by Peggy Ehrhart
Homemade treats make great holiday gifts for friends and neighbors, and it’s fun to present them in ways that make them even more special: cookies on a pretty plate discovered at a garage sale, pickles or relish in a vintage Mason jar . . . or a loaf of spice cake in a cute cloth gift bag.
This spice cake is perfect to serve with coffee or tea at breakfast or as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.
Use the spices suggested, or make your own blend. Nutmeg and ground ginger work well. The recipe makes three 3” X 5” loaves—just the right size for gift-giving.
Sour Cream Raison Spice Cake
Ingredients:
½ cup (one stick) butter, left out to soften
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts if desired
Grease and flour three 3” X 5” baking pans. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Beat in the sour cream and eggs. Beat in the spices. Sift the flour, salt, and soda together and add them to the bowl, beating well. Using a large spoon, stir in the raisins, and the walnuts if desired.
Divide the batter among the three pans and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the top comes out clean.
Let your loaves cool, remove them from the pans, and wrap them in foil.
To make the bags, you will need a square of fabric 11” by 12” for each bag. You can use almost any fabric that isn’t too heavy, in a Christmas color like red or green, or a print, plaid or stripe—whatever you have handy or that strikes your fancy. You will also need a three 30” lengths of coordinating ribbon.
Fold the fabric in half, right sides together, so you have a rectangle 5½” by 12”. Stitch the long edge, using a ½ inch seam allowance, to make a tube. Now, still with right sides together, rearrange the fold so the seam runs down the center rather than down one side and press the seam open.
Stich one end of the tube together using a ½ inch seam allowance and clip the corners.
Turn the bag right-side out and use a chopstick or something similar to push out the corners and make them sharp.
Hem the open end of the tube, folding the raw edge over ¼ inch and then another ¼ inch and stitching. Press the bag.
Repeat these steps to make two more bags.
Slip the foil-wrapped loaves into the bags and use the ribbon to tie the open ends closed. You can add gift labels if you wish.
AUTHOR BIO
Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor with a doctorate in Medieval Literature. Her Maxx Maxwell blues-singer mysteries were inspired by her experiences playing guitar in a blues band. Peggy now writes the very cozy Knit & Nibble mysteries for Kensington. Visit her at www.PeggyEhrhart.com.
