Mincemeat Cake

The Recipe

3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter (4 oz)
zest of 1 orange or tangerine
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 jar of mincemeat- I use None Such Brandy&Rum

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 scant Tbsp. orange or tangerine juice

Spray a Bundt pan with spray oil. Preheat oven to 350.

In medium bowl, whisk flour, powder & soda, and salt. In large mixer bowl, beat butter until light; add zest and sugar, beating until fluffy. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Slowly, add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating between the two, beginning and ending with flour. After all flour has been incorporated, beat at least 30 sec. on medium speed. Add 1/2 jar of mincemeat; mix in by hand if using beaters, or on lowest speed if using a paddle on a stand mixer, until incorporated.

Pour about 2/3 of the batter in the Bundt pan and spread evenly. Top batter with remaining mincemeat, then top that with remaining batter. Bake 1 hour and then check; bake until cake tester (toothpick) comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then gently invert cake out onto a rack to finish cooling. Let cool a minimum of 20 more minutes, but an hour is better.

Mix tangerine juice into sifted powdered sugar; drizzle over cake to glaze.

The Story

Several years ago I bought a jar of mincemeat which had a little booklet attached full of recipes. One picture was of a beautiful coffee cake baked in a tube pan, filled with mincemeat and topped with a struesel topping. It looked great and I had all the ingredients, so I decided to make it- only to discover very quickly that there had been a misprint. The picture and the recipe didn't match, and the recipe for the filled cake was nowhere to be found! I've made the coffee cake in the booklet, only to find that the struesel and the mincemeat don't match very well. With that one adjustment in mind, I set out to create a recipe similar to the one that was promised in the photo, and this is the result.

The measurement on the jar of mincemeat is 27 oz. Other brands that are around that amount should substitute well, but None Such is by far my favorite commercial brand. Use what you like. If you make your own- a friend of mine has done this, and it's wonderful- you'll need about 2 1/2 cups, divided evenly.

We've impaitently cut into this cake when it was still pretty hot, and we've regretted it. It really is much better when let to cool for a while.