if you're gonna eat raisins...

...this is the way you should do it.


Dense (in a good way), moist, chock-full of textures and tastes--I think you need this cake in your repertoire.

Funny story: The recipe originated as one that made use of pork fat. A friend of mine had recently obtained a whole pig and thought a pork cake would be a good way to use some of said porker. As one might expect, there are different types of fat on the pig, and apparently my friend picked the wrong one--belly fat. He ended up spending quite a bit of time trying to incorporate the fat into the hot coffee, all the while becoming more and more verklempt.


Needless to say, his next batch was made with butter. And it was splendid. My advice--save your pork belly for other things.

Pork Cake (or, in this instance, Cow Cake)

1/2 cup strong coffee
1/2 pound pork fat (or unsalted butter)
1 pound brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup walnuts or pecans, tossed in flour
1 pound raisins, tossed in flour
4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Pour the hot coffee over the pork fat and mix until the fat melts. Add brown sugar, baking soda, nuts, raisins, and flour; mix thoroughly. Pour into tube pans or loaf pans and bake for at least an hour, using the toothpick test to ensure doneness.