Treat Yourself to Old-Fashioned Moravian Sugar Cake
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Known for their devotion to church, community, schools, and handiwork, the Moravians were also famous for their baking. They staged “love feasts” in church, passing warm yeast buns and sweetened coffee around to the congregation.
Their signature bread, baked on Easter morning, is called “sugar cake.” It’s a rich yeast dough topped with puddles of brown sugar and butter. In 1800 a bakery was built to serve the Moravian town of Salem, North Carolina, and a baker named Christian Winkler arrived seven years later to operate it.
You can still buy sugar cake at Winkler’s Bakery today in Old Salem, or you can bake it at home.
This irresistible recipe originally belonged to Beth Tartan, who was the food editor of the Winston- Salem Journal for many years, and it was given to me by food writer Sheri Castle. The mashed potatoes in the dough make it moist. The early Moravians would have used lard instead of vegetable shortening.
The Moravians
One of the oldest Protestant groups, the Moravians have roots in what is now the Czech Republic.
Religious persecution drove them to Germany, across Europe, and then to England before they arrived in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and then in Salem, North Carolina, in 1753.
Those missionary travels have influenced their culture and baking, says Daniel Ackermann, historian with Old Salem Museum and Gardens. They built missions for the Cherokee people in Georgia and Oklahoma, and before that, for the enslaved Africans, who became part of their church.
The St. Philips Moravian Church, organized in 1822, is the oldest standing Black church in North Carolina and is part of today’s historic Old Salem.
Yields: 12-16 servings
Prep Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 5 hours 45 mins
Ingredients
1
medium baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/4 tsp.
(1 package) dry yeast
1 c.
granulated sugar, plus 1/2 teaspoon for the yeast mixture
1/2 c.
vegetable shortening
1 1/4 c.
(2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided, plus more for the bowl and pan
1 tsp.
salt
2
large eggs, beaten, at room temperature
3 c.
all-purpose flour, plus up to 1/2 cup for kneading
1 c.
lightly packed light brown sugar
2 tsp.
ground cinnamon
Directions
Place the potato in a small saucepan, cover with water to depth of 1 inch, and simmer, covered, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well, reserving the cooking water. Force the potato through a ricer into a small bowl or mash as smooth as possible with a fork. Measure 1 cup gently packed potatoes, place in a small bowl, and stir in 2 tablespoons of the cooking water, reserving the rest. Cover and keep warm.
Place the yeast, the 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 cup of the reserved warm cooking water in a glass measuring cup and let stand until the mixture bubbles, 5 minutes.
Combine the potatoes, the 1 cup sugar, shortening, 4 of the tablespoons butter, and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until the shortening melts. Stir in the yeast mixture and beat on low for 30 seconds. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place it in a warm place to rise until spongy and light, 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Stir in the eggs and the 3 cups flour to make a soft dough. Shape the dough into a ball. Grease a large bowl with butter. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to grease the top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place, free from drafts, for the dough to rise for 2 hours. The dough will increase in size by half.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, using only as much of the 1/2 cup remaining flour as needed, and knead until it is smooth and elastic, 5 minutes. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter. Pat the dough evenly into a greased pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place, free from drafts, for the dough to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Heat the oven to 375°F, with a rack in the middle. Slice the remaining 16 tablespoons butter into 1/8-inch slices. With your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon, deeply dimple the dough. Tuck the slices of butter into the dimples and over the top of the dough. Place the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir to combine; sprinkle this evenly over the dough and down into the dimples.
Place the pan in the oven and bake until the cake is well browned and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes in the pan before serving.
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