Molasses Recipes

This little gem is one of the ones I picked up from Galena. As always the staff at the the checkout line went through each of the cookbooks I selected, then told me about recipes their Grandmothers made, or they liked to make, etc. I should put together a cookbook of those sometime.

No year listed here, but many good recipes, and many many weird ones. (Why else would I have purchased it?)

Here's a good one:

Applesauce Spice Cake

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup Brer Rabbit Molasses

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 cup strained thick applesauce

2/3 cup seedless raisins

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Add molasses. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; add alternately with applesauce to first mixture. Add raisins; mix well. Pour into greased 8x8x2 pan. Bake in moderate oven, 350 F, 55 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool on wire rack. Serve plain or, if desired, top with Orange Frosting. (ok, that's a little weird)

On the next page, Oh Dear: Prune Fruit Cake. Yes, it exists. More on fruit cakes coming up. I've been spending time with fruit cake recipes getting ready for my talk. But not prune ones.