Cake Day No.3

February 20

Today we have sweet on sweet – if cake is not enough, and candy is not enough –have both!

The Gumdrop Cake seems to have burst onto the culinary scene in America and Canada in the 1940’s, and was promoted as a novel alternative to traditional Christmas Cake. This version is from the Lilly Wallace New American Cook Book of 1946.

Gumdrop Cake.
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 ¼ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup milk
¾ cup raisins
1 pound gumdrops, black ones removed, chopped finely.
Cream butter, while adding sugar and beaten eggs. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together over chopped candy and raisins. Dredge well. Add vanilla to milk and add flour mixture and milk, to first mixture alternately. Bake in a large greased loaf tin in a slow oven (275 to 300 degrees F) [140-150 degrees C] 1 ½ hours.

Several other versions of the recipe suggest that scissors be used to cut up the gumdrops, which sounds like a fine idea. Removing the black gumdrops sounds like a silly idea. Using unsnipped jelly-babies sounds …. vaguely cannibalistic. Using your imagination … will, I am sure, make you can come up with some fun variations on this theme.

From the same source as the above recipe, for the peppermint fans:

Peppermint Stick Candy Layer Cake.
2 ⅔ cup flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups milk
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg whites
½ cup finely ground peppermint stick candy
½ cup coarsely ground peppermint stick candy
Sift flour and measure. Sift again with baking powder and salt. Cream shortening. Continue creaming, gradually adding ⁴/₅ cup sugar and 3 tablespoons milk. Add egg yolk and vanilla to remaining milk. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Beat egg whites stiff but not dry. Beat in remaining sugar. Fold into cake batter. Pour into 2 9-inch layer pans with wax paper in bottom. Sprinkle with the finely ground peppermint candy. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees F)[190 degrees C]. Ice with seven minute icing coloured pink. Sprinkle coarsely ground peppermint candy over the top.

Seven Minute Frosting.
2 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ tablespoons white corn syrup
7 ½ tablespoons water
3 egg whites
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Combine all ingredients, except vanilla, in top of double boiler and mix well. Cook over boiling water 3 minutes. Remove from fire but leave over hot water and beat with a rotary beater 7 minutess, or until of consistency to spread. Add vanilla and blend well.

Tomorrow’s Story ...

Cake Day No.4

Quotation for the Day ...

It is the destiny of mint to be crushed. Waverley Root.