President John Quincy Adams's "Golden Alligator Spring House Cake"

Sweltering heat. A full glass of fresh squeezed lemonade, beading sweat on the outside of the tall, vintage glass. A rocking chair with worn pink paint. And a cool slice of Golden Alligator Spring House Cake.

Tell me that doesn’t sound like a piece of southern perfection.

That’s what I pictured when I heard the name of this cake from the unlikeliest of presidents: Massachusetts-dwelling John Quincy Adams. With a name like Golden Alligator Spring House Cake, I couldn’t resist.

Chef John Quincy Adams

Whig President from Massachusetts

As always, I followed the recipe word for word directly from the president who did not keep an alligator in the White House bath tub, no alterations:

INGREDIENTS

1 two-layer cake, or one tall cake (e.g., angel food cake)

12 tbsp Madeira or sherry

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp almond extract

2 tbsp sugar

1-2 drops red food coloring/beetroot extract

candied fruit

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Cut layers of cake horizontally to create 4 layers in all.

I went with a homemade angel food cake, which, to be transparent, I overbaked by about 90 second. Just a tiny bit too brown on the bottom. But otherwise perfect for this recipe, which calls for any sort of light sponge.

2) Press 1 layer into an 8-inch bowl. Sprinkle with 4 tbsp Madeira or sherry.

The pressing confused me at first — what kind of bowl? Does it need to be 8 inches all the way down? Should it be a bowl in the modern understanding or are we talking about a deep dish bowl that is the same width all the way down? In the end, I chose a standard 8-inch diameter bowl with enough depth for four layers of cake. Oh and I chose Madeira.

3) Whip cream and flavor with almond extract, sugar, and food coloring/beetroot (just enough to color the cream pale pink).

John Quincy Adams no doubt did not use Red 40, but you can feel free if you want. Beetroot extract is what I am guessing was used based on the time period and ease of access. Those cochineal bugs were more western-U.S. Either way, my cream ended up a shade pinker than anticipated, but I’m not unhappy about it.

4) Spread 1/3 of the cream over the cake layer in the bowl.

5) Add second layer. Repeat entire process two time. The top layer should be the cake alone.

Three rounds of cream, three rounds of alcohol. The equivalent of four shots of Madeira in this cake.

6) Chill several hours or overnight in your spring house (refrigerator). At serving time, unmold on a chilled cake plate, garnish with bits of bright colored jelly or candied fruits. Slice into small wedges. Serves 10 to 12.

I chose to use my spring house.

Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the Cookin’ with Congress Instagram or TikTok. I wish this was prettier, I really do. I had such high hopes that it would be frosted to perfection, but the recipe essentially asks you to jam the cake into a misshapen vessel, then leave its naked, slightly overtoasted bottom exposed. The overtoasting is on me, but the rest is on John Quincy Adams — you can’t name something so fabulously and have it look like someone dropped your cake upside down.

Verdict:

Delightful. The Madeira does NOT hide, so if you’re put off by the flavor of sherry, Madeira, port, etc., this may not be for you. But I loved it. Mixed with the almond extract, it reminded me of a Godfather cocktail — Scotch and amaretto — but with lightly sweet pink frosting. Good times.