Elsie Engstrom's Pound Cake
Circa 1863
By Sharon Ng
The Engstroms settled in Grass Valley, Oregon, over 100 years ago. Elsie
Engstrom would have been my great, great grandmother. Her husband, after
arriving from Sweden at 20 years old, worked his way in four years from
New York to settle in Grass Valley. After being widowed, he met Elsie,
also a widow, whom he employed for a year as his housekeeper. She was
originally from Missouri, and brought with her a 16 year old daughter
from her first marriage. They were then married with Great, great
grandfather being at age fifty, and Elsie being 40 years old. They then
had my great grandmother Helen, now Helen Engstrom Olds.
My great grandmother Helen is nearing 100 years old, and still lives in
the sleepy little town of Grass Valley, in Sherman County, Oregon. She
enjoys reminding people that she is one of the oldest living community
members in Grass Valley. I would love to include a photo of her, but I
am sure she could still give me a licking if she set her mind to it. She
is one of the most adorable women I know, and the following recipe came
from her family line. The Engstrom family settled an area in Sherman
County, ranching cattle, and farming wheat with horsepower. They also
raised chickens for meat and eggs. Grandma Elsie had a traveling cookset
that was brought with them as they tilled and harvested the fields, they
would cook and eat in the field while working. As best as I can figure,
this recipe is at least 150 years old, prior to the city of Grass Valley
even being incorporated.
This recipe, like many older recipes, comes in weights. This is why it
was called Pound Cake. This recipe is Elsie's Pound Cake and a cake my
great grandmother enjoyed as a child. Lucky for me there was an already
written recipe for this, rather than translating a smidgeon of this and
a dash of that, as I have done with other family recipes. I have changed
some of the wording to fit our more modern lifestyle, and the blessing
of regulated ovens and electric mixers.
Ingredients:
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*1 pound butter *
*1 pound sugar *
*1 pound flour *
*12 eggs , separated *
*1/4 teaspoon nutmeg *
*2 teaspoons vanilla extract *
Directions:
Yield: 1 lg loaf or 2 sm loaves
Beat butter and sugar until creamed, add lightly beaten egg yolks. Beat
well then add flour, nutmeg and vanilla. In separate bowl whip egg
whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into batter with as little stirring
as possible. Cook in moderate oven, (350 degrees F) in a buttered loaf
pan, for approximately 55 minutes.
--
*Ginny Butterfield
Cranberry Twp, PA
*
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