There are rare times when I post a recipe after making it just once. And never have I posted something that I don't plan to make again. But on the off chance that you have a spare pound of sausage laying around and want to make dessert, behold the Sausage Cake.
Making this cake feels all wrong. The raw meat turns the batter pink and you definitely can't lick the bowl.
The resulting cake is surprisingly tasty to the medieval palate. If you use a mildly flavored sausage, the pork lends very little flavor. Nuts and fruit stud the cake. The texture is rich and dense like any spice cake.
As we shared the cake around, we realized two things. First, my family challenged our palate with a similarly meat-enriched sweet thing when preparing for our Canada trip. Dad was convinced we should take Pemmican, a Native American snack cake of dried fruit and meat. We couldn't stomach it and ditched the idea. Secondly, this cake is dairy free. Perhaps the recipe came from a situation where dairy was scarce?
A hard sauce of apple brandy would improve the plating and presentation. Tasters agreed that it might be good for making into breakfast french toast or bread pudding where the slight hints of meat are more welcome to the palate.
I would truly love to hear what others think of this if they make it. Please come back and leave comments!
PS. Come back tonight for a pork giveaway!
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Sausage Cake
from the Nordic Ware 'Unusual Old World and American Recipes' booklet circa 1970s
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup dried fruit
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup cold coffee
1 cup chopped nuts
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. Beat pork sausage with sugars in a stand mixer until well blended, approximately 3 minutes. Add eggs and continue beating.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, spices, baking powder, and baking soda.
4. Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of boiling water over dried fruit. Soak for five minutes and pour off water.
5. With the mixer on low, alternate cupfuls of flour with thirds of the cold coffee. Mix thoroughly after each addition.
6. When the batter is combined, gently stir in nuts and dried fruit.
7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 60-90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out dry. Cool 15 minutes in pan before inverting to release the cake.
8. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
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Added to Hearth and Soul.