I wouldn’t want to let the Holiday Recipes for this year skip over my favorite party drink–Hot Buttered Rum. Actually, I already shared the recipe, and a bit of history back in August when I was talking about taverns in 17th century New England. So check the recipe for Hot Buttered Rum. Your guests will thank you.
Holiday Hot Buttered Rum. Photo from Flickr with Creative Commons License.
Mrs. Lanham’s Fruit Cake ready for Christmas.
Mrs. Lanham, who made these fruit cakes, was short and well padded. She had one of those rubbery faces that results from having teeth extracted without replacing them with false teeth. She was loving and friendly, and could always be counted on to provide some sweets to a little girl.
You can see her at the top of the page in the picture of the Anderson restaurant. The woman 2nd from the right is Grace Lanham. Her arms are folded, her apron is tidy, and she has a net on her hair.
I always knew her as Mrs. Lanham. She would have been about 47 years old in this picture, when she was working in the restaurant that Vera and Guy Anderson, my grandparents, ran in their home in Killbuck.
Even though she is not an ancestor–or even a relative–she did wear aprons, and she was a good cook. So I was pleased to find a recipe card in my mother’s collection that was labeled “Mrs. Lanham’s Fruit Cake” with the note at the top, “Worked for Grandmother“, in case I had forgotten who she was.
This is definitely one of the easiest fruit cake recipes you will find. So you do not need to be intimidated. And if people don’t like fruit cake, call it “raisin cake.” It is, indeed very similar to Aunt Rhema’s raisin bars.
Permanent Wave Machine used in 1940s
Mrs. Lanham lived just across an alley from the Andersons, in a tiny brick house that had once been a post office. The building later served as a beauty shop where I got my first permanent on one of those machines that looked like an instrument of torture. But I digress.
This fruit cake recipe has to be one of the simplest ones in existence. Of course, I couldn’t just let well enough alone. I had to add a few touches. But I resisted gussying it up by putting red and green maraschinos on top of the dough to decorate it, but of course once you bake it, it is YOUR recipe, so feel free to gussy away.
Mrs. Lanham’s fruit cake. The one on the left has already been wrapped in a brandy-soaked cheesecloth.
I will admit that this is not a regular at my house, but only because I make Emily Dickinson’s Black Cake every year. (Feel free to follow that link and compare her more complex cake, which I refuse to call fruit cake.) I borrowed a bit from Emily, and wrapped Mrs. Lanham’s cake in brandy-soaked cheesecloth. I don’t think she would disapprove (although she no doubt was baking this during Prohibition, and I can’t really see her buying bootleg liquor). It is just that Mrs. Lanham’s fruitcake was probably developed during Depression and War years, when some products were scarce.
In fact, if you’re baking for someone with an egg allergy, note that this cake has NO eggs!
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 1 hour |
| Total time | 1 hour, 30 minutes |
| Allergy | Wheat |
| Meal type | Dessert |
| Misc | Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold |
| Occasion | Christmas |
| 1. | Cook together the sugar, raisins, sugar and liquid until butter is melted. Cool. |
| 2. | Mix together flour, soda and spice. Stir them into the cooled liquid ingredients. |
| 3. | Pour into greased loaf pan or tube pan and bake one hour in 350 degree oven. |
I thought the one teaspoon of cinnamon was not spicy enough, so I added another teaspoon, plus a 1/2 tsp of mace. That still did not make an overly spicy cake. You could add cloves or other spices to your liking.
On the recipe card, my mother noted "Nuts, etc. may be added." I decided to add some "etc." and put in some mixed candied fruit I had left from another project, as well as some currants. I think I would prefer at least half currants.
As you can see in the picture, I used three medium sized disposable loaf pans, since I will be sending two of these to other people. That made for rather thin cakes, and I think it would be better to use two of that size, or just one loaf pan or a tube pan.
My final adjustment, was to wrap the loaves in cheesecloth soaked in brandy. It adds flavor, and also preserves the cakes. Highly recommended.
Permanent Wave machine picture from Health and Fashion Today.
Once again, my sister-in-law Kay Badertscher Bass contributes a family recipe from her mother, Agnes Bair Badertscher’s recipe box. Although in their house it was a traditional Thanksgiving dish, because of its cheerful red color and “snow-covered” top, I’m suggesting Cranberry Jell-o Salad for Christmas, too. If it sounds too sweet for a salad, it makes a lovely light dessert. Thanks for the contribution, Kay.
Kay says:
One of the favorite (and still requested each year) recipes for Thanksgiving and the holidays is the Jell-o salad Mom used to make. The Jell-o flavor would change year-to-year, but the majority of the time Mom would chose strawberry. She would use two boxes of Jell-o and pour the hot liquid into a deep dish 13 x 9 pan. The key, she said, was to use only half of the cold water the box of Jell-o recommends adding after the Jell-o has dissolved.
Grandma Kohler’s Food Chopper
Mom would freeze a bag of fresh cranberries. It was my job to get the hand cranked nut chopper (an antique from Grandma [Ida] Badertscher) to chop those icy marbles into fine bits.
[Note: What a difference between this and the food chopper that my mother used for her cranberry relish.]
Vintage food grinder
She [Agnes Badertscher] would also chop fresh celery (which my husband nixes), add a 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks (drained) and chopped pecans to taste. Stir all of these ingredients into the liquid jello and refrigerate several hours. (side note: some years we also added a fresh orange – chopped just like the cranberries)
Mixing the topping
However, it was the topping over the jello that made the dish! After the jello solidifies, spread this topping generously. It is even good enough to eat as a sort of custard for dessert, provided you have any left over.
| Serves | 16 |
| Allergy | Egg, Milk, Tree Nuts |
| Meal type | Dessert, Salad |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold |
| Occasion | Christmas, Thanksgiving |
| Jell-o | |
| 1. | Scatter Jell-o in 9 x 13 pan and pour in 2 cups boiling water. Stir until thoroughly dissolved |
| 2. | Add one cup cold water and stir. Put in refrigerator and chill until thickened |
| 3. | Grind frozen cranberries and add to thickened Jell-o. Drain pineapple, saving juice. Add pineapple, chopped celery and nuts to jello and stir. |
| 4. |
 Replace Jell-o dish in refrigerator to set. |
| Topping | |
| 5. | Combine sugar, flour, pineapple juice and egg in saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until thickened. |
| 6. | Add pat of butter, and stir in. |
| 7. | Cool topping mixture in refrigerator until completely cool. Fold in whipped topping. |
| Finish | |
| 8. | Spread topping on Jell-o. If desired decorate with halves of nuts. Cut in squares and serve on lettuce leaves or plain. |
All photos courtesy of Kay Badertscher Bass
Print recipe