Lane Cake

This is a traditional Southern holiday classic-white cake filled with lavish amounts of rich filling made with pecans and coconut. The cake improves in flavor as it ages and mellows; make it up to 1 week before serving and keep it covered and uncut at room temperature. (I frosted it just before it was served.) For better flavor I made my own baking powder: Triple sift together 2 tablespoons cream of tartar and 1 tablespoon baking soda. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Servings: Makes one 9 inch cake (12-16 servings)

Ingredients

Cake:

16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans

3 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for pans

1 tbsp. homemade baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup milk, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

8 egg whites, room temperature

Filling:

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

8 egg yolks

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup finely chopped raisins

1/4 cups bourbon or brandy (I used about 1/3 cup)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper; grease and flour the parchment paper and sides of the pans.

In a medium bowl. sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy, occasionally scarping down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed to low; add the flour mixture in three pars, alternating with the milk-vanilla mixture. Mix until combined, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Transfer the batter to a large bowl; wash and completely dry the mixing bowl and beater attachments. In the clean bowl of the electric mixer, beat the egg whites just until they form soft peaks. Stir one third of the beaten whites into the batter to lighten; then, in two parts, gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pans; gently tap the pans on the counter to remove any air pockets. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Place the pans on racks to cool, about 5 minutes; invert the cake layers onto racks to cool completely (do not remove the parchment paper).

To make the filling: In a large nonreactive saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat; set aside to cool. Whisk in the sugar and egg yolks until well blended. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula while also scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture reaches 179-180 degrees when measured with an instant-read thermometer and thickly coats the back of the spatula, about 10 minutes (make sure the mixture does not simmer). Remove from heat and stir in the pecans, raisin, coconut, bourbon, and vanilla. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until thickened and chilled.

To assemble the cake: Peel the parchment off the cake layers. Invert 1 layer onto a large cake plate. Top with about 1 cup of filling, spreading the filling to the edges of the cake. Top with the second cake layer and spread that layer with 1 cup of filling. Repeat with final cake layer and remaining filling. Cool completely before serving. (I iced the cake just before serving withBoiled Icing.)

8 tbsp. 91