“Tis the Season” to showcase heirloom glassware, including the forgotten punch bowl. Instead of filling the lovely cut glass sphere with predictable punch, be clever and make a punch bowl cake. Punch bowl cakes can be as versatile as one’s taste. Considerations include: Black Forest Cake, Trifle Cake, Peach Melba Cake, Dobash Cake, Bananas Foster Cake, Linzertorte Cake, Fruit Cake, Baba au Rum Cake, Lord Baltimore Cake and Holiday Spice Cake. (Remember that if the assembled cake needs to be refrigerated be sure to make space in the refrigerator in advance of filling the punch bowl.) It is important to incorporate slices of fruit or marinated fruit in the layers of the cooked cake. Layers make the punch bowl cake vastly interesting. Spice up your holiday entertaining with my Holiday Spice Cake recipe. Make multiple cakes to bake, slice and layer into the punch bowl. I recommend layers of pears, cherries and berries to add to the merriment!
Holiday Spice Cake
Mix ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup butter and 1 egg. Add 1 cup light corn syrup, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon salt. Add 2 ½ cups all purpose flour and 1 cup hot water. Bake a greased loaf pan at 375ºF for about 45 minutes. It’s the Punch in the Party to stir up some fun! © Kelly McBride Loft