Aunt Mary Ann’s Four-Layer Whiskey Cake

My Aunt Mary Ann always made this four-layer whiskey cake for my father, a Christmas tradition dating back decades. For most of her life she kept the recipe secret, although she finally decided to share it with the rest of the family a few years ago. The resulting cake will be dense and heavy, like a fruitcake, with a strong whiskey odor and flavor.

Two warnings:


Aunt Mary Ann’s Four-Layer Whiskey Cake

Ingredients:

Cakes:

Icing:

Directions:

Cakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter with electric mixer and gradually add in sugar. Beat mixture until light and fluffy; mix in vanilla.

Still using the electric mixer, slowly add in flour, baking powder, and salt. To keep the batter at a manageable consistency, alternate adding dry ingredients and splashes of milk. Beat batter until smooth.

In another bowl, beat egg whites (set aside egg yolks for the icing) with electric mixer on high until they’re stiff but not totally dry. Fold egg whites into cake batter with a spatula. Batter will be very thick.

Spoon batter evenly into four round, 9-inch, pre-greased baking pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean; remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before turning cakes out on wire cooling rack.

Icing:

While cakes cool, beat egg yolks with a fork and put them in a saucepan with sugar and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes or until sugar is all dissolved and mixture has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining icing ingredients. Let stand until cool.

Assembly:

Spread cooled icing between cake layers and on top of assembled cake.

Place the iced cake in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days to allow it to flavor before serving.