This is another recipe in the series of unpublished recipes from the late Elizabeth Coblentz. You can see in older posts that we were in the process of compiling recipes for a cookbook that ultimately never got published, but I am posting them here in Plus for you to enjoy.
Unlike mainstream non-Amish culture, fruit cakes don't serve as doorstops among the Amish, they are actually eaten and enjoyed and passed around as holiday gifts. And if you look at this recipe, you'll know why. It's a simple, old recipe flavored with brown sugar, molasses, and sour cream.
Most of the recipes from this collection are very old. Elizabeth Coblentz was the original Amish Cook and visiting her was like being in the presence of a living link to generations old German-Swiss cooks and bakers, connected to a far, far simpler era. This recipe is symbolic of it. Here you can see the recipe in her own hand. Very special to me.
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, pinch of salt
- 3 /4 cups sour cream
- 1 /4 cup sour milk
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 cup nut meats
- 1 cup prunes (cooked until tender then chopped fine)
- 2 cups cooked raisins
- 1 /4 teaspoon cloves
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup dates (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 /4 teaspoon ginger
- Dissolve baking powder and soda in sour milk.
- Add cinnamon and ginger.
- Then add all ingredients in and mix well.
- Bake at 320 for 1 hour or till toothpick comes out clean.
- Other fruits may be substituted as dry apples, etc
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