Watermelon Cake

This cake appears in a number of old Western recipe books.

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon or orange bits
Red food coloring
1/2 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream sugar and butter until well mixed. Add milk and mix well for at least 2 minutes at medium-high speed.

In a separate bowl, blend baking powder, salt and flour. Add to sugar mixture, slowly mixing all the while. Fold in lemon or orange bits.

Separate batter into two bowls and set one aside. In the second bowl add a few drops of red food coloring. Mix and add until a nice pink color appears. Fold in raisins to the pink-colored mixture.

Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans. Pour half the white batter around the outside edge of each of the cake pans. Pour the pink batter into the middle of each pan. Tap the pans lightly to ensure the colors merge. Bake for 40 minutes.