Mum's Special Spice Cake

"Mum made these every year. TRUE! HINT: The longer you leave it, the better it tastes too! She's had MANY requests for this recipe over the years, yes! Want to know why? If you try it, you won't have to guess! UPDATES!!!!! I made 4 of them yesterday and found I lowered to oven temperature to about 165 degrees Celsius; they each took about 55 minutes to cook! The cake is done when a skewer comes out clean, but you don't want to be opening and closing the oven door a lot. ALSO: While Mum's directions indicated GREASE WELL, it does not mean A LOT, just that the surface is covered with lard and then lightly floured. I was also wondering if a sugar icing was not on it but I can't remember and can no longer ask Mum as she has now passed away! :) Hope this helps someone!"
 
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photo by Debbwl
photo by Elodie photo by Elodie
photo by Georgia Peach photo by Georgia Peach
photo by Dorel photo by Dorel
photo by truebrit photo by truebrit
Ready In:
2hrs 20mins
Ingredients:
9
Serves:
10-12
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ingredients

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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.

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Reviews

  1. 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.
     
  2. 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.
     
  3. FANTASTIC RECIPE !Loved it - so very easy to make & so moist & spicy !Made it this morning .Will be making it very very often .THANK YOU SO MUCH MICKEYDOWNUNDER for sharing this wonderful & easy recipe with us ! with warm regards Sheeba
     
  4. 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!
     
  5. 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

  1. replace allspice with dark cloves, and use 1 cup crisco looks better cooked in bunt pan!
     
  2. 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.
     
  3. A very unusual cake. The texture is very different from cakes made with eggs. I was surprised by the intensity of the spices. The cooking method is really different--boy, does it foam up! I think the flavor would have been improved with butter instead of shortening. Thanks for posting!
     
  4. 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.
     
  5. 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

<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>
 
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