> Reading the recipe, this doesn't seem to be in that vein, the recipe calls for "fat salt pork" I wonder if that's just pork fat, and its more for the fat cont

> Reading the recipe, this doesn't seem to be in that vein, the recipe calls for "fat salt pork" I wonder if that's just pork fat, and its more for the fat content than anything else. Pretty much. This is closer to frontier cooking; the only source of shortening and seasoning is from salt pork rendered (briefly) in boiling water. All the ingredients have long shelf lives without refrigeration, except the eggs, which would be available fresh. Salt pork is generally belly fat - what's left when you take the bacon - low proportion of lean meat. This cake is going to be pretty porky, so it's cut with healthy doses of game-type spices... mace & cloves... all that cinammon sounds gross though. I'd probably swap it out for fennel or star anise, or just ditch the whole spice bill & go for Chinese five-spice powder instead. Looks like it would probably benefit from an extra egg yolk or two, as well. > Why egg shells in coffee though?? That's an old cowboy trick. Boiled or percolated coffee is pretty nasty, and extracts a lot of extra acid from the grounds compared to drip. Egg shells (CaCO3) are alkaline, and help neutralize the gut churn.