Prunes; dried and cooked
          Apricots; dried
   1/2 c  Raisins
   1/2 c  Pecan halves
   1/2 c  Any fruit juice
   1/3 c  Honey
     3 tb Butter
     1 ts Ground ginger
   3/4 c  Shortening
     1 c  Sugar or half honey and half
          -sugar
   1/2 c  Molasses
     1 ts Ginger
     1 ts Cinnamon
     1 ds Allspice
     2    Eggs
 2 1/2 c  Flour
   1/2 ts Salt
     1 ts Soda
   1/2 c  Boiling water
 On the bottom of a well buttered skillet or pan, (I use cast iron) arrange:
 prunes, apricots, raisins and pecans. Heat the fruit juice, honey, butter
 and ginger together to make a nice thick syrup and pour over the fruits in
 the skillet. To prepare the batter: cream the shortening and sugar
 together. Add a small amount of the measured flour to the butter sugar
 mixture. Beat the molasses and spices into this. Beat the eggs until they
 are light and foamy and add to this mixture. Sift the flour, salt and soda
 together. Stir the dry ingredients into the other mixture and quickly beat
 the boiling water into it. Pour the batter over the fruit in the pan and
 bake in a slow oven, 300?, for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Loosen the
 sides of the cake from the pan and turn it onto a wire cake rack until the
 first steam is dispelled. Serve it warm with coffee cream to which a
 sprinkle of nutmeg has been added.
                 
                 Yields       
                12 Servings                
