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Moravian Sugar Cake

Source of Recipe

From "Secrets of the Southern Table" by Virginia Willis


Recipe Introduction

"Moravians, a religious group originally from what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia, are acknowledged as the first Protestants, predating Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation by one hundred years. After a failed attempt to settle in Savannah, Georgia, they settled in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1740, where they played a large and important role in the colonies. Then in the 1750s, a group of families moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. A large group of Moravians still live in the area, and Old Salem is a beautifully restored living history town that meticulously re-creates the town of Salem, North Carolina, as it was from 1766 to 1840. Like many religions, the Moravian faith has associated food customs, including crisp, paper-thin ginger cookies, chicken pie, and this sweet yeast bread. Part of the Moravian worship service is a 'love feast' that consists of singing hymns and sharing coffee and sweet buns. My dear godmother, whom I call Aunt Jenny, is Moravian. She and her husband lived in Winston Salem, North Carolina, for many years, and it was there where they converted to the faith. When I was a child, it seemed wildly exotic to my seemingly pedestrian Methodist upbringing—they got to eat cake at church and all we had were communion wafers and Welch's grape juice."

List of Ingredients

For the dough:
â—¦ 1 russet potato (about ½ pound), peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
â—¦ 1 (¼-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
â—¦ ½ cup warm water
â—¦ ½ cup granulated sugar
â—¦ 8 tablespoons (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
â—¦ 1 large egg
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
â—¦ 2 ½ to 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

For the topping:
â—¦ 8 tablespoons (½ cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
â—¦ ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
â—¦ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon



Recipe

To make the dough, combine the potato and enough cold water to cover in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid and set aside. Drain the potato and return to the pot. Add the reserved cooking water and, using an old-fashioned potato masher or a sturdy whisk, mash the potatoes until very smooth. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast and warm water; let sit for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. Add the mashed potato, granulated sugar, butter, egg, and salt. Add 2 ½ cups of the flour and mix the dough on low speed until it is well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it by hand for 8 to 10 minutes, adding as much of the remaining ½ cup flour as is necessary to form a smooth and elastic dough. Transfer the dough to a buttered large bowl, turning the dough to coat it with the butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until it is double in size. Punch down the dough.

Press the dough evenly into a buttered 9 by 13-inch baking pan.
Cover the pan with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes; the dough will be puffed and risen.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400° F.
Using your thumb, make indentations all over the top of the dough and then scatter the butter over the dough and into the indentations.

To make the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the cake registers 190° F and the cake is dark brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Check it around 20 minutes; if it starts to become too dark, cover it with aluminum foil. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes, then, using a serrated knife, cut into squares and serve.

Makes one 9 x 13-inch cake