Maryland Recipes” are from Western Maryland. I’ve been eager to spread the word on Frostburg’s Cornish Saffron Bread for years. It so happens that that very town has a long-standing independent bookstore. I reached out to Fred Powell from Main Street Books and he kindly supported us by stocking the book.

image c/o Frederick Powell

Fred established Main Street Books in 1989. He was new to the bookselling business and was simply trying to fill a need in Frostburg. He involved himself heavily in the local community by volunteering, sponsoring sports teams, and connecting with readers who would become his customers.

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Spring Salad & Taco Salad, Employees at Fort Detrick

Like most things in Frederick County, Fort Detrick was built on farmland. The military installation started as a small, privately owned airport established in 1929 and later named after World War I squadron flight surgeon Major Frederick L. Detrick. The site was used as an airfield up until the United States entered World War II. In 1943 it was rechristened Camp Detrick and made base of the newly-established U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories.

Over the years the site expanded, eventually becoming the largest employer in Frederick County. Along with its expansion grew the rumors and stories, some true and some urban legends.

I grew up in Beltsville, Prince George’s County, near the the US Agricultural Research Center. I know all about how a gated site can serve as the nexus for intriguing lore for children and adults. Whether it was the legendary Goat Man, or the alleged sprawling lush marijuana fields hidden away on the Ag Center campus, the “Beltsville Farms” provided fodder for stories just as it provided salaries for friends’ parents.

My spouse similarly grew up in the shadow of Fort Detrick. He spent his summers in its swimming pool while his parents worked in laboratories. And at school, he heard tales of the menacing “Tower of Doom.”

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