Old-Fashioned Stack Cake with Lemon-Date Filling
Makes 1 (9-inch) cake
½ cup all-vegetable shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup whole buttermilk
⅓ cup molasses
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Lemon-Date Filling (recipe follows)
Confectioners’ sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat shortening and granulated sugar with a mixer at medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add buttermilk, molasses, egg, and vanilla, beating well.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to shortening mixture, beating just until combined.
4. On a lightly floured surface, shape dough into a log; cut into 6 portions. Using your fingers, pat 1 portion of dough into each prepared pan. Cover and reserve remaining dough.
5. Bake until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks. (Cake layers will have the consistency of a gingerbread cookie.) Repeat with remaining dough.
Place 1 cooled cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand; spread about ¾ cup warm Lemon-Date Filling on top. Top with second cake layer, and spread about ¾ cup warm filling on top. Repeat procedure three times, using remaining filling, and top with remaining cake layer. Cover and refrigerate for at least
