Treat of the Week: The Grange Molliner Cake

There’s no end to my mother’s culinary ingenuity. I was quite honored by this week’s treat of the week since it was inspired by Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square.  
We began our afternoon together with a lovely meal of pork tenderloin with a delicious sauce complete with sectioned fresh nectarines. Broccoli, roasted potatoes, and rye bread completed this sumptuous meal.

But, I must confess, throughout dinner I was preoccupied with the dessert—having seen it upon entering the house. My mother dubbed this magnificent creation “The Grange Molliner Cake.” A three-layered butterscotch cake, this moist, glorious creation gets its flavor from brown sugar and vanilla. The butter cream icing, also butterscotch, is a complicated affair. Frankly, it’s beyond my ability to describe the creation of this exquisite frosting accurately. I do know that it was made in a pot on the stove after “blooming” gelatin. I understand that it was a long time in making, and the result is truly stunning. 

The iced cake was “fluted” with a decorating comb, and, then, a frieze of piped rosettes adorned the top and bottom. In keeping with the “Scottish” theme, my mother employed a technique which I recall from my boyhood. Using strings dipped in just the right amount of food coloring, my mother created a plaid pattern—The Molliner Tartan—atop the cake.

I can’t fathom just how much work that took—and such a steady hand! I’ve got to say, this cake quickly became one of my top five favorites. So much so, that I had to write it into Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square. This will now be the cake which Mrs. Pepper makes for the Servants’ Ball.

Served on Scottie Dog plates, this cake put all of us in mind of Aberdeenshire and happy times.