Spices – and spice cake – make a return

We are back to spices and spice cake. You may remember that when the call went out for spice cake, three sorts turned up: a basic old fashioned spice cake, a rich and elegant version resplendent in sour cream, eggs, and a yummy icing, and the eggless version. All this spice cake business was prompted by a question we had about our five favorite spices. Here is the last of the spice cake trio I promised and I think it is time to report on the favorite spices, too.

Favorite spices/seasonings first. Basil placed first followed by cinnamon. Parsley, nutmeg, thyme, and rosemary all tied for the next favorite. Kathy Schneider wrote, “Sure I could not submit 10?!” She mentioned Old Bay seasoning “for the blessings from the sea.” Some of you grow some of your favorite herbs, and another one of you grows 50 to 60 garlics every year. We were reminded not to forget extracts – vanilla topping the list. Aside from that though – darn little consensus.

Now cake. In the last couple of weeks I tried a couple different eggless cakes – and I liked them both. One was called Gramma’s Eggless Spice Cake sent in by Roger Frey in Hampden. The other was Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake submitted by Ethel Pohocki in Brooks. I found Gramma’s cake to be a lovely, flavorful everyday cake, perfect for lunch boxes or for cutting a square when someone comes over for coffee. Ethel’s cake was also really delicious, but had the unfair advantage of consisting of many raisins.

Around this house raisins are a hugely popular item with my husband Jamie who would like me to put raisins in everything. I bet he would even like them in spaghetti sauce. So of course the raisin-y cake won hands down. If three of you get in touch and say you’d like to see Roger’s Gramma’s cake, I will put it in a future column (unless Letitia, my editor, says “enough with the spice cakes.”)

Eggless cakes have been around for quite a while now, and need baking powder and or baking soda to rise. (There was time when cake was raised by yeast, but nowadays we mostly do that on holidays.) Most eggless cakes are associated with hard times, such as the Depression, or rationing in the World Wars – and the seasons of the year when eggs were not so readily available – almost out of memory now. Ethel’s cake has a long history, and she even wrote a charming story about it for the children’s magazine Cricket. It came down to her through two generations and ended up modernized by Cricket’s editor who thought that maybe the lard in the original ought to be replaced with canola oil. That brings us to the realization that today eggless, milkless, butterless cake is less about finite funds than cholesterol. If you have to take that into consideration then you will love this way around the problem. It is good even without frosting.

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.

Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake

1 cup of white or firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1/3 cup lard or vegetable oil (like canola)

2 cups dark raisins

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons of water

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Combine the sugar, water, lard or oil, raisins, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a saucepan, bring to a boil and boil for three minutes, stirring it from time to time. Take it off the heat and let cool for ten minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Dissolve the baking soda and salt in the two teaspoons of water, and add them to the raisin mixture -it will foam up. Blend in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Pour it into a buttered nine-inch square pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Frosting optional.