Now that the Holiday countdown has begun, our thoughts have
turned to buying presents, pulling out the decorations and
lights, making lists for our upcoming parties, and to Holiday
baking.
My mother loved baking for the holiday season; when I was growing
up, she started early in the fall, making light and dark
fruitcakes that she prepared, steamed and baked then wrapped in
aluminum foil before placing in ceramic crocks for six weeks or
more, to allow the variety of flavours to meld together.
These days most of us don't have time to bake cakes that take
hours to prepare and six weeks or more of maturing to be
flavourful; I have mom's small, medium and large fruitcake pans
with their removable bottoms but confess that I have never made
fruit cake. But I have made many other recipes of hers, such as
her Gumdrop Cake; this cake is a delicious choice for today's
busy cook who still wants to serve special treats to family and
friends during the holiday season. For those who like raisins,
I'm also including a Gumdrop Cake recipe that not only uses this
fruit for added flavour but also uses applesauce to replace the
milk found in most cake recipes.
If you're beginning your search for recipes to make this Holiday
season jolly, please come back often to check out the cakes,
cookies, squares, breads and other treats I'll be publishing in
the upcoming weeks. Who knows, you may just find new 'family
favourites' of your own that one day you'll want to pass on to
your loved ones.
Mom's Gumdrop Cake
1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs (drop one at a time and beat well before adding the next
one)
1 cup warm milk
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon
1 1/2 lbs. gumdrops cut into chunks and floured with 1/2 cup
flour
Method
Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time,
beating well each time. Add liquid and dry ingredients
alternately. Add floured gumdrops last. Spoon batter into a
greased and lined tube pan. Bake 1 ½ - 2 hours at 350°F oven;
cover with foil for first ½ hour. When cake is done, remove from
oven and cool for 10 minutes in pan before turning out onto wired
rack to cool completely. Wrap cake in plastic wrap or aluminum
foil to retain moisture.
Flora's Gumdrop Cake
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. almond flavouring
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. gumdrops
1 lb. raisins
Method
Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating
well after each one. Add applesauce and dry ingredients
alternately. Cut gumdrops into chunks. Mix together with raisins
and 1/2 cup flour. Add to batter last. Spoon batter into greased
and lined funnel pan (tube pan), and bake in 350°F oven for 2 - 2
1/2 hours. Cool for 10 minutes in pan before turning out onto
wire rack to cool completely.
Sylvia Morice is an instructional designer
and facilitator. She designs curriculum and workshops for a
corporation, and writes fiction and non-fiction in her personal
time. Sylvia has had prose and poetry published in literary
magazines and periodicals, and has had one chapbook of short
stories published. Sylvia invites you to find more recipes,
memories and articles at: http://sylviamorice.wordpress.com. Thank
you for reading.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sylvia_Morice
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