Author Notes
I love to browse old recipes and have become quite the collector of old recipe cookbooks. The best old recipes are found in recipe book pamphlets published by food companies in the 50's and 60's. Personally I think the OLD recipes are far better than the new as they have survived the years, are tested more thoroughly and are the best in taste and texture. Here is my version of a recipe I found in an old 1980 cookbook from Better Homes & Gardens. Because I did not read the recipe before starting to gather ingredients, I used all the ingredients in the recipe list to make this cake. The original recipe for "Buttery Cinnamon Cake" has a buttery glaze and no butter in the cake batter. I really thought there was a mistake when I read the first 2 steps and ingredients were missing! The shortening was listed first and then the butter almost at the end of the recipe. That made no sense to me as I write recipes and ingredients are listed in the order they are used. So I decided to cream both the shortening and butter together with the sugar. That made sense. When I saw the 1/3 cup of water listed, I decided that ingredient was not necessary and eliminated it. I added an additional teaspoon of cinnamon and used half and half instead of milk to enrich the batter. I also added turbinado sugar as a crunchy topping for this cake. The cake turned out perfect in crumb and flavor. It is lighter than a poundcake and substantial enough for topping with fruit or whipped cream. Use a decorative bundt pan that has folds that will hold the turbinado sugar in place. I used the NordicWare Bavaria Bundt Pan. Lorraine Fina Stevenski —Lorraine Fina Stevenski
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Ingredients
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1/4 cup
turbinado sugar
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2 cups
all-purpose flour
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1 tablespoon
baking powder
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2 teaspoons
cinnamon
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3/4 teaspoon
salt
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6 tablespoons
unsalted butter, softened
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2/3 cup
solid shortening, room temperature
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1 1/3 cups
granulated sugar
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2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
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3
large eggs, room temperature
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2/3 cup
half and half, room temperature
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10-cup bundt pan with canola cooking spray. Use a silicone brush to get in all the groves. Dust lightly with turbinado sugar getting in all the groves, middle and up the sides. Turn the pan as you sprinkle. Set the pan aside on a 1/2 sheet pan.
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In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
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With an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream the butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes.
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Add the eggs, one at a time and beat just until blended.
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On low speed, add the flour mixture and half and half in 5 increments, starting and ending with the flour. Beat at medium speed between additions to blend. Scrape the batter evenly into the bundt pan and even the top. Tap lightly on the counter to settle the batter. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan 15 minutes and then
turn out on a rack to cool completely before storage.
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COOKS NOTES: After baking many bundt pans in decorative pans here are some easy hints:
1. Use Pam canola cooking spray and then spread with a silicone brush.
2. For an easy cake release from the pan; cool no more than 15 minutes. Shake the pan gently on the counter to release the cake from the sides of the pan before turning over.
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