Malinda Russell's Allspice Cake with Boiled Frosting

Pulled from: https://www.npr.org/2014/02/05/271531627/a-meal-to-honor-early-african-american-cookbook-authors

A cake was a natural choice from this pastry shop owner's cookbook. With pangs of guilt, I tweaked this recipe. Russell's recipe calls for brandy, lemon extract and rosewater. To me, those other flavorings got lost with all the spice, so I took them out and slightly increased the sour cream. I also added molasses to the recipe to balance the cake's taste. Russell did not suggest icing this cake, but her cookbook does include a few boiled icing recipes. In tribute to her original, I added the flavorings I took out of the cake to the icing.

Makes one two-layer cake, 10 to 12 servings

Cake:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground mace
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg or about 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup molasses
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream

Boiled Icing:

2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar (superfine if possible)
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon rosewater or brandy or 1 teaspoon lemon extract or vanilla

For two 9-by-2-inch cake pans, grease, line with parchment circles, grease again and lightly flour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F on a convection oven or 350 degrees F on a conventional oven.

Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the molasses and mix until combined well.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until combined and scraping the bowl with a plastic spatula after each addition.

Alternately, add the flour and sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour. Add the flour in three additions and the sour cream in two. Scrape down between each addition. Mix just until combined.

Divide the cake batter between the two pans.

Place in the oven and bake until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the frosting. Time so it's ready when the cake comes out of the oven. The icing must be used right away before it starts to harden.

With a handheld or stand electric mixer, combine the egg whites, sugar and water in a metal bowl (or your stand mixer's bowl if using). Place over a pot of simmering water, without the bottom of the bowl touching the water.

Whisking constantly, cook for a few minutes until the mixture is white and hot, and the sugar feels dissolved if you quickly dip your finger in to test it. Remove from the heat and beat it with your handheld mixer or the whip (whisk) of your stand mixer until the mixture is cool and fluffy. This will take several minutes. Add the flavoring of your choice and mix to combine.

Fill and frost the cake with the boiled icing, flavored to taste. Or serve each cake dusted with powdered sugar.