From 1922:
One cup of butter beaten to a cream with two cups of sugar, now add three and a half cups of flour sifted with four level teaspoons of baking powder and beat smooth with one cup of milk.
Beat to a stiff froth the whites of six eggs and add one teaspoon of rose water.
Bake in three layers and when cold spread with a filling made by boiling to a thread three cups of sugar and one cup of water. Beat the boiling syrup into the stiffly beaten whites of three eggs and when all the syrup is beaten in and the filling starts to stiffen; add one cup chopped seeded raisins, one cup chopped pecan meats, and five white figs sliced very thin.
Use between the layers and for top and sides.
This is the cake made famous by Owen Wister’s book of the same name.