My Great-grandmother’s Applebutter Cake with Black Walnuts & Raisins

This cake was always there for company, and always on the Christmas dinner table. That’s how I learned to love Black Walnuts!

2 C Flour, sifted
1 C White Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Chinese 5-Spice (or use cinnamon/cloves/nutmeg/ginger)
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 C Raisins (soak in warm water to plump and soften)
1 C Black Walnuts, chopped
1/2 C Butter, softened
2 C Apple Butter

Drain and dry the soaked raisins. Discard the soaking water. Toss the raisins with some of the flour called for in the recipe. (This will keep the raisins from sinking to the bottom of the cake.) Sift the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and the apple butter until smooth.

In a large bowl alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients, stirring with a spoon to blend. Start and end with the dry ingredients. When the batter is smooth, add the floured raisins and the chopped black walnuts to the batter, and mix well.

Grease and flour a 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. The cake should be moist, but the center should be dry when tested with a toothpick.

Frost with homemade cream cheese frosting.

I don't know why you couldn't use currants or dates.  I'd still soak them and dust them with flour, but they should do just fine.

My cousin won the prize for the black walnuts at the festival this year!!!  (The walnuts came from my mom's farm…you can bet I'll be shellin' some of those while home!)  …and my other cousin won a prize for the chestnuts…also from mom's farm…  I'm so excited for those girls!