From the White House to your kitchen, this retro recipe has plenty of history and fall flavor!

Dolley Madison was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States.  During her time as First Lady, she took on a highly public role supporting her favorite causes and was known for both her unique personal style and being a gracious hostess of countless social functions.  This cake is one of her many famous recipes.

Surprisingly, Dolley Madison cakes were still being made in kitchens everywhere in the early 20th century.  Maybe the World Wars piqued widespread interest in Americana and recipes from the past.

The original recipe doesn’t note what type of frosting to use.  I found out that Dolley Madison cake calls for caramel icing.  You can either purchase some or try out the homemade caramel icing recipe that I used for my cake.

Let’s get baking!

1. First, mix together the following:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 2/3 of a cup of butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of sweet milk (the vintage kitchen term for whole milk)
• 3 cups of flour
• 3 heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder

 
2. Divide the mixture into two pans greased with butter.
 
3. To one pan, add:

• 1 tablespoon of molasses
• 1 cup of chopped raisins
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice
• ½ teaspoon of cloves

4. Cook the cake layers for about 50 minutes at 350 °F.  Remove the cake from the pan after it has cooled.

5. Add caramel icing between the spice cake and yellow cake layers.  Drizzle icing all over the top of the cake.  

​It’s time to enjoy your sweet treat!

For this project, you’ll need:

• A paper mâché crafting pumpkin
• Cream, brown, and black acrylic paint
• A foam brush
• A small paintbrush
• Vintage buttons or other textured found objects
• Mod Podge Matte Acrylic Sealer

 
1. Using a foam brush, evenly paint the pumpkin with 3 coats of cream acrylic paint, allowing each coat to fully dry.

2. With the paintbrush, paint the pumpkin’s stem with brown paint and allow it to dry.  Mix black and cream paint into the brown paint to create a lighter and a darker shade of brown.  Paint fine lines onto the stem with the custom lighter and darker brown shades you mixed to add realistic variegation.  

3. Use the foam brush to dab a thin layer of black paint onto the most raised parts of a found object.  Stamp the design onto the pumpkin, starting with the part closest to the stem and working outward.  Continue stamping with a variety of found objects to form a concentric design until you’ve decorated the top third of the pumpkin.  Allow the paint to dry.

4. Spray the pumpkin with two coats of Mod Podge Matte Clear Acrylic Sealer to protect the paint job. 

​Your pumpkin is now ready for its big reveal!  I hope you enjoy this beautiful season.

For more fall fun, please visit these previous posts:
​
-To make a driftwood boho wall hanging
- To create an upcycled driftwood pumpkin magnet
- To mix up pumpkin pie ice cream
- To fashion another fabulous faux pumpkin
- To warm up with retro potato soup or cheddar harvest squash soup
- To whip up coconut chai body balm
- To stitch a reversible upcycled fall mandala locket
- To curate a collection of cold weather essentials