Bran Cake Recipe ingredients

• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• 1 cake compressed yeast
• ½ pound sifted pastry flour (2 cups well shaken down)
• ½ cup of a lardlike vegetable shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups bran (3 ounces)
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup dried currants
• ½ cup broken walnut meats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

To prepare this Bran Cake Recipe, first dissolve the yeast cake in the warm milk, stir in the flour, and beat well. Set this sponge in a warm place to rise. Wash the raisins and currants, boil them in a little water till plump, and drain. Beat the shortening with a spoon till it is creamy. Beat the sugar into the shortening, and continue the beating till the mixture is light and creamy, then add the egg and beat till the mixture is stiff. When the sponge is light, beat this mixture into it, and beat in the salt and bran. Beat the whole well together, then stir in the raisins, currants, and nuts. Pour into an oiled bread tin, and set in a warm place to rise. Let it rise about one-half inch. Bake for about one hour in a slow oven.

This recipe cannot be made successfully with oil as shortening. It requires a hard shortening. There are several lardlike vegetable shortenings on the market. Some are made from cottonseed oil, some are cocoanut fat.