White Mountain Cake

Serving: 8 to 10
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 70 minutes
Total Time: 95 minutes

Ingredients:
Cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites

Seven-Minute Frosting:
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Hawthorn or other blossoms for decoration (optional)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan; knock out the excess flour. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper; repeat two times to incorporate as much air into the mixture as possible. Alternately fold the dry ingredients into the batter with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir in the vanilla to blend.

2. In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, glossy peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

3. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top to level the batter. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 15 to 20 minutes before loosening from the sides and around the tube of the pan. Invert onto the rack, remove the pan and let the cake cool completely.

4. To make the frosting: In the top of a double boiler, combine the egg whites, sugar, salt and corn syrup. Set over simmering water and beat the mixture with a hand mixer for about 7 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Remove the pan from the water and stir in the vanilla. Continue beating until the frosting is stiff enough to spread.

5. Place the cake on a serving plate and frost by heaping spoonfuls of the frosting on the top and spreading it over the top and down the sides, making the swirls and peaks. Sprinkle the coconut over the top and sides. Decorate the edges of the plate with blossoms and place a spray of flowers in the hollow of the cake, if you like.

Source: Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers by Kathryn Kleinman