ELECTION DAY CAKE

[elleng]

The tradition dates from the 1600s, but the cakes became more elaborate after colonial independence. Weeklong celebrations often accompanied certifying the election results, and women baked these yeast cakes for out-town-guests.

This recipe is adapted from Lydia Maria Child’s recipe for Election Cake, which appears in the 1833 edition of The American Frugal Housewife, published in Boston. We have reduced Mrs. Child’s recipe by three-fourths and added a little spice, which was, and is, typical in election cake, though Mrs. Child omits it.

http://www.almanac.com/recipe/election-day-cake-0