Days 8 through 10 of Christmas
Day 8: Fruitcake
Recipe 1 of Fruit Cake
1 ½ cups of sugar, 1 ½ of eggs, 7 lbs of fruit-raisins, currants, citron. 1 ½ cup of flour, spice to your taste.
Recipe 2 of Black Fruit Cake
½ lb butter, ½ lb sugar, 5 eggs, ½ c molasses, ½ lb flour, 1 ½ lb raisins, 1 ½ lb currants, ½ lb citron, 1 nutmeg, 2 t cloves, 2 t cinnamon, 1 c brandy
Recipe 3 of Cheap Fruit Cake
1 c butter, 1 c brown sugar, 1 c molasses, 1 c milk, 3 c flour, 4 eggs, 2 lb raisins, ½ lb currants, 1 nutmeg, some citron, 3 small t baking powder
Recipe 4 of English Fruit Cake
1 lb white sugar, ¾ lb butter, 1 lb flour, 12 eggs, 2 lb raisins chopped, 2 lb currants washed and dried, ½ lb citron, cinnamon, nutmeg, + cloves, ¼ oz each. Rub butter and sugar together, then yolks of eggs, part of flour, the spice and white of eggs, the rest of flour, wine, and brandy. Mix all thoroughly, add fruit last. Put paper on bottom and sides of pan. Bake 4 hours in slow oven.
Recipe 5 of Fruit Cake
5 eggs, 5 c flour, 3 c sugar, 1 c butter, ½ c milk, ½ lb raisins, ½ lb currants, ¼ lb citron, chopped fine. Cream the butter and sugar add egg well beaten. Then flour with 3 t Royal baking powder then add fruit beating thoroughly. Bake in a moderate oven 2 hours over.
Recipe 6 of Eva Fruit Cake
1 ½ lb dark brown sugar, 1 lb butter, 4# currants, 4 lb raisins, 1#citron, 1 ½ lb flour, 1 doz eggs, 1 c milk, 1 c molasses, ½ c brandy, 1 t soda, 2 T cinnamon, ½ T cloves, 3 nutmeg, rind of 2 lemons. Flour fruit well and bake 5 hours. This makes 2 large cakes. Put spices on fruit.
Day 10: Apeas Cake
Recipe 1 of Grammy’s Apeas Cake
2-8” greased pie plates 375 degrees 30 min.
1 egg
½ c milk
1 t soda combined with 1 T H2O, add to egg and milk.
Stir into the following:
3 c flour
1 t cream of tartar
1 t B.P.
1 ¼ c sugar
⅓ c fat
½ t salt
Recipe 2 of A.P. Cake (from Mabel Hunsicker)
4 c flour
½ t salt
1 c shortening
1 lb lt brown sugar
Mix ingredients like pie dough. Add milk and soda.
1 ½ c soured milk (use vinegar)
1 t baking soda
Bake 350 - 35 minutes.
Recipe 3 of Marie Jacobs Apeas Cake
2 c brown sugar
¾ c molasses
1 ¾ t soda
1 t cream of tartar
1 c lard
1 c milk
6 c flour
Makes about 2-9” or 2’8” cakes. Put into flat cakes 1/2 “ thick to fit pie plates. 375 degrees 30-40 min.
Recipe 4 of A.P. Cakes
2 c light B. sugar
4 c flour
1 c margarine
1 egg and pinch of salt
1 t B. soda
¾ c sweet milk
Mix dry ingredients. Add shortening. Put B. soda in a cup. Moisten soda with a little vinegar. 1 egg, beaten lightly. Add sweet milk, too, soda and egg mix with dry ingredients to a dough. Roll/shape into cakes.
Recipe 5 of Apeas
1 lb sugar, 1 lb butter, 2 eggs, one gill of rose water, 2 lbs of flour (c 1833)
Photo by Nancy Roan
Day 9: Gingerbread
Recipe 1 of Ginger Bread
½ c molasses, ½ c sugar, 2 c flour, small lump butter, ½ c milk, 1 t soda, ½ t cream tartar. Ginger, cinnamon.
Recipe 2 of New York Gingerbread
1 tea cup of butter, 1 tea cup of sugar, 1 c molasses, 1 c milk, 3 c flour, 2 eggs, 3 t ginger, ½ cloves, 1 t salaratus [baking powder] dissolved in the milk, if convenient add raisins or currants.
Recipe 3 of Ginger Bread
2 lb flour, 1 lb sugar, 1 pt molasses, ¾ lb butter, 1 oz ginger
Recipe 4 of Soft Ginger Bread
2 ½ lb flour, ¾ lb butter, 1 lb sugar, 1 pt molasses, ½ pt milk, 5 t pearl ash
Photo by Nancy Roan
Recipe 7 of Fruit Cake
1 lb raisins, 1 lb currants ¼ lb citron, 1 pt shellbarks, 2 heaped c sugar, 4 eggs, 1 c butter, 1 c milk, 3 t Royal Baking Powder, 1 wine glass brandy, spices to taste and 4 T of molasses. Beat butter and sugar to a cream, beat whites and yolks of eggs separately, add yolks to butter and sugar, add milk, then whites beaten light, mix fruit and stiffen with flour.
Recipe 8 of Mrs. Moyers Fruit Cake
1 lb butter, 1 lb sugar, 10 eggs, 1 lb flour, ½ gill brandy, 1 nutmeg, 1 t cloves, 2 t cinnamon, 1 ½ lb raisins, ½ lb currants, 1 lb citron. Seed the raisins and chop fine. Wash the citron in hot water, wipe dry, and slice it in small thin pieces. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Beat the eggs until thick and add them by degrees, then add the flour with the brandy and spices and lastly the fruit. Mix the whole well together. Paper your pans and put in the mixture. Spread it smooth over the top with a knife and bake in a moderate oven about 4 hours.
Recipe 5 of Ginger Cake
1 c gran sugar, ½ c molasses, ½ c butter and lard, 1 egg, 2 ½ c flour, 1 t ginger, 1 t cinnamon, 1 t soda dissolved in a cup of boiling water. Bake in a medium oven. PS Do not add any more flour.
Recipe 6 of Soft Ginger Bread
¾ c sugar, 1 c molasses, ½ c butter, 1 t ginger, cinnamon, cloves, 2 t soda dissolved in 1 c boiling water, 2 ½ c flour. Add 2 well beaten eggs the last thing.
Recipe 7 of Plum Gingerbread
4 lb of flour, 1 ¼ of butter, 1 quart of molasses, 2 lb of raisins, 8 eggs, 2 tablespoons of ginger, 1 oz of cinnamon, 1 qt of either milk, cider or old spruce beer, 6 teaspoons of pearlash dissolved. Old cider is the best.
Recipe 8 of Hard Gingerbread
1 teacup of molasses, a large tablespoon of butter, a teaspoon of ginger, a teaspoon of pearlash. Thicken with flour. Very good.
Recipe 9 of Ginger Bread
1 cup molasses, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup butter and lard, 1 sour milk or buttermilk, 3 cup of flour, 2 eggs one will be good, 2 teaspoons soda, 2 cinnamon, 1 ½ ginger, 1 cloves. Use New Orleans molasses.
Photo by A. Wolfgang, Goschenhoppen Folk Festival, 2022
Recipe 6 of Mina Gehris Apea Cake
3 c flour, 1 c sugar, ¾ c lard, moist with sour milk, 1 t soda
Recipe 7 of AP Cake
6 c flour
1 lb brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 t salt
1 t B.P.
1 c milk and enough to make tacky
Bake 350 1 hr. Makes 4-8” cakes.
Recipe 8 of Abbie Cake
2 c brown sugar
5 c flour
1 c milk
¾ c lard
1 tsp soda
Recipe 9 of Abbie Cakes
5 c flour
2 c sugar
2 eggs
2 t BP
½ t B. soda
Lard size of egg
Recipe 10 of A.P. Cakes
3 c flour
2c brown sugar
1 c shortening or butter
½ c milk with a little vinegar
1 t B. soda
Bake 350 for 45 minutes. Makes 3