Rouses_May-June-2018

EAT LOCAL

Mississippi Mud Mississippi Mud Pie is thought to be named for the murky Mississippi River, rather than the state. The pie is built in layers, though how many — even which toppings to use for this rich, chocolate dessert — is open to interpretation. Craig Claiborne, longtime food editor and restaurant critic for The New York Times and a native of Mississippi, once called for the recipe in pages of the Times . “To our enormous surprise, the printed question and answer elicited scores of recipes from all over the nation, not only for Mississippi mud pies but for mud cakes as well.” You’ll find several, including Claiborne’s, on our website at www.rouses.com.​

Alabama Lane Cake WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR THE CAKE 1

HOW TO PREP Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour four round 9-inch cake pans. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. In a clean mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, whisk 8 egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into cake batter. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cake batter springs back when touched but has no color on top, about 15 minutes. Transfer pans from oven to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and return to racks to cool completely. In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg yolks, whole eggs and sugar until thick and glossy, and sugar has dissolved. Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk until mixture is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, whisking until thoroughly combined. Add bourbon and whisk until incorporated. If frosting starts to separate, continue beating until it comes back together, about 5 minutes. Cover raisins with warm water and soak until plumped, around 15 minutes. Drain. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Brush with about 2 tablespoons of bourbon to moisten. Spread with 3 cup frosting and top evenly with 1 cup soaked raisins and 1 cup unsweetened coconut. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the chopped pecans and 1/3 of the chopped kumquats. Repeat process with 2 more cake layers in the same order (frosting, raisins, coconut, pecans, kumquats). Top with remaining cake layer. Brush with remaining bourbon. Spread a thin coat of frosting over the top and sides of cake to cover. Chill for 20 minutes. After cake is chilled, use remaining frosting to fully cover top and sides of cake. Serve. *For ease of handling, cut into pieces while butter is cold, then allow pieces to come to room temperature.

cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pans

33 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for pans 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 31 teaspoons baking powder 3 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup milk 8 large egg whites FOR THE FROSTING 8 large egg yolks 4 whole large eggs 11 cups sugar 21 cups (5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature*

1 cup bourbon FOR THE FILLING 2

cups raisins, preferably large, such as muscat or monukka, finely chopped

1 cup bourbon 23 cups shredded unsweetened coconut 11 cups chopped pecans 1 cup candied kumquats, drained and chopped

WWW.ROUSES.COM 25