Lane Cake

What is Lane cake? That's what I asked Google when I got to page 139 of my copy of To Kill A Mockingbird. We're in Chapter 13 and to Scout's dismay, Aunt Alexandra has arrived from Finch's Landing and declared residency at the house in Maycomb "for a while." Being well regarded in town, she is welcomed almost as royalty.

In greeting, Miss Maudie makes a Lane cake that Scout says was "so loaded with shinny it made me tight." Miss Maudie Atkinson is known for her superior Lane cakes, which are...?

That question led me to a 2013 article by Tom McNamara called The Cake That Made Maycomb Famous: The Lane Cake. You can read the article (which includes a recipe), but the upshot is that it is a cake with a sugar and bourbon ("shinny") filling usually involving finely chopped raisins or pecans. Judging from the comments section, many of Mr. McNamara's readers expected coconut in the filling. It is topped by a standard Boiled White Frosting.

Have ya'll ever had Lane cake? Do you make Lane cake? If so MIO wants to hear from you. If you have your own recipe, you can email it to myirrefutableopinion@gmail.com, and I'll be glad share it in this space (with your permission, of course.) I may even pick my favorite and try it myself!
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Please leave a comment below, or you can email your comments to: myirrefutableopinion@gmail.com. I am looking forward to hearing from you!

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