Cinnamon cake from my childhood memory

We always have some memories – some sad, some great…and to me, I still have “delicious ones”! Because it’s related to those food that I used to taste in my childhood but now  after such a long long time, hardly to find it like in the old days, as I still remember – the taste, the smell, the feeling when I found it among other stuffs. And that was a cake with strong cinnamon and liquor flavor. Nowadays it’s probably the common X-mas fruit cake, but when being a little boy, I tasted it from a small dark-army-green can, in a paper box together with other cans like fruit cocktail, fruit jam…I just named it “cinnamon cake”. That was special supplies to US Army, back to 70’s.

Today I try to do that “cinnamon cake” with those flavors that I remember, in order to bring back, hopefully, the old taste, the old flavor from my childhood.

Step 1 Preparation for dry ingredients 

• All purpose or cake flour  400 gr ( or mix 1/3 of all purpose with 2/3 – cake flour)
• Cinnamon powder  3gr. – 7gr. (up to your taste, 5 gr. could be ideal)
• Baking powder  5 gr. – up 7 gr.
• Baking soda  2 gr.
• Salt  8 gr
• Dried fruits  200 gr. (100 gr. of dried orange peels, 50 gr. of golden raisin, 50 gr. of dried cranberries)
• Cherry liquor : 100 ml (optional)

Mix all dried ingredients together, but not the dried fruits, you can sift into a big bowl. Regarding the dried fruits, just few days before I soaked it in 100 ml of cherry liquor – Guignolet Kirsch. Some people can soak in sirup together with rhum. It depends on our taste.

Step 2 Preparation for butter

• Butter   350 gr
• Powder sugar  180 gr. (original recipe very sweet, 500 gr.??)
• Egg  6 pcs 
• Milk  100-120 ml  (I used whipping cream)
• Honey 20-30 ml (optional)

Leave the butter at room temperature but not too soft, still cold and a bit hard, beat well with powder sugar, until fluffy, then gradually add the mixture of eggs and whipping cream into the butter. I added in three or four times, but if the batter looks liquid, don’t worry, it will be ok when you add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt…).

After you add all the mixture of eggs and cream, then time for the dry ingredients, also add in three or four times. The dried fruits will be the last ones.

I have a big mould (32 cm L x 12 cm W x 7 cm H), I cover with parchment paper so don’t need to butter the mould. Bake it in the oven at 170ºC – 180ºC for 70 minutes or until the cake is golden brown, but always need to check  with a toothpick, insert it in the center if comes out clean, it means ok!

The cake is super moist, full flavored with cinnamon and cherry liquor, it’s actually quite light, quickly melted in mouth. What I could improve for my next baking? Add more dried fruits, especially orange peels.