Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spice Layer:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 cup raisins, dusted with a little flour
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts
- Filling and Topping:
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup boiling water
- One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup coconut
- Juice and zest of 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherry halves
- 7 -Minute Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 egg whites
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Step 1
For cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time,
beating well after each addition. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. Add flour
mixture alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla
and mix well.
3. Divide batter into thirds. Pour one third into each of the two prepared pans. To the remaining one third
of batter, add the spice layer ingredients, folding in well. Pour into the remaining prepared pan. Bake all
layers 25 to 30 minutes. Cool layers in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool
completely.
4. To prepare the filling and topping, stir together sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Add water,
pineapple, coconut, and lemon juice and zest. Stir together and cook over medium heat until thick enough
to spread onto cake layers. Remove from heat; stir in cherries, and allow to cool slightly.
5. To assemble cake, stack one plain layer, top with a thin layer of filling; add spice layer and more filling.
Top with remaining plain layer. Spread remaining filling over the top and sides of cake. Spread cake with
7-Minute Frosting (recipe below) if you like.
For frosting:
Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. Beat
with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water
does not touch the bottom of the top pan. (If this happens, it could cause your frosting to become grainy.)
Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla.