I Tried Abraham Lincoln’s Favorite Almond Cake, and Now Understand Why It Was His Wife’s Signature Dessert

Abraham Lincoln is remembered for being America’s 16th president, for his signature bow tie and black suit, and for helping to abolish slavery through 1863’s Emancipation Proclamation. We rarely discuss what food fueled him through all of his political and personal pursuits, though.

That’s because Lincoln was not particularly food-motivated, according to historical accounts. In fact, when he didn’t skip breakfast, he’d just have one egg, a slice of toast, and coffee. He’d work through lunch (a biscuit with an apple), and dinner might be Chicken Fricassée if he could carve out time for a sit-down meal. When Abe was the one in charge of deciding on the dessert menu, it would be apple pie—or perhaps his wife’s signature almond cake.

Actually, if we’re being particular, this is actually a Lexington, Kentucky caterer’s recipe, which is said to have been passed down to his eventual wife, Mary Todd after her family tried and enjoyed it at an event. Unlike her husband, Mary adored cooking, baking, and being the queen of Southern hospitality so much that she once purchased 10 pounds of sugar one week…only to return to the store two weeks later for 12 more pounds of the sweet stuff.

Mary baked Vanilla Almond Delight for Abe when they dated. A slice allegedly inspired him to declare this cake “the best in Kentucky” at the time. With praise like that, I couldn’t resist giving it a try myself.

How to Make Vanilla Almond Delight

I loved learning about the history of this dessert—sometimes billed as Almond Courting Cake. Regardless of our relationship status, we can follow Mary’s lead via her recipe, which is featured in the 1968 cookbook The Presidents' Own White House Cookbook (alongside John F. Kennedy’s Iced Tomato Soup and Thomas Jefferson’s Beef a la Mode) and in 1974’s American Family Cookbook. 

Here’s how to make Mary Todd Lincoln’s iconic almond cake:

1. Mix the batter. In a large bowl, sift all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, add butter, vanilla and almond extracts, and sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream until fluffy. To the butter mixture, add one-quarter of the dry ingredients, then pour in one-quarter of the milk. Between each addition, beat until just smooth. Using a spatula, fold in finely-chopped toasted blanched almonds. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. With the mixer running, add more sugar gradually; stopping once stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
2. Bake the cake. Pour the cake batter into a greased 10-inch round tube or Bundt pan. Bake at 350° F for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool to room temp.
3. Whip up the frosting. Place a heat-safe bowl over a pot filled with water to reach ½-inch below the bowl. Bring the water to a boil as you fill the bowl with sugar, cream of tartar, salt, water, and an egg white. Beat with a hand mixer for about 8 minutes, or until you see soft peaks. Remove the bowl from the heat and add vanilla extract. Mix for 1 minute more.
4. Assemble and enjoy. Once the cake is cool, cover with the frosting. If desired, decorate with candied cherries before slicing and serving.

Tips For Making Almond Cake

In case you’d like to join more than a century of home bakers who have baked this nostalgic cake recipe, here are a few pointers from my trial and our Test Kitchen.

• Skip the sift. Although you certainly could follow Mary’s lead and follow this step, stirring and fluffing up the dry ingredients with a fork or whisk works just fine.
• Take a temp check. Eggs are easier to separate while chilled, so aim to do so soon after you take them out of the fridge. Reserve the yolks for one of these sweet and savory egg yolk recipes, and allow the egg whites to come closer to room temp—30 minutes or so in a bowl on the counter should do—so they rise to the occasion better. The butter temperature isn’t flagged in the recipe. We suggest starting with softened butter so it’s a cinch to cream.
• Master soft vs. stiff peaks. When it comes time to beat the egg whites, start at medium speed. For soft peaks, stop when you lift the turned-off beaters out of the bowl, and the tips of the egg whites curl over like the top of a chocolate chip. For stiff peaks, return the mixer to the bowl and beat on high until the egg whites are glossy and stand up without drooping when you lift the beaters. 
• Prevent battles with the pan. If you utilize a Bundt pan rather than a tube pan (the latter you might be familiar with for Angel Food Cakes), I recommend coating the interior with “baking paste.” This helps the cake slide out of the crevices smoothly and easily without sticking to the pan. To make some, stir together equal parts flour, shortening, and vegetable oil, then brush this generously on the surface of the pan.
• Try a different frosting. Prefer not to fuss with a double boiler? Swap in another frosting. Our Almond Frosting, Caramel Frosting, or Cream Cheese Frosting recipes would all play nicely with the flavors in the cake.
• Jazz it up with fresh fruit. Candied cherries are a retro-chic garnish. Feel free to use them here if you happen to still have them handy after fruitcake season. Otherwise, a hint of freshness from fresh blueberries, blackberries, halved pitted cherries, or diced stone fruit would be a lovely teammate for this treat.

The Verdict On Abe Lincoln’s Favorite Cake

Although Abe adored this dessert during his lifetime, it is said to have become even more closely tied to the Lincoln family after his assassination. While mourning, historians believe that constituents baked this recipe at home as a tip of the cap to the president, gone too soon. Throughout the next decade, this almond cake appeared on menus at inaugural and military banquets.

I now understand why it has become a mainstay in homes—including the White House—over the years. The chopped almonds in the batter beautifully complemented the hint of almond essence in the tender cake. With sponge cake-style whipped egg whites (aka meringue) and enough butter in the batter to make the crumb moist and rich, the texture is light yet rich all at once. The frosting echoes that description.

The cake itself is sweet enough and the Bundt pan makes it showy enough to celebrate as-is, in my opinion. So in the future, I’ll probably skip the icing and pair this almond cake with whipped cream or ice cream and fresh fruit instead. (Bonus: I can skip the double-boiler step!) I imagine it will make for a memorable dessert any which way we top it. And I love that by making this cake, we can carry on the tradition, as well as a small slice of their sweet love story, for generations to come.