My beloved Gram Mather’s birthday is June 23, and she has been much in my thoughts lately, though she died nearly a half century ago.
She was a willowy, elegant woman with beautiful hands and a generous heart. She wore her hair in an Edwardian pompadour, and when her hair grew thin in her old age, she used a “hair rat” to stand in for what she’d lost. Always immaculate, she dressed immediately on rising. I never saw her in pajamas or a robe.
I loved to visit her at her little cottage on the lake. When I was old enough, I sometimes rode the 10 miles to visit her on my big, heavy, balloon-tire bike. A swim felt good after the sweaty, hour-long bike ride. My parents were invariably surprised when I checked in by phone to tell them where I was, and usually allowed me to stay the night. In the summertime, Gram often gave me fruit with heavy cream for breakfast. The cream, she said, was good for my skin. I liked peaches best, with blueberries a close second.
Her friends called her Marge, and she taught me to call them Aunt Their-First-Name. Aunt Gertrude kept a stock of soft molasses cookies — each dotted with a raisin at the center — on hand for young visitors and we were allowed two — “one for each hand,” Aunt Gertrude said. Aunt Katherine’s house, a little further around the cove, was high on a hill; its stone floor felt cool on my bare feet and her cottage stayed dim even when the sun was high and hot. She served me homemade lemonade on her screened porch, and we’d rock companionably as we gazed out on the lake, shimmering in the sun.
My grandmother’s birthday was a big deal in our family. We’d gather at her place to eat a celebratory meal, almost all of it prepared by my mother — including the airy chiffon cake that my grandmother preferred.
I was in my early 20s when Gram died in 1976. She was 89, and in the years preceding her death, she’d become forgetful and fretful. Once, she accused me of stealing all the cords to her electric appliances; I was perplexed why she thought that I, a college student with no use for those cords, had done that. But I forgave the accusation. Many years later, I learned that my aunt, who was obsessed with tidying up, had tucked all those cords into the cardboard tubes inside paper towel rolls to make them easier to store.
I’ll never be the elegant woman my grandmother was. But in her memory, I’m baking her favorite cake to celebrate her birthday.
Orange chiffon cake with orange glaze
Makes about 12 servings
Bringing the eggs to room temperature is an important step, so don’t skip it — the egg whites whip to a higher volume when they’re at room temperature. The cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites, so you’ll want to include it. Inverting the cake immediately after baking helps maintain its delicate structure, so it doesn’t collapse.
Ingredients
6 large eggs
2 large navel oranges
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¾ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup neutral oil, such as canola, vegetable, or other mild-flavored oil
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
For the glaze:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
½ teaspoon grated orange zest
Preparation
About two hours before baking, remove the eggs from the refrigerator. At baking time, separate the eggs, placing the whites in a large mixing bowl. Set the yolks aside.
Grate the zest from the oranges and then juice them for the ¾ cup orange juice. Set the zest aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form. Scrape the beaten egg whites into a large bowl and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, orange juice, oil, and orange zest. In the large bowl you used to beat the egg whites, combine the flour, sugar, and salt; add the egg yolk mixture. Beat until well blended.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the flour mixture. Spoon batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Cut through the batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on the lowest rack at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
Remove cake from oven and immediately invert pan; cool completely. Run a knife around sides and center tube of pan. Invert cake onto a serving plate.
For glaze, place confectioners’ sugar, orange juice, and orange zest into a bowl. Stir until smooth. Pour over top of cake, allowing it to drizzle down sides.
