Mincemeat Cake

So, it felt great to get back to the store to shop today.  I never thought I would enjoy shopping, but I did.  I went with my list and made sure I re-upped my staples (sugar, flour, eggs, milk, chocolate chips, etc.)  What I didn’t do was take my cookbook with me to make sure I had all the random ingredients for specific recipes.  Needless to say, I had a small panic attack was able to calmly decide what to make when I realized I didn’t have any enchilada sauce, tortillas, or powdered sugar (not the same recipes).

So, I went back to the pantry and looked at what I had available: fig preserves, pear mincemeat from this post, and other various pantry staples.   I remembered a recipe, back in May, that called for mincemeat.  That would have to do.  I also had all the other ingredients.

I was excited to be able to use a preserved item that I preserved myself.  I even had to use a knife to unseal the lid, it was THAT well-sealed!  I remember having to do that when opening my grandmother’s preserves and jams.  I guess I did it right?!  And when I added it to the mix, i had to taste the concoction (since it had been January since I made it)…umm…YUM!

Anyway, the cake is fairly simple and the mincemeat could easily be substituted with other fruit preserves.  I think fig would probably work well. *note: I have not tried it with other preserves or jams, so I can not attest to the consistency of a cake made with them.

This cake was a fairly wet mix and I had a hunch that the baking time would need to be increased.  I was right.  I tested the center of the cake at the end of the stated time and needed to increase the time 5 minutes TWICE.  I also used a ceramic corningware dish.  It calls for a 13x9x2 pan with no specificity of the kind, but I’m sure it was supposed to be an actual metal pan.  However, the result was DELISH!

Enjoy!

Mincemeat Cake

• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup homemade mincemeat (I used pear mincemeat)
• 1 cup milk, or buttermilk
• 1 tsp soda
• 2 cups flour
• pinch of salt

Beat together sugar, butter, and eggs.  Add mincemeat.  Mix soda in milk; add  to creamed mixture alternately with flour and salt.  Pour into 13x9x2 pan.  Bake at 375* for about 20 minutes (test center to determine done-ness).  Top with recipe below

Topping

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 TBSP grated orange peel
• 2 TBSP orange juice
• 1.3 cup coconut (or nuts) I used 1/6 coconut & 1/6 pecan
• 2 TBSP softened butter

Mix together all ingredients and pour on top of warm cake.  Broil in oven until top of cake is bubbly

Grandma’s Notes: 5/27/95- Lance and Marcus came; Marcus plowed the garden.  6/4/95- Church service was good.  When we think about it, how terrible life would be without love.  Barry Monroe was at church with Haley.  Went home and finished book.  I think I’ll read it again.  Started reading; then to bed.

Jesus is Born…Pass the Hog’s Head!

OK, so a hog’s head doesn’t really say, “Merry Christmas.”  Just go with it for a bit.  In searching through this cookbook and recording which recipes would present themselves on which days, I ran across a Journal entry for December 25, 1999.  I know today is not the 25th of December.

Let me tell you how these days are working.  Most recipes have some sort of journal entry with a dated narrative attached to them.  So, to decide which order to cook and prepare these things, I started writing down the titles on their corresponding journal dates.  Naturally this takes a bit of time, but it’s a lot more rewarding and motivating than just going through the cookbook from beginning to end.  It also keeps the variety fairly thorough.  Other wise I would be making all the appetizers first, then the entrees, sides, etc.

Back to Christmas.  When I reaches this entry, I paused when I went to write the title on my December calendar page :“Mincemeat.” I did a little digging and found a this information from Wiki-land: “The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term minced meat, meaning finely chopped meat. Meat was also a term for food in general, not only animal flesh.” So when you see a mincemeat pie at the local grocer, it is most likely one with candied fruits, distilled vinegars or spirits, and the like.

My grandmother’s recipe is NOT so forgiving.  The first ingredient: meat of one hog head.  I want to be as authentic and true to Grandma as possible.  I draw the line at swine head meat though.  However, the recipe for the 10th and 12th of this month proved to be more promising: Pear Mincemeat.  And since I always see mincemeat and pie used together, I assumed as much.  Then found that it is just a recipe for the filling, to be canned, with included instructions on how to make it into pie, if desired.

This evening proved to be one of the MOST AMAZING assaults on my sense of smell…ever!  Cinnamon, cloves, allspice, orange, apple…made my house smell like Yankee Candle Company on crack.  Man, it was nice.  It also simmered for TWO HOURS.  So the lingering effect on my mood are still here! I even had a sweet little kitchen helper this evening!

I LOVE pears!

To the recipe…this one called for grated pears.  Since I only own a cheese grater (which will not grate fruit, no matter how hard you try), I decided to just cut/slice/pummel the fruit with various sizes of cutlery.  In the end, this provided more texture and what I would consider a heartier mixture.  I also left the skin on the pears for texture and for the added fiber.  This cooked down nicely and I’m glad I did so!

Pears & Raisins

Sugar added

All ingredients, simmer begin!

Two hours later!

I ended up with 4 pints of mix and am already trying to figure out when I want to make more.  I’m looking forward to trying it as a pie…perhaps when the weather stays cooler for a while.

Still warm

Notes from Grandma: 1/10/2000 (my 20th birthday, by the way)- Lance and I went to AARP tonight, large crowd.  After a singing group, Sandy Anderson spoke, asking for volunteers to help in school.  1/12/2000- Mailed letter volunteering to read with or to children at school.  LORD, I PRAY FOR OUR YOUNG CHRISTIANS.  HELP THEM BE STRONG IN THEIR FAITH AND BE ACCEPTED BY THE OTHER STUDENTS.