Joan Crawford has been dead since 1977, but her place as a queer icon has never waned. Following the release of the film “Mommie Dearest” in 1981 (based on a book by her daughter released in 1978) the late actress captured a new generation of queer fans. Inspired by Faye Dunaway’s over-the-top interpretation of Crawford, LGBTQ+ viewers were delighted by the camp quality of the movie and sought out the classic films Crawford had appeared in during her lengthy career.
Crawford was nominated and won an Academy award for “Mildred Pierce,” (1945), the story of a struggling woman who starts out baking cakes and making pies for neighbors and parlays her talents into a successful chain of restaurants. In 1947 she was nominated for (but didn’t win) another Academy Award for the film “Possessed” and her role as the schizophrenic caregiver Louise, who loses her grip on sanity and offs an uncaring boyfriend.
She appeared in several other films before her death 30 years later, among them, the Academy Award nominated “Sudden Fear” (1952) the bizarre but legendary Western “Johnny Guitar” (1954) and the enormously successful horror/exploitation flick “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962).
The latter inspired openly gay producer Ryan Murphy to create the miniseries “Feud: Bette and Joan” for the streaming and cable network FX in 2017. The series explored the relationship between Crawford and actress Bette Davis during the making of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”
Once again, an entirely new younger generation, this time in the 21st century, was inspired to seek out the original film works of Crawford and this time, Davis.
There’s a touch of irony to the holiday treat we’re sharing with you in this installation of our ongoing series: it’s called Angel Food Cake. As evidenced by the films we’ve discussed here, Crawford’s portrayal of a woman that made cakes and pies won her an Academy Award. Crawford’s characters in most roles she played were usually very far from being an angel, although Crawford herself was known to be bisexual, an ally to the gay community, a reliable friend and clearly a camp icon.
If you’re looking for a relatively light and easy to make holiday cake for any upcoming holiday dinners, consider this one. It serves 10, and the creator of the recipe is quite likely to spur some interesting conversion among guests.
Joan Crawford’s Angel Food Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup cake flour
7/8 cup, plus 3/4 cup sugar
Whites from 12 large eggs
1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sift the cake flour and 8 cup sugar together three times.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla, almond extract, and salt until foamy.
Add the remaining sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form.
Gradually sift the flour mixture over the beaten egg whites and fold it in, just until the flour disappears.
Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, and gently cut through the batter with a knife to spread it evenly.
Bake for 1 hour.
Let it cool for 10 minutes and then invert onto a rack to cool completely.
This recipe most recently appeared in Frank DeCaro’s “Dead Celebrity Cookbook Presents Christmas in Tinseltown,” published by Health Communications Incorporated in 2012.