Spice Cake
This is a rich and heavy textured cake and a great favourite with men:
1 1/2 cupfuls of water
3 ozs sugar
4 ozs grated carrot
4 ozs dried fruit
1/2 teaspoonful of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoonful of mixed spice
2 ozs margarine
8 ozs self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bi-carbonate of soda
Put the sugar, grated carrot, fruit and fat, with the spices and the water into a stout little saucepan an bring to the boil.
Cook for five minutes, stirring well together. Let these ingredients get quite cold.
Turn into a bowl and fold in the dry flour. This is best done with your hand to get a smooth distribution of the ingredients.
Now mix the bi-carbonate of soda in a tablespoonful of warm milk and mix that into all the ingredients.
See that the soda is thoroughly mixed in, or the cake will be streaky, instead of richly brown all over. Turn into a greased cake tin and bake in a slow oven for 1.5 hours.
N.B. – Do you know that the way to prevent your cake from sinking in the middle, or rushing up into an uneven peak, is to make a hole in the centre of the mixture right down to the floor of the cake tin before putting it in the oven.
Always save butter and margarine papers; they are just the thing for lining cake tins.
Source:
Bromley & District Times, 21st November 1941 (page 2)