Poor Mans Fruit Cake Food

POOR MANS CAKE III

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
• In a saucepan mix brown sugar, raisins, water and shortening. Bring to a boil and boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. When raisin mixture is cool, add to dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 or 40 minutes. Do not over bake or it will be too dry. Test after 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of cake should come out clean.

POOR MAN'S FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. 1. Mix all ingredients on list down through sugar; boil for 15 minutes. 2. Cool mixture and add next 5 ingredients (through walnuts). 3. Sift together dry ingredients; add to mixture. 4. Pour in angel food pan lined with waxed paper. 5. Bake two hours at 250 degrees. 6. Leave in waxed paper. Cool, and wrap cake (still in waxed paper) in a towel. Store in the refrigerator for 2 weeks before serving. TIP: Cut while cold with thin, sharp bade to prevent crumbling.

BOILED CAKE ( POOR MAN'S FRUITCAKE)

Steps:

• Boil sugar, shortening, raisins, salt, and water (do not boil dates). Add dry ingredients, dates and walnuts to the boiled mixture. Bake at 325* in (2) 8"x8"x2" pans or in (1) 13"x9"x2" pan for 60-75 minutes. Allow to cool and divide into 4 "loaves". Wrap well and store. Serve sliced and plain or with hard sauce. This cake will stay moist for many months, but keeps best when moistened with rum or brandy.

GRAM'S POOR MAN'S CAKE (EGGLESS & MILKLESS)

Steps:

• Bring to a boil the fruit, nuts, extract, salt, sugar, shortening and coffee.
• Continue to cook until raisins swell and liquid becomes syrupy; cool completely.
• Stir together the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
• Add to fruit mixture and combine thoroughly.
• Pour into a greased 10-inch tube pan and bake at 325° about an hour (if heavy with fruit). Check with tester to be sure cake is done.
• Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
• At this point I soak a clean piece of cheesecloth in liquor; brandy, rum, even wine.
• Wrap the cake with the cloth and in foil--store in COLD place--check often, resoak as needed.
• There are no exact measurements for the fruit in this recipe--the original recipe stated "fruits, nuts & peels-whatever you have on hand".
• This was done because it was wartime and things for fancy baking were not always available.