Gum Drop Cake for Christmas – Really!

For a year now I’ve been staring at the Gum Drop Cake recipe in Aunt Lil’s cook book. Really? Gum Drop Cake? I just couldn’t imagine it tasting good. And I never came across a recipe to follow in any of my cook books – until now.

A recent purchase is a 1945 cookbook called, Out of Vermont Kitchens, a super community cook book published by Trinity Church in Rutland, Vermont which included a Gum Drop Cake that is almost identical to Aunt Lil’s. First stop was our local candy store, Sweet Cravings, just down the road from us. Not everyone is so lucky as to have a real old-fashioned candy store, but we do. So I went to buy the pound of spiced gum drops the recipe called for.

A quick internet search found that others have make the 1940s era Gum Drop Cake. And there are plenty of modern version recipes as well. Some hints before you begin: cut the gum drops in half with scissors, take out any black ones which are liquorice, and make sure the dogs don’t get involved.

Cutting gum drops caught the dogs attention! They didn't get any though.

Here’s the recipe:

•  1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. softened butter
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 c. sifted flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. raisins
• 1 c. spiced gum drops, chopped

Cutting gum drops - not as bad as I thought

Using scissors, cut the gum drops in half.

Cream butter while adding sugar and beaten eggs

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together over chopped candy and raisins

Dredge the candy and raisins well to coat (this keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the cake)

Add vanilla to milk and then add flour mixture to milk mixture, alternating each until mixed

Bake in a large greased loaf tin in a 300 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours

Beautiful to look at!

This quick bread was extremely popular during the 1940s both in the U.S. and Canada. What’s the result? Right out of the oven it is amazing with the gum drops still gooey. As it cools, it still is good, but do be aware its very sweet. Kids will love it. This would be a fun addition to your Christmas cooking. Let me know if you ever had this growing up. I imagine some of you did.