Regarding the shortening: would it be worth it to replace it with butter? I suppose I could use a little extra butter (to compensate for the lower fat content) and cut back a little on the milk.
Concord Grape Cake Grape layer sifts through batter and will be on the bottom. This works well with sweetened sour cherries, peaches or plums. 2 lb. Concord grapes 3/4 c. sugar 2 c. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. salt 1 1/3 c. sugar 1/2 c. shortening 2 eggs 1 c. milk 1 tsp. vanilla
Wash grapes and separate skins from pulp. Cook pulp until softened, about 5 minutes. Put through sieve to remove seeds. Add skins to pulp. Stir in 3/4 cup sugar and cook until skins are tender, about 15 minutes. There should be about 2 cups of this grape mixture.
Sift flour with baking powder, salt and sugar into bowl. Add shortening, 1/2 cup of the milk, egg and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes at low speed on electric mixer or 300 strokes by hand. Add remaining milk and beat 30 seconds or 75 strokes.
Pour into well greased 9 x 12 x 2-inch pans. Spread grape pulp over top of batter. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until cake tests done.
Yields 12 servings