Lane cake a Southern specialty, is a rich, boozy cake often served for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other special occasions. It is the official state cake of Alabama, home of its inventor, Emma Rylander Lane.

“I just love this southern-style dessert, and so do dinner guests, says Mabel Parvi of Ridgefield, Washington, who shares her recipe below. “With pecans, cherries and raisins in the filling and topping, this version reminds me of a fruitcake—only so much better!”

We agree with Mabel: This is fun fusion food. It has the candied and dried fruits of a fruitcake, in the form of a frosted layer cake.

Many variations occurred over the years. More recipe variations are shown in the photos.

> Mabel Parvi’s Lane Cake recipe is below (photo #1).

> The history of cake.

> The different types of cake: a photo glossary.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF LANE CAKE

The original Lane Cake recipe was a four-layer white sponge layered cake filled with a mixture of the egg yolks, butter, sugar, raisins, and Bourbon or brandy. It was iced with a boiled white icing Here’s the original recipe, and it looked something like photo #4.

The cake was created before the turn of the 20th century by Emma Rylander Lane (1856-1904), a native and long-time resident of Americus, Georgia. But Georgia has some claim: She developed the recipe while living in Clayton, Alabama, in the 1890s.

The recipe first appeared in her self-published cookbook, “Some Good Things to Eat (1898)” (here’s a reprint).

Mrs. Lane created a fusion of the spongy White Mountain cake and the whisky-drenched fruitcakes of the time. Here’s more about it.

Her recipe won first prize at the county fair in Columbus, Georgia, after which Ms. Lane called it the Prize Cake.

An acquaintance, Mrs. Jamie McDowell Pruett, of Eufala, Alabama, convinced her to rename the cake for herself, and so it became the Lane Cake [source]. It is also called the Southern Lane Cake and the Alabama Lane Cake.

This boozy cake was a go-to for “drinking your dessert.” The amount of Bourbon or brandy soaking the cake was in the hands of each individual cook.

In Jimmy Carter’s memoir “Christmas in Plains,” the president writes that his father would “make a couple of Lane cakes for Christmas. Since this cake recipe required a strong dose of bourbon, it was just for the adult relatives, doctors, nurses, and other friends who would be invited to our house for eggnog [source].”

Lane Cake is also mentioned in the Southern classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird; it stirs a rivalry between two of the neighborhood cake ladies*. It’s a moist white cake filled and frosted with a thick cooked whiskey-laced custard.

And to port the Lane Cake to our efficiency-focused culture: Pillsbury has a Lane Cake recipe made with a box of cake mix (one layer only, no booze).
 
 
LANE CAKE FOR CHRISTMAS

In our repertoire, the holidays are the time to make all the boozy sweets: Guinness Cake, Lady Baltimore Cake, rum balls, rum cake, and so many others—including Lane Cake.

The recipe below is particularly Christmas-forward because it adds candied cherries for a festive red highlight. If you don’t like candied cherries, substitute dried cherries. They’re not as bright-red, but we like the flavor even better.

Lane cake is often confused with the Lady Baltimore cake. While they are similar—both frosted, fruit-filled, liquor-laced layer cakes—here are the major differences:

 
For The Filling

 
Preparation

1. LINE the bottoms of 3 greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment. Grease the parchment and set aside.

2. PLACE the egg whites in a large bowl and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3. CREAM the butter and sugar in another large bowl until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

4. WHISK the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Add it to the creamed butter mixture alternating with the milk, beating well after each addition.

5. BEAT the egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold them into the batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans.

[1] This version of a Lane Cake is a cross between a fruit cake and a frosted layer cake, with whipped cream frosting instead of the original 7-minute-type frosting. The recipe is below (photo © Taste Of Home).

[2] This version of Lane Cake has a meringue frosting infused with peach schnapps, and the batter includes dried peaches as well as coconut flakes and toasted pecans. Here’s the recipe (photo by Hector Sanchez © Southern Living).

[3] This three-layer Lane Cake has a coconut-pecan topping. It’s finished in the modern style of a stack cake: no frosting on the sides Here’s the recipe (photo © Epicurious).

[4] An approximation of the original Lane Cake from the Encyclopedia of Alabama. It is the official state cake of Alabama.

[5] This version from pulses the filling ingredients into a paste. Here’s the recipe (photo © America’s Test Kitchen).

[6] Each cook can style the cake with a signature look. Here’s the recipe for this version, which uses the filling to top a frosted cake (photo © Tori Avey).

[7] A Lady Baltimore Cake, similar too, but not exactly, a Lane Cake. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).

[8] Queen cakes—individual tea cakes that inspired the Lady Baltimore Cake. Here’s the recipe (photo © Women’s Weekly Food).

7. MAKE the filling. Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a large saucepan. Add the butter; cook and stir over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved and mixture thickens (do not boil).

8. REMOVE from the heat. Stir in the Bourbon, orange zest and salt. Fold in the raisins, coconut, pecans and cherries. Cool.

9. PLACE 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with a third of the filling. Repeat with the other layers. Frost the sides of the cake with whipped cream. Refrigerate until serving.

Note: Add your own touches to a Lane Cake. If you love toasted coconut, for example, use it on top of the frosting.
 
 
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*In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Alabama native Harper Lee’s character, Miss Maudie Atkinson, neighbor to the Finches, is known in the town of Maycomb for her Lane Cakes. She bakes a Lane Cake to welcome Aunt Alexandra when she comes to live with the Finch family. Noting the cake’s alcoholic kick, daughter Scout Finch remarks, “Miss Maudie baked a Lane cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight” (shinny is a slang term for moonshine) [source].

When Miss Maudie’s house is half-burned down, causing her to take refuge in the home of a rival Lane Cake maker, Stephanie Crawford, she keeps on baking. She specifically bakes a Lane Cake for old Mr. Avery, who was severely injured in an attempt to put out the fire.

“Soon as I can get my hands clean and when Stephanie Crawford’s not looking, I’ll make him a Lane cake. That Stephanie’s been after my recipe for thirty years, and if she thinks I’ll give it to her just because I’m staying with her she’s got another think coming” [source].