Nan’s Birthday Cake

Method:

In a large bowl add top 12 ingredient’s! Molasses, brown sugar, butter, sea salt, baking soda, all-spice, dates, walnuts, chopped cherries, raisins, currents and mixed peel.

Then pour ¾ cup hot water over all those ingredient’s and toss together.

Let cool to room temperature, then in a small bowl crack eggs and lightly mixed, then add to other ingredient’s in the large bowl.

Sift in flour and mix well.

Grease a bunt pan or spring release pan and line with a piece of parchment paper, scoop batter into pan and smooth out. Tap the pan a few times on the counter to release any bubbles in mixture.

Preheat oven to 325ºF and put pan in centre rack, bake for 45 minutes to one hour, depending on your oven. Check cake at 45 minute by poking a toothpick in the centre or side, if clean remove from oven. If not continue baking for another few minutes until ready.

White Old Fashioned Icing:

Recipe:

2 cups confectioners sugar                           ½ cup butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract                      ¼ cup milk or less

Method:

In a bowl add butter and cream well, then add confectioners sugar, vanilla and gradually mix in the milk until a soft and firm icing forms. ( NOT RUNNY )

When cake is totally at room temperature add the icing to the top or all around. Decorate the way you like.

Bonita’s Tips:

Mixed peel is the peel of a orange and lemon, chopped in small pieces. Dried cherries, baking cherries or maraschino cherries will work.

Use a fancy molasses, sometimes a dark cooking molasses can be bitter.

Using a bunt pan cooks the middle faster then a spring released pan.

Special Notice!

Recipe was given to so by a viewer ( Joy ) it was her grandmother recipe one she would make for them. It was given to her and she said she haven’t made it because her family don’t like fruit cake but she did enjoy it when her grandmother made it for them years ago.

BOILED ICING

2 CUPS

1 CUP MILK

4 TSBP FLOUR

1 CUP WHITE SUGAR

1/2 CUP BUTTER OR MARGARINE

1 TSP VANILLA or Flavour of choice

1 TSP CORN SYRUP ( optional )

METHOD:

• In a medium saucepan add milk, sugar and flour, start to boil on a medium heat stirring continuously.
• After liquid starts to boil slowly and thicken, this can take around 5 minutes, remove from heat and stir in vanilla to mixture.
• Put all sugar paste mixture into a bowl or jar and bring to room temperature, then put in the fridge to cool. This can take 1 hour or more for the sugar paste to cool totally.
• In a medium mixing bowl with a blender, add butter and slowly scoop the sugar paste mixture into the bowl with your butter and blend on high speed, until all combined and light and fluffy.
• Add corn syrup continue mixing until combined and put the bowl of boiled icing in the fridge until ready to use it.

Bonita’s Tips:

1. Having the sugar paste cold is important, this will help make the icing creamy and fluffy.

2. Using butter is good but you can replace with margarine.

3. If longer storage you can put the leftover boiled icing in a mason jar with lid up to a week.