Minnie's Molasses Cake

Minnie's Molasses Cake

[Apropos of nothing: besides molasses, what's brown and sticky? (Answer at bottom.)]

Finished product

So last week we made some Creamy Sauce and now I've got quite a lot of it (since I didn't scale back on the recipe) and need something to put it on. But since I think I've been giving undue emphasis to Fannie Farmer, it's time to go back to my other favorite, The Sweet Home Cook Book. I went looking through the pudding section since Beta Taster said perhaps a chocolate pudding would be more to his taste than molasses. Alas, no chocolate pudding exists in there.

Slightly blurry ingredients

Remembering the texture, I thought perhaps a cake? No chocolate cake either. So back to molasses for the flavoring because I like molasses and it goes well with the sauce.  (Sorry honey, no chocolate this time.) I think Minnie's Molasses Cake might be good. I also like it because it tells me the amount of flour to add. (A good many in there don't.) But so I'm not spoiled, it gives nothing about baking it. Let's get to guessing.

Minnie's Molasses Cake
(Adapted from The Sweet Home Cook Book, unknown date)

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 t soda
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 t nutmeg

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Mix in egg, milk, and then molasses.
3. Stir in dry ingredients.
4. Pour into a 9 inch greased cake pan.
5. Bake 350 F for about 1 1/4 hour or until test comes out clean when inserted in middle.

Results:
Oh my, that's full cake pan. Perhaps it should make two cakes. But it didn't spill over and make a mess of the oven, so there's that. Also the cake didn't rise properly. It could be that there was too much leavening. Or maybe I didn't cream the butter and sugar well enough. Either way, it's not too pretty but it taste quite good. A lot like gingerbread only much thicker. We're slowly working our way through it. It seems to last quite a while too. It's been sitting in a cake dome at room temperature for about the last four days; it has stayed moist and not spoiled yet. Overall, it's a good recipe and I'll probably make it again.

[A stick.]

Honeycomb Pudding

Honeycomb Pudding

Honeycomb pudding.

There was a time when I was younger and even stupider. I stopped by a roadside stand selling honey with its comb. I was so excited to get such a rare culinary treat as I was convinced honeycomb must be. I remember fishing out the comb and taking a bite. For a few seconds, all I tasted was honey and that was good. And then I was left with the beeswax comb and I did not like that taste at all. I don't remember what happened to that jar of honey and its comb.

What you'll need.

A quick Google search informs me that honeycomb is indeed edible. Proving that I don't learn from past experiences, I wonder if I'd like it now. Next time I find some, I'll try it.

Strangely enough, honeycomb pudding calls for neither honeycomb nor honey. So I'm not sure how the name came about. Perhaps making it will provide some insight. The ingredient list is basic which means I won't have to go hunting for the odd ingredient.

Beating cream for the sauce.

Honeycomb Pudding with Creamy Sauce
(Adapted from Fannie Farmer's What to have for Dinner, 1905 edition)

1 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup molasses
1/2  cup butter
1/2 cup milk, warmed to lukewarm
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 T sherry

Pudding:
1. Mix flour, 1 cup sugar, and molasses in a small bowl.
2. Melt butter in milk in microwave, add soda.
3. Combine mixtures and stir thoroughly.
4. Add 4 eggs, well beaten.
5. Turn into buttered dish and bake 375 until pudding sets (~30-45 minutes).

Creamy Sauce:
1. Beat remaining egg white until stiff, adding remaining 3/4 cup sugar gradually.
2. Beat remaining yolk until thick and "lemon colored". Beat into egg white.
3. Beat cream and sherry until stiff.
4. Fold mixtures together.
5. Serve atop pudding.

Not the prettiest but certainly tasty.

Results:

First off, I quartered the pudding recipe from what is listed above because I thought it might make too much. And it would have. We got 3-4 servings out of it. I did not have the sauce because I don't know how to halve and egg.

I like it. I may have made the pudding incorrectly but the texture reminds me of a slightly heartier soufflé. But tasting like molasses. The creamy sauce is delicious and I take back every nasty thing I ever thought or said about sherry. It works lovely here and adds a nice spiciness to the otherwise very sweet creamy sauce. Beta Taster however was less impressed. He described the flavors as "midwestern" and thought perhaps there was a reason this recipe isn't a staple anymore.  I say more for me. One last thought, it's best fresh but can keep in the fridge for at least 2 days.

Emergency Soup

I've had my eye on this recipe for quite a while. As I was leafing through my Fannie Farmer's What to Have for Dinner, I came across an emergency meal section. The first question that came to mind was: what sort of emergency calls for dinner? (Dinner in this case consists of soup, salmon, fried potatoes,  peas, and dessert. Perhaps this is the sort of emergency I need in my life.)

Emergency Soup

Upon reflection, I suspect what Fannie means is unexpected guests dropping in. Nowadays, I'm more likely to suggest just going out to dinner when the guests show up, and I suspect most people are too. But perhaps then, there were fewer restaurants to go to, so people just had to cook for those unexpected guests.

Salt not needed but I forgot to show the flour and water.

The preparation looks quite straightforward and so does the ingredient list with the exception of "beef extract." It's evidently still a thing you can buy. But since I didn't see any in the grocery store, I bought beef bouillon cubes and will use those here and I'll have to guess how many to use.

Milk and flour

Emergency Soup
(Adapted from Fannie Farmer's What to Have for Dinner, 1905 edition)

3 cups boiling water
4 beef bouillon cubes
1 1/2 T flour
3 T milk
2/3 cup cream
1 sprinkle of cayenne pepper
1 sprinkle of black pepper

Pour water in sauce pan. Bring to boil, pour over bouillon cubes and stir to dissolve. Place flour in now empty sauce pan. Add milk and stir to mix. Try to make perfectly smooth. Pour beefy water back into pan and stir. Bring to boil. Stir in cream and peppers. Bring to boil.

Results:
What a strange soup. It's creamy and a little spicy. (Thanks, cayenne!) I quite like the creamy and spicy contrast. But the soup is only faintly beefy.  I was expecting, well I have no idea, but perhaps a bit more beef flavor. Perhaps I should have used beef extract. Also it really didn't need any salt but that may be the brand of bouillon cubes I used.  Feeds about 4 in smallish proportions. I probably won't make this again but I don't regret trying it.

Cat helper.