Classic Cakes That Need Resurrecting

[Xanthippe]

And what's Dundee?

It's a classic Scottish fruitcake, first concocted in the city of Dundee I would guess. The top is traditionally covered with blanched whole almonds.

The mention of it evokes fond memories of the year I spent at a university in Scotland.

[malarkey]

I made the Lane Cake recipe out of Saveur. (Maggie did you ever make one?) WOW it was fabulous. Cakes are not my forté, I usually have to make them a couple of times to get it right. And I felt like the cake itself was a bit too dense (too much flour?) but man oh man the frosting you could eat all by itself with a spoon. deadly good.

[Ye-Ye Girl]

"Licking a beater."  I thnk that phrase has been retired from the language.

Happily, it hasn't!

The Mother's Day card I sent my mom said (on the front) "Good moms let their kids lick the beaters." The inside said "Great moms turn off the mixer first. Thanks for being a great mom."

Though it's been many years since I was around for my mom to let me lick the beaters, it's always a great memory to have.

[maggiethecat]

I made the Lane Cake recipe out of Saveur. (Maggie did you ever make one?) WOW it was fabulous. Cakes are not my forté, I usually have to make them a couple of times to get it right. And I felt like the cake itself was a bit too dense (too much flour?) but man oh man the frosting you could eat all by itself with a spoon. deadly good.

Malarkey:

No I haven't...I've been a bit under the weather.

But I certainly will when health and stregth return! I'll use the Susan Purvis recipe so we can compare.

[Saffy]

My current fav cakes are lumberjack cake ( a date and apple cake with a caramel and coconut topping) and good ole dundee cake which is also quite an old recipe.

Please put the Lumberjack Cake in the archive, if you have time. It sounds wonderful.

I've added the lumberjack cake into the archives :)

[joiei]

Today, when I was going through my employers old recipe file, i came across a recipe for a Hershey Bar Cake. I had never heard of such a thing, so I made one. Great soft crumb, mild chocolate flavor, dense and moist like a pound cake sort of. When I was tasting it, I kept thinking that something like Malted Milk ice cream and a nut brittle for crunch would go well with the flavors that were happening. I would not do a fruit flavor with it. Here is the recipe.

Hershey Bar Cake

1/2# butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

8 five cent Hershey bars (I figured about 12 oz total, just guessing)

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup chopped pecan (i used walnuts, did not have any pecans)

1 can (5 1/2oz) Hershey's Syrup

preheat oven to 315F.

Melt chocolate in top of double boiler.

sift dry ingredients together

cream butter and sugar

add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time

alternate folding in dry ingredients and buttermilk

fold in syrup and vanilla

fold in nuts

bake in a greased tube pan (large size) for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours. (It took the full 1 3/4 hours for my oven)

cool

dust with powdered sugar

(also, I dusted the tube pan with cocoa powder instead of flour.

I love old recipes, they are the foundation of everything we do today. Plus, how long has it been since you saw a 5 cent Hershey bar. There is no cent sign key on my keyboard. How sad.

[Marlene]

Here is the Hershey Bar Cake recipe

[maggiethecat]

I made the Lane Cake yesterday from the Purdey recipe. It is an occasion of sin.

(No pix. sorry!)

Not as good as it should have been, because my boiled frosting broke. But the cake itself was excellent(And this from someone who dislikes White cake!)

The classic Lane Cake Filling verges on Obscene. Eight egg yolk custard. A cup of pecans. Bourbon. Sultanas. Coconut. dates. Maraschino cherries

Over the top.

I think I'll cut a litle piece now. Just a little won't hurt....right?

[maggiethecat]

I just cut myself a piece from the fridge and nuked it for 15 seconds. As my buddy Glen Banister from Alabama might have said: "It was so good I almost had to touch myself"

I will not go back for another piece. Straight to hell if I do.

Edited May 16, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)

[claire797]

I just cut myself a piece from the fridge and nuked it for 15 seconds.  As my buddy Glen Banister from Alabama might have said:  "It was so good I almost had to touch myself"

I will not  go back for another piece.  Straight to hell if I do.

Hey Maggie,

How about a nice slice of cake for breakfast!

[maggiethecat]

I just cut myself a piece from the fridge and nuked it for 15 seconds.  As my buddy Glen Banister from Alabama might have said:  "It was so good I almost had to touch myself"

I will not  go back for another piece.  Straight to hell if I do.

Hey Maggie,

How about a nice slice of cake for breakfast!

Claire:

Already have! And having done so, have taken care of my caloric requirements for the day.

Edited May 16, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)

[RedQueen]

I'm looking for a recipe for "Arabian Spice Cake" to make for a friend's birthday. He's from Ohio and says his Mom used to make it when he was growing up (he's 42 now). I was able to pry some information from him about it--it doesn't have raisins or nuts in it and it had chocolate frosting. I've looked everywhere on-line I can think of with no luck. Anyone ever heard of this cake?

[hjshorter]

I haven't, but will take a look at some of my older cookbooks and see if I can find a mention. Did you search the web?

Welcome to egullet, by the way.

[claire797]

RedQueen,

I'll look through my old books too. But like you, I did a Google search and came up with absolutely nothing. It sounds like something your friend's mom pulled out of an old Junior League type cookbook.

I did find this Arabian Ribbon Cake which is a spice cake. Could she have just made this cake and put chocolate icing on it?

Edited May 17, 2003 by claire797 (log)

[claire797]

Redqueen,

I think someone may have pointed this out to you already in another forum, but here it is again in case you missed it. This spice cake has a tiny bit of cocoa in it and is frosted with a chocolate sour cream frosting.

Spice Cake With Chocolate Frosting

[RedQueen]

Thanks for the recipes--I'll take them to the office on Monday and see if they look like his Mom's. He's not much of a foodie....well, actually he's not any kind of foodie. He's strickly a no-carb, body-builder kind of guy, but says he intends to eat cake on his birthday this year (in July), so I want to do something special for him. And, thanks y'all for the welcome and for the quick responses.

[butterchik]

Tomato Soup Cake?  Damn, it was good...

Oh...and Queen ELizabeth Cake.

From the beginning you had my two faves covered. I'm waiting for my Grandma's Tomato soup recipe in the mail, will share when it arrives.

One cake definitely NOT to be revived that I found in my Magic Baking Powder leaflet circa 1940's - "Coon in the Cotton Cake", a chocolate cake covered in meringue frosting.

I would not joke about this or note it but it is featured as a $250.00 prize winner (big bucks back in the day), and the fact that one woman gets credit for the recipe, another for coming up with the name. Incidentally, they are from Rosemount, Quebec.

A runner-up, the "Chocolate Economystic"

[elyse]

What a cool name!

[claire797]

What a cool name!

It defies Google.

[Ladybug]

Just read this in my paper today about butter-flavored oil - like the stuff Jaymes remembered, I think!

Health-based buttery taste

Well, I don't know about "health-based," but anyway it's not hydrogenated!

edited for spelling

Edited May 21, 2003 by Ladybug (log)

[Jaymes]

Just read this in my paper today about butter-flavored oil -

Wow. That stuff looks great. I'm gonna keep an eye out for it. Thanks, Ladybug!

[maggiethecat]

Tomato Soup Cake?  Damn, it was good...

Oh...and Queen ELizabeth Cake.

From the beginning you had my two faves covered.

Um, maybe because we're both Canadians?

The "Joy" has a recipe for Tomato Soup Cake, but it's called, I believe, Mystery Cake. I just might have to make one soon...that rich, spicy almost fruitcake flavor. Except of course, that it's cheap and could be whipped up by any fifties Mum in three minutes... even if she didn't have a Sunbeam Mixmaster.

(Did anyone's Mum not have a Sunbeam Mixmaster?)

[joiei]

My Mom did not have a Mixmaster, but she did have a Saladmaster. And it is still being used today. pre-robotcoupe.

[KNorthrup]

Pineapple-Rhubarb upside down cake, the kind with marshmallows.  My grandmother used to make

it all the time.

Could someone please post a recipe for this? Marshmallows optional.

Sorry I have nothing to contribute to the thread in exchange. I know some great cakes but they're not very old.

[hjshorter]

Pineapple-Rhubarb upside down cake, the kind with marshmallows.  My grandmother used to make

it all the time.

Could someone please post a recipe for this? Marshmallows optional.

I'll see if I can dig it up. The marshamllows were essential - they were put in the bottom of the pan with the rhubarb and pineapple to make the topping for the cake, then the batter was poured over that.