Morrison's Mace Cake

Morrison’s mace cake is a hot-milk sponge cake from the classic Morrison’s Cafeteria chain that once defined Southern cafeteria dining. The defining flavor here is mace, the orange-red lacy outer covering of the nutmeg seed.

Mace tastes related to nutmeg but more delicate, more floral, and far less aggressive. It’s the spice that vintage American bakers reached for when they wanted warm spice without overwhelming everything else.

The hot-milk technique is the procedural star of this cake. Instead of creaming butter and sugar conventionally, the butter melts into hot milk, then the whole hot mixture is folded into the egg-and-sugar base.

This approach produces an unusually fine, tight crumb (think pound cake leaning toward angel food) that’s both rich and surprisingly tender.

The topping move is what gives the cake its signature character. A mixture of sugar and mace gets sprinkled directly onto the raw batter before baking, where it sinks slightly into the surface and bakes into a crackly, fragrant crust that perfumes the whole kitchen.

Pro Tips

• Use freshly opened mace if possible. Like all ground spices, mace fades fast and an old jar will taste bland.
• Add the hot milk slowly to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour too fast and you scramble the eggs.
• Test for doneness with a toothpick at the 25-minute mark. The high sugar content can make the surface look done before the center sets.
• Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out. Hot-milk cakes are tender and tear easily when warm.

Variations

• Substitute nutmeg for mace for a slightly more aggressive, nutty version. Use only ¾ of the amount.
• Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon almond extract for more dimensional warmth.
• Drizzle the cooled cake with a thin glaze of powdered sugar mixed with a tablespoon of bourbon for a Southern-style finish.