1900 to 1916 Cake #2

Louisiana Syrup Cake

In the French speaking area of Louisiana this cake was called, gateau de sirop. This cake was a very easy spice cake that used local cane syrup. Many of the citizens of southwest Louisiana had their own small patches of sugarcane growing on their property. A Baton Rouge food writer named Corinne Cook said, "When it got cold, there was gumbo in the air and also syrup cake. When we came home from school. I could smell that syrup cake before I got to the back door." Her recipe is adapted from the back of the Steen's cane syrup can.

Excerpt form the book about Steen's Cane Syrup: In 1910 an early winter freeze in Abbeville, Louisiana, forced C.S. Steen to change direction. His sugarcane was frozen, and he had no choice but to mash the harvested cane using mule-driven rollers. He boiled down the juice in open kettles until it turned into an amber-colored syrup, and the Cajun equivalent of molasses was born. Today the mellow-flavored syrup in the distinctive yellow can is used in all sorts of Louisiana recipes, and most often in this syrup cake.

I only needed one bowl and one pan to make this cake. The whole thing from start to finish took only about an hour. It was very flavorful and the smell was cozy and warm. I understand how Corinne Cook's memories of the smell are so strong and vivid:)