ORANGE DATE CAKE

This cake brings back memories of my mom’s kitchen when I was young. It was always a favorite of my brother Frank, so Mom always made it at Christmas, and sometimes more often than that. Since he was coming to our house this Christmas, I dug out this old recipe and made it as a surprise for him. The surprise to me was how much my family loved it too. I had no idea they would enjoy anything with dates in it, but anything soaked in orange juice is okay with them!

1 c. shortening (Crisco to our generation!)
2 c. sugar
4 eggs, separated
1-1/2 c. buttermilk
1 t. soda
3 c. sifted flour
½ t. salt
1 c. nuts
½ lb. dates
2 TB grated orange rind (orange zest to us)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Use a tube pan (I used my angel food cake pan that you don’t have to grease or flour.)

Cream the shortening and sugar; add the egg yolks and beat until mixed well. Mix the soda into the buttermilk. Alternately add it with the dry ingredients (soda, flour salt mixture), beating well after each addition. Roll the dates and nuts in a small amount of flour. Stir them into the batter along with the orange zest. Beat the egg whites separately and stir them into the batter. Bake for 2 hours.

Topping:

1 c. orange juice
2 c. sugar

Warm the mixture until the sugar melts completely. Take off the burner to let thicken while the cake cools. Stick holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick to allow all the juice to seep inside.