MA'S PORK CAKE

In her life story, Ina relates that when her older sister, Ida, married Ed Patchen in 1879, her mother’s pork cake was served at the wedding dinner. Curious, I was delighted to find the recipe for "Ma's Pork Cake" in her box:

Chop 1 pound fat pork thru chopper twice
1 pt coffee boiling – pour over fat
2 c raisins
2/3 c citron
2 tbsp orange peel chopped in food chopper
1 scant tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice (scant)
1 c good molasses
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder may be added
1 lb almonds to make about 1 c meats put through chopper – scant fat a little if nuts are used

These notes in Ina's hand on the back of the card make me think she found the cake lacking in something:
½ tsp walnut flavor is an improvement
Citron, nuts, and orange peel optional
1941 – added a tsp of lemon extract and liked it better

Well, I searched the internet and discovered I’m not the only person interested in resurrecting this cake. Apparently it’s an old recipe for dense fruitcake from the South and the Midwest. The fat pork is salt pork with very little or no lean. But, at least one person noted that the cake is improved if doused with port, sherry, rum, brandy, whiskey – and allowed to sit a day or two. Perhaps this is what Ina missed -- or tried to compensate for. When I’m feeling venturesome and willing to sacrifice rather expensive ingredients, I might give Ma’s Pork Cake a try. I wonder if you can still buy pork fat. What if you just used Crisco? If you make substitutions, is the end result going to be typical? If / when I do it, I'll definitely write about it.


I tried to scan the recipe card but the old lead on the yellowed card just didn't come off. Instead, I posted the picture Hallie took at a bakery in West Seattle yesterday.