Make America Cake Again with a historic Election Cake

If this presidential election is souring you on politics, turn to something sweet. Like cake. More specifically, Election Cake.

Old World Levain or OWL Bakery, in Asheville, North Carolina, has brought back to life an old, forgotten recipe for Election Cake, a celebratory treat that first appeared in Amelia Simmons cookbook in 1796.

In the kitchen with the creator of the original Cinnabon cinnamon rolls

“It’s a cake which originated in the colonial era in the colonies in New England,” said Susanna Gebhart, owner of OWL Bakery. “It is the descendant of something called a muster cake.”

“The muster cake was something that was served at militia days during the colonies when communities would gather to do militia trainings,” she said. “And then, later on, it was adapted and served at the early voting sites in the young republic. It was then, at that point, called Election Cake and it really marked the celebration of the democratic process in the early days of our country.”

The return of election cake

Gebhart is the pusher of a movement called “Make America Cake Again” — she’s encouraging bakeries and home bakers across the country to bake and sell Election Cake, and she’s donating part of her proceeds to the League of Women Voters.

Of course, when America was a new country, women weren’t allowed to vote. But OWL co-owner Maia Surdam, who is also a history professor at a local university, says they could bake cakes when the men came out to vote.

“It really shows one of the ways that women participated in the culture surrounding voting and in civic traditions to celebrate democracy without having formal political channels available to them,” Surdam says.

Sophie Williams owns Raven Breads in Bellingham, and she’s been baking and selling slices of Election Cake at the farmer’s market and taking orders for whole cakes. As a bread baker who works exclusively with sourdough as a natural leavener, Williams was particularly excited to get involved in the project.

“It’s really different than any other cake I’ve ever baked because it’s entirely naturally leavened with sourdough, rather than baking soda and baking powder,” Gebhart said. “Back in the 1700s, they didn’t have baking soda and baking powder. It’s fairly dense and I’m making mine with boozy dried apples and raisins and a little bit of buckwheat, which adds a little bit of earthiness to the flavor.”

“It’s definitely a fruitcake, but I think it’s really characterized by the tanginess of the sourdough culture,” she said. “You get a lot of those really comforting, warm flavors that you associate with holiday and Christmas foods. But in this case you have that brightness from the sourdough culture and it’s really exciting.

The original Election Cakes were made to feed a crowd. The 1796 recipe calls for 30 quarts of flour, 10 pounds butter, 14 pounds sugar, 12 pounds raisins, three dozen eggs, one pint wine, one quart brandy — and that ingredient list is just getting started.

But Owl Bakery has scaled down the recipe for a home baker, and you can find a link to it here.

The bakers hope you’ll share the cake with your community while engaging in calm and civil election discussions.

“It’s wonderful to bring a bit of sweetness to a very bitter election,” says Williams.

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