Sausage Cake Recipe with Fruit and Spices

To many people the sausage cake recipe sounds strange; to me it did also. I knew this cake as a fruitcake recipe. From my German ancestry came the practice of raising our own pigs (none for pets). All through my childhood I remember my Dad and my brothers raising our own hogs and butchering to provide our own pork. This process was done in the fall of the year which provided great meat throughout the winter months.

After the meat was portioned out in roasts, steaks, bacon or whatever, the rest of everything was thrown into the sausage. There was always lots of sausage!  This is why my ancestors came up with this sausage recipe. The sausage replaces any need for shortening in the cake saving the fresh made lard for all the other needs in cooking.

As I got older, it took me a long time to taste this sausage recipe not realizing that it was the same cake I was use to eating as our fruitcake recipe.  You can add all kinds of fruit in it; dried, canned or fresh with various spices. Actually, various friends had encouraged me to try their sausage cake recipes and I refused thinking it sounded strange.

I was talking to my older sister one day and she said she was baking this sausage recipe. We got into a lengthy discussion about this recipe and I finally realized this was our fruitcake recipe. This prompted me to start making them at holiday time. It is really very good and very moist. You would have no idea that the main ingredient is sausage!

SAUSAGE CAKE

• 1 Pound mild pork sausage
• 1 Pound box brown sugar
• 1 Teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 Teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon allspice
• 1 Teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Pound box raisins
• 1 ¼ Cups water
• 3 ¾ Cups flour
• 1 Pound chopped walnuts
• 1 Cup pineapple tidbits, drained and dried on paper towels
• 1 Cup maraschino cherries, drained and dried on paper towels

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Cover raisins with water in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil for 3to 5 minutes. Drain the raisins thoroughly and save one cup of the liquid. When liquid cools to warm add the baking soda to the liquid.

In a large mixing bowl combine the sausage and brown sugar and mix well. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and the 1 cup soda liquid and mix well.

Stir in the raisins, pineapple and cherries by hand.

Combine the walnuts with the flour and add to the sausage mixture. Stir by hand to blend.

Spoon batter into a greased angel food cake pan or bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Cool for 15 to 20 minutes and remove from pan.

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