Dutch Sorghum Cake

 From The Southern Living Special Edition Cakes and Pies comes this recipe for Dutch Sorghum Cake. After looking at the recipe, we decided it had everything in it that we liked, raisins, dates and pecans as well as Sorghum which is a personal favorite of mine. After baking it, it is every bit as good as I thought it might be. 

 I baked mine in a 13x9x2 inch pan instead of the 2 nine inch square pans called for which I would not do again. It took about 20 minutes longer to bake that way and was thicker than the photo with the recipe. Everyone thought it was very good though and the coffee glaze was the right finishing touch. Sorghum is available in most stores here in the Midwest. If you can’t find it, I would try a very mild molasses maybe with part honey. Sorghum is sweeter than molasses and can be eaten from the jar on toast, or pancakes.

Dutch Sorghum Cake

 1 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

1 cup sorghum syrup

3 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup chopped pecans toasted

Coffee glaze

 Preheat oven to 325°. Beat sugar and shortening at medium speed until fluffy. Add sorghum and beat just until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time beating until blended after each. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients, gradually add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, (began and end with flour mixture). Stir in raisins, dates and pecans. Spoon into 2 greased floured 9 inch pans. Bake at 325° for 32 to 35 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

 Drizzle with Coffee Glaze made from 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 ½ tablespoons of strong coffee. Add more coffee if necessary to make the glaze thin enough to drizzle on cake.