McCalls Cooking School

Clove Cake

• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dark seedless raisins
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk

Caramel Frosting

• ½ cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/3 cup half-and-half
• 2 cups unsifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon maple extract
• 1 cup coarsely chopping walnuts

Clove Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease the inside of a 10” x 4 ½” tube pan with a nonremovable bottom. Over a piece of waxed paper, sift 2 ¾ cups flour with the cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, place raisins and remaining ¼ cup flour; toss to coat raisins.

In small bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy; set aside. In large bowl, at medium speed, beat 1 cup butter until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar to butter, beating until mixture is light, about 5 minutes. Beat eggs into butter-sugar mixture, scraping down side of bowl as necessary.

Reduce mixer speed to low; alternately add the flour-spice mixture and the buttermilk to the butter-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour-spice mixture; beat only until blended. Stir in raisins; pour batter into the prepared tube pan. Bake 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted in center of the cake comes out clean.

Place tube pan on wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Gently loosen side of cake from tube pan with a spatula; remove cake to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Make frosting: Melt ½ cup butter in a small saucepan over low heat; remove from heat. Add the brown sugar; stir until smooth. Return to heat. Bring brown sugar mixture to boiling and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add the half-and-half. Over low heat, return mixture just to boiling; remove from heat and cool to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (lukewarm). Beat confectioners’ sugar into the warm brown sugar mixture until mixture is thick, add vanilla.

If frosting seems too thin, gradually beat in a little more confectioners’ sugar. Set saucepan in a large bowl of ice; with wooden spoon, beat frosting until it is thick enough to spread. Frosting should barely hold its shape. Frost cake immediately and place chopped walnuts around side of cake. Makes 16 servings.