Main Content

The White House Chefs and the Nixon-Cox Wedding Cake

Copyright © White House Historical Association. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this article may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for reprint permissions should be addressed to books@whha.org

In March 1971, President Richard M. Nixon announced the engagement of his daughter Patricia to Edward Cox. The details of the wedding preparations soon appeared in newspapers. As the June date drew closer, media attention began to focus on the wedding cake.

White House Chef Henry Haller and his colleagues, White House Pastry Chef Heinz Bender and New York pastry specialist Maurice Bonté, were now in the spotlight. The cake was to be a marvel of engineering and enchantment. Its base layer would be at table height, and feature the intertwined first initials of the couple. The confection was to soar to a height of close to seven feet.

Henry Haller served as spokesman for the White House kitchen as the cake became an ever more prominent news feature. At the beginning of June, the White House released a recipe for a scaled-down version of the cake. Food writers for major U.S. newspapers tried the recipe, and announced that the batter overflowed the pan.1 Haller stayed up late testing and retesting the cake formula, and declared the recipe to be accurate.2

Haller, Bender, and Bonte had reason to celebrate on June 12, 1971. The Nixon-Cox wedding cake was picture-perfect.3

Henry Haller and Maurice Bonté with the Nixon-Cox wedding cake.

Henry Haller and Maurice Bonté with the Nixon-Cox wedding cake, June 12, 1971.

Library of Congress

Show Me More

Footnotes & Resources

  1. Sarah Booth Conroy, "Cake Mess?" Washington Post, June 3, 1971: B1; Raymond A. Sokolov, "Warning! It May Not Work," New York Times, June 2, 1971: 36.
  2. Raymond Sokolov, "The Great Cake Controversy, Continued: The Making (and Then Remaking) of a Recipe, Step by Step." New York Times, June 4, 1971: 17.
  3. James M. Naughton, "The President and the Cake Pass Tests," New York Times, June 13, 1971: 76.

Share

Related

Related
Next The 2023 White House Christmas Ornament

You Might Also Like

  • Collection

    The 2023 White House Christmas Ornament

    Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2023 design and learn more about President Gerald R. Ford. Buy

  • Podcast

    The History of Wine and the White House

    Featuring Frederick J. Ryan, author of “Wine and the White House: A History" and member of the White House Historical Association’s National Council on White House History

  • Podcast

    White House Builder James Hoban’s Irish Roots

    Featuring Laurie Grace, Chairman of the James Hoban Society of Ireland; Brother Christy O’Carroll, Congregation of Christian Brothers; Ciarán O’Connor, State Architect of Ireland; Merlo Kelly, Senior Architect, Lotts Architecture & Urbanism; Brian O’Connell, Director and Founder of O’Connell Mahon Architects and a contributor to the book James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House

  • Collection

    Weddings and the White House

    From First Lady Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington's wedding in 1812 to the nuptials of President Joseph Biden and First Lady Jill Biden's granddaughter Naomi Biden on the South Lawn in November 2022, the White House has long been the site of wedding ceremonies and receptions. In over two hundred years, there have been nineteen documented weddings and four receptions hosted

  • Collection

    The Ford White House 1974 - 1977

    Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the nation’s only unelected president and vice president, served thirteen terms in Congress before rising to national attention in 1973, when President Richard Nixon nominated him as vice president. Less than a year later, Ford became president, following President Nixon's resignation from office. The Fords made and celebrated history during their time in the White House, fr

  • Podcast

    A Discussion with the Voices of Lafayette Park

    Featuring Hilary West, Executive Director for Federal Government Relations at JPMorgan Chase, and Royce L. Dickerson, MBA Candidate at the University of Alabama’s Manderson Graduate School of Business

  • Collection

    The 2021 White House Christmas Ornament

    Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament. These unique collectibles — honoring individual presidents or specific White House anniversaries — have become part of the holiday tradition for millions of American families. In this collection, explore the history behind our 2021 design and learn more about President Lyndon B. Johnson.Buy

  • Collection

    Native Americans and the White House

    Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and Piscataway, lived in the Potomac Valley prior to the construction of the White House. Since that time, Native Americans have come to the Executive Mansion to share their cultural heritage, meet with presidents, protest, and advocate for Indigenous rights. In