Prominent author Owen Wister, best known for The Virginian and a biography of Ulysses S.
Whereas some form of Fig Cake appears in countless cookbooks throughout the middle to late 19th century, Lady Baltimore Cake is decidedly a 20th century invention. Glessner chose these two cakes for two different family birthdays, in the same month of the same year, makes me think that she always knew someone someday would want to write The Culinary History of a Prairie Avenue Cook, because I really do. It is lower in protein, and more finely milled, thus yielding a lighter cake. In 1894, Addison Inglehart developed a highly processed flour which he called Swan’s Down Cake Flour. The Lady Baltimore Cake might be the poster child for the new wave of cakes that came about after the invention of lighter flour made especially for cakes. It lies on the fault line between cakes that are heavy, rich, and full of dried fruit, to light, airy cakes full of whipped egg whites, white sugar, and white cake flour. Its method is not far different from a pudding, which would have been steamed rather than baked, in earlier times when reliable ovens were not available. Fig cake is a rich, heavy cake with a distinct, if not actually strong, flavor. The fig cake hearkens back to the early 19th century and hearth cooking, whilst the Lady Baltimore represents the most modern baking fashion of 1910. The two cakes mentioned are vastly different. She married the Glessners’ son George in 1898. On 20th was Anna Robertson’s birthday, & there was another cake, this time Lady Baltimore, for her, & again many presents, including a coral necklace & gold chain made by Frances & piece of gold money. She had many presents, & among others a gilt bag & some antique tea spoons from Frances & me. Hamlin came to supper & Mattie made her a birthday cake - a fig cake. There have been two birthdays this week – Alice’s on 17th, when she & George & Mrs.
In August of 1910, Frances Glessner’s journal (at this time being written by John Glessner) mentions August birthdays and Mattie’s participation in them.
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