Family Recipe Friday

 

My grandmother, Helen Seibert McGrath was born on Canal Street in Easton, PA.

She had seven children, five boys and two girls, all born between 1914 and 1927. My father, John was born December 14, 1917.

They grew up during the Depression so work and thrift were a way of life if you had any intention of eating. I knew all of my aunts and uncles and heard the stories of growing up when times were lean.

My grandfather, Thomas Francis McGrath worked for Ingersoll-Rand as a moulder in the foundry. (Eventually all of the boys and both of the girls worked for Ingersoll in some capacity.) After work and on the weekends, he and the four oldest boys would do whatever they could to earn extra money to keep the household running. They cut grass for homes up on College Hill, they delivered advertising circulars door to door and moved families with my grandfather’s Model A Ford truck.

Although they worked hard for everything, their lives were not unhappy. They lived up above the Lehigh River overlooking the “The Flats” or Odenweldertown in West Easton. The kids played down in the woods, walked along the railroad tracks and picked berries for my grandmother to bake pies, walked downtown to the railroad station to see the circus come into town, sledded down the big hill on North 13^th Street and swam in the Lehigh River, coal dust and all.

Nanny made a cake called a Poor Man’s Cake which was made without milk or eggs, both precious items during the Depression and during the Wars, I and II. Sometimes the cake is called a War Cake. The cake is different also in that it is made with leftover coffee. My father liked anything that had a raisin or a nut in it, so our Poor Man’s Cake was made with raisins and walnuts. My mother learned to make this cake too and added her own touch to it by icing it with Cream Cheese Frosting. It is a great combination.

Here you are, just in time for the holidays:

 

Poor Man’s Cake

 

1 cup strong coffee

2 cups raisins

1¼ cups sugar

1 large tablespoon lard, butter or Crisco - I favor Crisco. As for the measure given, the original recipe said “the size of an egg,” which amounted to a large mounded tablespoon of Crisco that resembled an egg.

2 teaspoons each cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

 

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes on a low boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients and nuts, stir in cooled, boiled mixture just until combined. Pour into a well-greased 13” x 9” x 2” baking pan. Bake at 350^o degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. When cake is cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

 2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

 

Cream together the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl on low speed until creamy. Mix in the vanilla and then gradually add in the confectioners' sugar until frosting is fluffy and a spreading consistency. Store in the refrigerator after use.