Sweetiebarbara
Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:45 pm
Recipezaar Groupie
**Jubes** Thank you again for such a lovely banner!
My
Aunt Isabel's Bishop's Cake has been a tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. Aunt Isabel gave each family group a Bishop's cake every year at Christmas.
Aunt Isabel was born March 3, 1900, and lived for more than 90 years. When I was a child, and spent nights at my grandparents' house, she would put me to sleep with her stories. When she came to our house to visit, she would do the same. She belonged to The National Storybook League. She even put my children to sleep with her stories. She spent Christmas with us in our home when she was 88 and it was a great thrill to have her here. Aunt Isabel was a great cook. I have her "Ragsdale's Original - Scientific Course of Candy Manufacturing Instructions", which I cherish. She was loved by all who knew her.
Now, I make
Aunt Isabel's Bishop's Cake and give it to family and loved ones. A note of caution... do not try to remove the cake from the loaf pan until it is fully cooled... melted chocolate can be difficult to deal with...
!!!
When my mother taught me to cook, she had me first read the recipe, then assemble all my ingredients, utensils, measuring spoons/cups, and any other cooking or baking things I needed, before I started to cook. Even now, I do that every time, and am happy I do... I just hate to get half way through a recipe and have to go to the store!
I also sprayed the loaf pan with cooking spray, and made a liner of parchment paper. As you can see, I have already chopped the dates, pecans, and cherries and set aside in individual prep bowls. I also dusted the dates lightly with flour.
I combined the eggs and butter. They are in the far right corner. I melted the butter in the large measuring (eight) cup in the microwave.
I made the link to her recipe in several places, but thought I would also list things here. The ingredients:
* 1 cup dates (chopped)
* 1 cup pecans (toasted, chopped)
* 1 cup maraschino cherry (sliced in half)
* 1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 3 eggs (well beaten)
* 1/2 cup butter (melted)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 cups flour (sifted)
I sifted together the dry ingredients and added them to the egg mixture. Then I stirred in other ingredients one at a time, first the dates,
then the pecans,
then the cherries,
and finally the chocolate chips.
You can see how thick it gets! It is important to make sure to stir thoroughly after each addition. In the recipe, it says "Pour into greased loaf pan..." It is more like pour and spread.
As I said above, I used Pam and then lined with parchment paper. Here I have poured and spread, and the cake is ready to go into the pre-heated 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. (I baked it for 1 3/4 hours) You may need more or less time, depending on your oven. I usually test with a straw or toothpick.
Here is the cake after it is cooled.
I hope you and your family and loved ones can also enjoy our tradition.
And finally, here is the picture **Jubes** used to make the banner. This is Aunt Isabel when she was 81, modeling a dress she made, for a fund raising at her church, Mount Vernon Place Church, in Washington, D.C.
