Serves 10 to 12
MARY TODD LINCOLN WAS A FORCE IN HER DAY, BOTH DURING HER TIME IN Springfield, Illinois, and in the White House. She was as devoted to social domesticity as she was to promoting her husband’s career, and later, to her position as First Lady. It’s well known that MTL loved to bake, once famously going through 13 pounds of sugar in one week (what, like it’s hard?), at a time when that amount of sugar would’ve cost the equivalent of a week’s pay for many women in Illinois. She often combined her obsession with baking with her duties as a politician’s wife.
Along the way, she became known for a number of recipes, many of them inspired by her Kentucky upbringing. The most famous of her recipes is probably a simple almond cake, said to have been Abraham Lincoln’s favorite dessert. I’ve reworked the original recipe to boost the flavor and moisture, and I hope Mary doesn’t mind—I’d like to think we worked on this one together. The ingredients and prep here lean a little more toward weekend baking, but the velvety result is casual luxury, any day of the week.
Nonstick cooking spray for pan
1¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon/262 g granulated sugar, divided
1 cup/120 g blanched slivered almonds, lightly toasted and cooled
2⅔ cups/340 g unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup/225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon pure almond extract
8 ounces/225 g white chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup/225 g full-fat coconut milk, well shaken, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
Position a rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 325°F/170°C. Coat a 12- to 15-cup/2.8 to 3.6 L, light-colored metal Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, being sure to hit every pleat and pocket with spray. Invert the pan onto paper towels to prevent pooling in the bottom of the pan.
In a bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel S blade, combine 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the toasted almonds. Grind to a coarse meal. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and pulse several times to blend.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the remaining 1¼ cups/250 g of sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and beat on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and stir in the melted white chocolate. In 5 additions, alternate the dry ingredients and the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
In a clean bowl with clean beaters, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Using a flexible large spatula, stir a third of the whipped whites into the batter to loosen it up a bit. Carefully fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.