Community Pick
Mum's Special Spice Cake
photo by Debbwl
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Serves:
-
10-12
ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 2 tablespoons Crisco
- 1 (16 ounce) box raisins or (16 ounce) box sultanas
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 cups flour
directions
- Bring sugar, hot water, salt, cinnamon, allspice, Crisco, and raisins to a boil and SIMMER 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, COMBINE 2 teaspoons baking soda and 1 tablespoon HOT water.
- ADD baking soda and HOT water combined to boiled mixture. Do not mix in, just pour in and it WILL sizzle/bubble.
- MUST COOL mixture to room temperature.
- When cool, mix in 3 cups flour.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 55 minutes to an hour.
- Cake is best left for 3 to 4 days before serving.
- HINT: Looks nice if baked in a fluted Bundt* pan and can be wrapped in aluminum foil.
- ENJOY!
- NOTE: To prevent the cake from sticking, it is IMPORTANT that all the creases of the fluted sides are WELL greased with Crisco and floured before pouring in batter.
Questions & Replies
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Reviews
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This is a wonderfully different cake. I've never baked a cake that substitutes a simple syrup for fat and eggs, and I was intrigued. As other posters have mentioned, it is a dense cake, designed to hold a lot of fruit, but it's definitely not dry. The recipe calls for a full pound of raisins, but I substituted one cup of chopped dried cherries and one cup of dried blueberries, and that was plenty of fruit for us. Right out of the oven, the cake was good, but after sitting for three days, it was out of this world. I highly recommend this cake to anyone who isn't committed to light, fluffy cakes and is willing to give something a little different a whirl. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
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Have to say this is one very special spice cake! I was so good and waited the required 3 days and am so glad I did as this was so nicely spiced with an equally nice dense texture. I did make two very minor changes in that I used butter instead of Crisco and baked in a 9 x 13 pan instead of a bunt pan. DH has already put in his order for me to make again next year for his job. Thanks for the post and Happy Holidays.
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Mickeydownunder, now I won't have to guess why your Mum has had so many requests for this recipe over the years! This was love at first bite!!! The cake was dense and rich, and the raisins were plump and moist. YUMMY! The spice blend was just perfect, too. I used a 15 oz. box of raisins, but next time, I might use half raisins and half sultanas. (And there will be a next time!) I didn't change a thing, except that I used a 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan instead. I had to decrease the cooking time; 40 minutes was sufficient using the oblong pan. I sneaked a slice of the cake 17 hours after it baked. (I was too impatient to let it sit for three days!) If you like fruitcake, you HAVE to try this!
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This didn't turn out quite as expected. Not light and springy like a typical cake. It was very dense similar to fruit cake. We loved the flavor and enjoyed it with coffee in the am instead of an after dinner dessert. We ended up freezing about half the cake. I cut in slices and stored in a freezer bag. I decided to try toasting a couple slices in the toaster oven and topped with butter. Super yummy! Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe.
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Tweaks
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Have to say this is one very special spice cake! I was so good and waited the required 3 days and am so glad I did as this was so nicely spiced with an equally nice dense texture. I did make two very minor changes in that I used butter instead of Crisco and baked in a 9 x 13 pan instead of a bunt pan. DH has already put in his order for me to make again next year for his job. Thanks for the post and Happy Holidays.
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This is a wonderfully different cake. I've never baked a cake that substitutes a simple syrup for fat and eggs, and I was intrigued. As other posters have mentioned, it is a dense cake, designed to hold a lot of fruit, but it's definitely not dry. The recipe calls for a full pound of raisins, but I substituted one cup of chopped dried cherries and one cup of dried blueberries, and that was plenty of fruit for us. Right out of the oven, the cake was good, but after sitting for three days, it was out of this world. I highly recommend this cake to anyone who isn't committed to light, fluffy cakes and is willing to give something a little different a whirl. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
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Aaaah, the smell! While cooking, while cooling off, while baking and cooling off again. Agonizing to have to wait (we managed two days...) before tasting. But it was worth it. This reminds me of something we call "kruidkoek/ontbijtkoek" here in The Netherlands. Much richer in taste though (and nicer). Used 10oz raisins, 3oz prunes (diced) and 3oz citron (diced). Could not get hold of Crisco so I got decadent and used butter instead. The cake was done in 1 hour 17 minutes(couldn't keep myself from watching the minutes). Very, very good. Thank you for sharing and thank your Mum.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
mickeydownunder
ADELAIDE, 0
<p>G'day! I'm 51, married, born and bred in NY, am now an Aussie who calls Australia home! I love animals, nature, reading, entering competitions and consider myself S-P-O-N-T-A-N-E-O-U-S and B-U-B-B-L-Y in my personality! I am quite FASCINATED with people and things U-N-I-Q-U-E, JUST like ME! I am VERY P-A-S-S-I-O-N-A-T-E about cooking and trying recipes from all world cusines! I LOVE to eat and enjoy our South Australian red wine! :)I have started a Home Cook blog which I am EXTREMELY P-A-S-S-I-O-N-A-T-E about called What's On The List? and I hope to be able to inspire people around the world one recipe and one event at a time too! http://whatsonthelist.net So come on over and please let me know what you think too!WHOO HOO WHOO HOO!</p>