The French Wedding Cake...recipe 1880!

To my friend Mark...Happy 50th Birthday and this cake was worth every minute it took!

 

French Wedding Cake…don’t change perfection!

Here is the scoop, I collect cookbooks like some women collect shoes, but honestly, I would have to be described as the Imelda Marcos of Cookbooks…they number many, many and many.  So when I stumbled on a recipe decades ago, described as one of the original wedding cakes from Alsace, dated 1880…I was so very intrigued.  I had used a recipe called”gateau au kirsch du marriage d’alwine” or Alwine’s Kirsch Wedding Cake! ”, this from the wonderful cookbook by Madeleine Kamman called “When French Women Cook”.  Tonight I went on a mad search for this very special book and recipe.  I had made this dessert in the past, one that I simply called “Old French Wedding Cake”…my footnote was “breathtaking for your mouth and eyes”.  Wow, kind of hard to top that isn’t it?  After an hour search both on my computer and bookshelves I found it…and I just have to share a little of the magic and past photos with you!

 I prepared this cake the first time for some very special guests who were celebrating their 45^th Wedding Anniversary.  The evening of this dinner was so very enchanting, two people who had not lost that “lovin feeling”….and I had the responsibility of orchestrating  that “magical evening”!  What was I thinking experimenting with a recipe from the 1800’s?  All I can say is, “I am glad I did”!   Honestly the execution of the recipe is described by Madeleine Kamman as “seems long but not difficult”…and she was correct.
 

 My modern description of this cake would be that it starts with a dream base of Jelly roll cake slices, lining a cheese cake pan (all made from scratch naturally) and then molded to form a cake base and sides, then layered with a rich, but delicate fresh tasting Strawberry Chiffon….The cake is set and when unmolded it is covered with a rich piped Chantilly Crème and fresh raspberries.  The look is wonderful, as our picture testifies…and the taste.  How can I describe this…it is so wonderful I can close my eyes and remember the cool feel in my mouth, with a rich creaminess but lightness.  I really wanted to doctor this recipe…add a little modern punch, but alas, some things are just not meant to play with.
This is the “Channel” of Cakes, and I bow to the perfection of it all.

Making this delight today again and committing the original recipe to my files.  I cannot take the chance that I might misplace this again!  I truly believe this cake belongs to special days, special occasions…and as I plan a most special celebration for this weekend, I thank the cooks that went before me – celebrating food as love and happy to share the secrets!  Thank you Eugenie for your 1800’s French Kitchen and Medeleine Kamman for your stellar legacy!  …Now, time for this French woman to cook…