A spice cake with raisins.
It’s possible this was supposed to include eggs–consider these instructions from the September 29, 1911 edition of The Swayzee (Indiana) Press:
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Buttermilk Spice Cake–Take two cups of light brown sugar, one-half cup of butter, two cups of buttermilk, two teaspoonfuls of soda, teaspoonful of cinnamon, half a teaspoon of cloves, a pinch of ginger and a grating of nutmeg, two eggs, a cupful each of raisins and currants and sufficient flour to make a heavy batter. The fruit will cause it to fall if it is not stiff enough.
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This recipe is from the ninth page of the notebook; here’s the page in full (click to enlarge).
Click to expand a longer explanation...| In the words of the seller: I acquired this book from the great granddaughter of the woman who wrote this book back in a small Nebraska town in the 30’s. She belonged to that generation of rural housewives who worked tirelessly to make ends meet and “keep body and soul together” for their families working the farms. Later addendum: [A]fter a conversation I had with a friend’s sister who used to live in North Eastern Colorado, given the type of recipes listed we decided it might be from a small town there, i.e., Sterling or Fort Morgan. Also North Platte or Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Even Cheyenne, Wyoming. If you Google a map of Sterling, Colorado and pull back, you will see all these little towns in that tri-state area. |
Buttermilk Cake
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. lard
2 c. thick buttermilk
1 c. raisins
3 c. flour
1 tsp. each of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
a pinch of salt
2 tsp. soda
Filling:
2 c brown sugar
1/2 c. cream or milk
vanilla