Mincemeat cake

Yield: 16 Servings

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c Flour
2 ts Baking powder
1 ts Soda
1 ts Salt
1/2 ts Cloves
1/2 ts Nutmeg
1/2 ts Cinnamon
1/2 c Shortening
1 1/2 c Sugar
3 Eggs
1 c Milk
1 ts Vanilla
1 1/2 c Mincemeat
1 c Chopped nuts MMMMM----------------------CARAMEL FROSTING---------------------------
2 c Brown sugar
4 tb Butter
6 tb Shortening
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 c Milk
3 c Confectioners' sugar

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans. Set aside. Sift together flour baking powder soda salt cloves nutmeg and cinnamon; set aside. Cream shortening until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar. Beat until creamy. Add eggs 1 at a time blending after each addition. Combine milk and vanilla. By hand stir into creamed mixture alternately with the dry ingredients starting and ending with the dry. Blend thoroughly after each addition. Add mincemeat and nuts. Stir to blend. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 F. for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Invert pans onto cooling racks. Leave for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pans; cool completely. Frost with caramel or your favorite frosting. To make caramel frosting: In a saucepan combine brown sugar butter shortening and salt. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Slowly add milk. Bring back to boil and cook 3 minutes. Cool slightly. Add confectioners' sugar. Beat until creamy and of spreading consistency. Colombo writes: "This mincemeat cake is one of our family favorites." From Alice Colombo's 09/21/94 "Cook's Corner" column in "The (Louisville KY) Courier-Journal." Pg. C6. Posted by Cathy Harned.