Lane Cake

01 / ABOUT THE DISH

About the dish

Lane cake (also known as prize cake and Alabama Lane cake ) is a sponge cake filled with a combination of coconut, raisins, custard, and bourbon. To make things even better, it's often topped with a fluffy frosting. The cake was invented by Emma Rylander Lane from Clayton, Alabama. She presented it at a county fair in Colombus, Georgia, where she won first prize, hence the alternative name – prize cake. She published the recipe for this decadent dessert in her book Some Good Things to Eat in 1898. Nowadays, there are many twists on the Lane cake, and it is a staple at dinners, receptions, and weddings in the American south. The cake also gained literary fame when it was mentioned in Harper Lee's famous book To Kill a Mockingbird .