One of New Orleans' favorite desserts is a lasting legacy of an oft-forgotten chapter in the city's history: the banana trade, and its infamous practices.

To mark this week's release of Harper Lee's long-awaited second novel, Go Set a Watchman, why not try an old-fashioned cake from Alabama, featured prominently in Lee's classic first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

In it, Scout Finch's neighbor, Maudie Atkinson, is known for her Lane cakes and guards her ...