Thoughts:
With a hand-typed recipe and a name like that, how could I resist? This is the latest recipe from the very cool family cookbook, The Way to a Man’s Heart (link), and like the others, is a quirky look back in time. In my book, the recipe is typed onto a small piece of paper, and pasted onto the back cover. However, my Google-fu skills led me to a very similar recipe in Dr. Price’s New Cookbook, from 1921. That recipe calls for a good deal more baking powder, which I think would not go amiss.
On its own, this cake is not going to win any beauty contests. However, a good layer of icing serves to really spruce it up. The cake itself is also helped by the icing, because as you might expect, it’s a little on the dense side. The raisins and nuts are evenly distributed throughout the cake, giving each bite a little bit of interest and moistness.
Although it’s not going to be a a new staple in my kitchen, it’s a fun historical experiment that’s delicious with tea!
Recipe for Eggless, Butterless, Milkless Cake
Put into a sauce pan the following and boil together three minutes, then cool:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups seeded raisins
- 1/3 cup lard or shortening
- 1/4 grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
When cool, stir in
- 1 cup English walnuts
- 1 tsp. soda, dissolved in 1 Tbs. water
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. full of baking powder
Grease a round pan and gently spread the elastic batter in it.
Bake at 300F for 45 minutes to an hour.
If you like, ice the cake with:
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- enough water to bring it together
