Emily Lou's Pound Cake

 

 Emily Lou's Pound Cake made in a tube pan.

This is my absolute, all-time, favorite pound cake. Oma got the recipe from a friend at church and it was her "go to" recipe because it turned out every time, no surprises. I still have fond memories of those pound cakes she made when I was a child, with my most favorite part being the top crust which had plenty of sugar in it and just the right texture to suit my fancy.

Once Oma moved to a different house and no longer had a gas stove, she was afraid the cake wouldn't turn out as well and didn't make it often, if at all. We revived the recipe over the Christmas holidays because Opa's request, when asked what he wanted for a birthday cake, was "pound cake" (with ice cream, of course!). Immediately, Emily Lou's cake came to mind and we dug up the old recipe.

As you can see in the recipe below, there are not a lot of ingredients, so this is fairly easy to make. It also freezes well, so you can make a few and keep them for when you need to pull a really good cake out in a hurry. Being a pound cake, you can eat it plain or dress it up as you wish - ice cream, whipped cream, berries, anything else you like on pound cake, or "all of the above"!

 

Original Recipe 

Baker's Notes:

• Do NOT skimp on the 3 minute "beat slowly" time. Once you have ever made this cake and see the "before 3 minute batter" and the "after 3 minute batter", you will understand why. This is one of the most beautiful batters .... very smooth and silky (the pound cake texture is 'fine').

• Buttermilk: The cake is just plain delicious and you'll never know 'buttermilk' is in it by the taste. - don't let this ingredient scare you off.

• Vanilla: Use real vanilla, please - no imitations.

• Pan: A tube pan is my preference after making it in a tube and a bundt pan. The recipe does well in either pan so it's going to be personal preference. There is a picture of cakes made in both pans on this post.

• Time: For my oven, 1 hour 10 minutes was perfect. Your oven may vary ..... just use a cake tester to check it.

This is just a "classic", timeless recipe that I think you will enjoy and appreciate having in your recipe book for at least as many years as we've had it in ours.

 

 As a bundt cake .....

♥♥♥

 

Sweet Potato Bread Pudding with Whiskey Hard Sauce

The perfect time for this recipe ...... cold weather and snow on the ground!

 It was Sunday evening, cold and snowing. When we turned on the outside light, the snowflakes were reflected as they danced and fell through the air and the scenery was surreal. In the house, where it was nice and warm, it seemed just the time to make a recipe that had appeared recently in the local paper and this is that recipe. What was wanted was a warm kitchen, the smells of something delicious in the oven, and the anticipation of a bowl full of 'Southern Comfort'. That is what we got - the extra warmth from the oven and delightful smells wafting through the house and a delicious end result. I'm sure this bread pudding would be good any time of year, but a cold, snowy evening is really the perfect time .......

Sweet Potato Bread Pudding with Whiskey Hard Sauce
 

This bread pudding can be made the day before it is baked and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.

Start to finish: 1 hour, 15 minutes (20 minutes active)

Serves 10

Ingredients for the sauce:

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon best-quality bourbon OR rye

pinch of salt

Ingredients for the bread pudding:

8 cups torn OR cubed stale raisin bread (about 1 large loaf)

2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon mace

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

4 large eggs

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup mashed baked garnet sweet potatoes 

For the sauce:

• In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Mix in the vanilla, liquor, and salt.
• Continue mixing until smooth and creamy.
• Cover & set aside. Also can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator up to a month.

For the bread pudding:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Coat a 2-quart baking dish or individual ramekins with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, toss together the raisin bread with the pecans, then set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg and salt.
• Toss the sugar mixture over the bread and pecans, then stir well.
• Drizzle everything with the melted butter, then toss to evenly distribute.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, cream, eggs, and brown sugar.
• Add the vanilla and sweet potatoes, then mix well.
• Pour the sweet potato-cream mixture over the bread mixture and stir until well blended.
• Let stand for about 5 minutes, then spoon into the prepared baking dish or ramekins.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes (bake ramekins for 15-20 minutes) or until set.
• As soon as the bread pudding comes out of the oven, top with hard sauce so that it melts into the crevices.
• Serve warm.

Source: RTD article from Elizabeth Karmel, author of “Soaked, Slathered & Seasoned”


(Photo: Merlot)

Rum Balls

(Photo: Merlot)

 

 

 

This year, I made a lot of homemade baked gifts. Rum balls (first time I've ever made them) were by far my favorite treat and evidently, everyone else's because I got a lot of requests for the recipe. The extra nice thing about rum balls ... they require no baking!

 

When I went looking for a recipe, I found that Aunt Lee has a recipe for rum balls in her church recipe book and there is another recipe in our church recipe book .... both are very similar. The recipe below is a combination of the two after my experience(s) making them - yes, I made more than one batch!

 

Ingredients (see Cook's Notes for options):

• 1 cup very fine vanilla wafer crumbs
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 2 Tablespoons Dutch Cocoa (Hershey's works fine)
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons light corn syrup (Karo)
• 1/4 cup rum (I personally like the dark rum)

 

Directions:

1. Crush vanilla wafers very fine - I used a blender to get a very fine crumb.
2. Chop nuts very fine - again, I used a blender to get them quite fine.
3. Mix together all the dry ingredients (cookie crumbs, nuts, powdered sugar, cocoa) and make sure you have them well-combined before you add the wet ingredients.
4. Add corn syrup and rum and mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated with the wet.
5. Roll the mixture into small balls (about a rounded teaspoon per ball - marble size) in the palm of your hands. If the mixture is too sticky to form a nice ball or is really sticking to your hands, just add more crumbs.
6. Roll the balls in powdered sugar.

Makes about 3 dozen rum balls.

 

Rum balls freeze beautifully and because of the liquor in them, they never get rock hard so you can pull them out of the freezer and serve (or snack!) immediately.

 

Cook's Notes:

This is a very versatile recipe and you can vary ingredients and combinations of ingredients to suit your own taste ..... some options are below:

• Crumbs: vanilla wafers, ginger snaps (my favorite), or chocolate wafers (leave out cocoa if using chocolate wafers)
• Nuts: pecans (my favorite), walnuts, almonds, or any other nuts you like
• Liquor: rum, or you could use bourbon/whiskey, even a liqueur you like (just a thought .... perhaps Almond Amaretto combined with almond nuts? Yum!)
• Coating: powdered sugar (more or less the 'standard') or chopped nuts instead or sugar, or cocoa.

 

♦ ♦ ♦

Venison Mincemeat

Mincemeat

(Photo Source)

Originally, mincemeat contained real meat. The kind you buy in a jar now does not have meat in it. Granny K. made 'real' mincemeat and that is where Opa developed his love for Mincemeat Pie.  A little history on mincemeat in general:

English recipes from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries describe a mixture of meat and fruit used as a pie filling. These early recipes included vinegars and wines, but by the 18th century, distilled spirits, frequently brandy, were being used instead. The use of spices like clove, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon was common in late medieval and renaissance meat dishes. The increase of sweetness from added sugars, and those produced from fermentation, made mincemeat less a savoury dinner course and helped to direct its use toward desserts.

By the mid-twentieth century the term was also used to describe a similar mixture that does not include meat, but that might include animal fat in the form of suet or butter, but could also substitute solid vegetable fats, making it vegetarian. Many recipes continue to include suet, venison, minced beef sirloin or minced heart, along with dried fruit, spices, chopped apple, and fresh citrus peel. Zante currants, candied fruits, citron, and brandy, rum, or other liquor. Mincemeat is aged to deepen flavours, activate the preserving effect of alcohol, which over time changes the overall texture of the mixture by breaking down the meat proteins. Preserved mincemeat may be stored for up to ten years.

Mincemeat can be produced at home, often using a family recipe that varies by region or ancestry. Commercial preparations, primarily without meat, packaged in jars, foil lined boxes, or tins are commonly available.

Mincemeat is frequently consumed during the Christmas holiday season when mince pies or mincemeat tarts are served. In the northeast United States, mincemeat pies are also a traditional part of the Thanksgiving holiday, sometimes served with a piece of Cheddar cheese. (Source: Wikipedia)

When I found a recipe for venison mincemeat in the Virginia Wildlife Magazine, it was a happy day! The recipe is fairly straightforward. Although it calls for ground venison, real mincemeat had minced (very small) meat so that is what I'm going to do to make this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground deer meat (or elk or bison) or used meat minced very finely.
• 2 lbs. apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1/4 lb. butter (1 stick)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 8 oz. raisins
• 5 oz. currants
• 1-1/2 cup of sweet, fresh apple cider
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons mace
• 3 Tablespoons brandy

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients, except brandy, in a large deep kettle and boil slowly uncovered for two hours.
2. After the mixture cools, add brandy.
3. Pour mincemeat into jars or plastic containers and freeze until ready to use. 
4. Makes 2 quarts or pies.

Lemon Cake Pudding

Oma's old Betty Crocker Cook Book

There's a story that goes with this recipe.  Oma would make Lemon Cake Pudding (LCP) when we were kids .... not frequently, but as a treat now and then. If you asked me what foods were favorite childhood memories, this would probably be #2 on the list, right behind the 'Escalloped Tuna Potato Casserole'. During my senior year in high school or maybe freshman year in college, Oma decided to make the LCP. As she leaned over to put the LCP in the oven (it has to be in a water bath), her back went out. I don't remember what happened to the LCP, but I do know that she ended up on the den floor and we had to call the rescue squad for a trip to the hospital!

The texture of this dessert is what interested us as kids (and still does) - cake on top and a lemon pudding, almost a 'sauce', on the bottom. How the cake/sauce separation happens is a mystery to me because when you mix it all up and pour it in the baking dish, everything looks like a thick lemon soup.  This would be a nice treat for company - light and lemony, plus it looks like a lot of work, but it's really not.


Yesterday, I made this for Oma's Mother's Day special treat. She seems to think the last time she made LCP was the time she messed up her back .... a long, long time ago. The recipe is out of an old battered/tattered/pages-falling-out Betty Crocker Cook Book that she got when she was first married ..... definitely and "oldie-but-goodie" Oma/family favorite.

Sift together into a mixing bowl:

• 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Stir in:

• 1-1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind (1 lemon)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 eggs yolks, well beaten
• 1 cup milk

Fold in:

• 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Pour into a 1 quart casserole (6-1/2 ") or 6 custard cups.
Set in pan of water (1" deep).
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Serve warm or cold (refreshing in warm weather), with or without whipped cream.

Serves 6


Cooking notes:

• We have always used an old Corningware 1-3/4 qt. baking dish & the LCP fills it up - I can't imagine using something smaller.
• The LCP comes out of the oven with the cake top puffed up and looking great ..... and then it falls. This is disappointing, but perfectly normal.
• Variations on this recipe (substitutes for the lemon):

Lime juice/rind

Orange juice/rind

Pineapple - follow recipe exactly except use 1/2 cup milk, only 1 tbsp. lemon juice, and add 1/4 cup drained crushed pineapple and 1/4 cup pineapple juice.

 ♦ ♦ ♦

Amaretto Bread Pudding

My all-time favorite bread pudding ...... I dream about it.


Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French bread
• 1 quart half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons almond extract
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Break up bread into small pieces. Place in a medium bowl and cover with the half-and-half. Cover bowl and let stand for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
3. Grease a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish with the butter.
4. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar and almond extract. Stir into bread mixture.
5. Gently fold raisins and almonds into bread mixture.
6. Spread bread mixture evenly in buttered baking dish.
7. Set on middle rack in oven and bake for 50 minutes, until golden.
8. Remove and let cool.

Amaretto Sauce:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 4 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur

1. In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stir together butter & sugar.
2. Stir constantly until sugar and butter are dissolved and mixture is very hot.
3. Remove from heat. Whisk the egg well into the butter-&-sugar mixture. Continue whisking until sauce has come to room temperature.
4. Add the Amaretto liqueur.

To serve:
Preheat broiler.
Cut pudding into 8-10 squares and place on a decorative, oven proof serving dish.
Spoon Amaretto sauce over pudding and place under broiler until the sauce bubbles. Serve immediately.

Serves 8-10


Source: Parade Magazine several decades ago, recipe by Silver Palate Chefs (Russo & Lufkin)

Hambob's Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

The first time we visited The Hamery, a bag of these delicious cookies was sitting by the register. They're our 'go to' molasses cookies now. They're super simple, and kids love them. (Relish.com)

These cookies freeze beautifully – put them in a zip-loc freezer bag and pull out a couple when you need them.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening (Crisco works well)
• 1-1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg(s)
• 1 cup molasses
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Granulated or turbinado sugar for dipping.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cream shortening and sugar.
3. Add eggs and molasses.
4. Sift flour with cinnamon, baking soda, salt & ginger.
5. Add to sugar mixture and mix well.
6. Roll into balls the size of walnuts and coat with granulated or turbinado sugar.
7. Place on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
8. Bake 12 - 15 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen.

Fresh out of the oven!

 

Rich Peach Cobbler

Aunt Ruth sent me this recipe with the following note:

"Our Pastor's mother makes this recipe. It is easy and delicious and sumptuous with a little vanilla ice cream to top it off! You could easily half this recipe. ENJOY!"

Rich Peach Cobbler

Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 large cans of canned peaches (about 40 oz.)
• 3/4 c. butter or margarine
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 c. flour
• 1-1/2 c. sugar (could try a little less if serving with ice cream.)
• 1 c milk

Directions:

1. Heat undrained peaches till bubbly. Keep warm. 
2. Melt butter and pour into 9x13" baking dish.
3. In another bowl stir together flour, sugar, & baking powder.
4. Stir in milk till moistened (batter will be lumpy.)
5. Pour into baking dish over butter (do not stir).
6. Pour hot fruit over batter.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min. or until golden brown.
8. Serve while slightly warm.

Miracle Cookies

I received a new recipe book as a gift for Christmas and it has a recipe for old-fashioned peanut butter cookies.  As I was looking for the ingredients to make them, mom informed me that she had a recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies! Evidently, mom made these a lot for us when we were kids, but I don't remember them. She found the old recipe for me so I decided to give them a try and guess what? They really are "miracle" cookies!

Miracle Cookies

Ingredients:



• 1 cup peanut butters
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Combine peanut butter and sugar and mix well
2. Stir in egg and vanilla
3. Roll dough into 3/4-inch balls
4. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet
5. Flatten with a floured fork
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes
7. Allow to cool before removing from the cookie sheet

Yield: about 4 dozen

Evelyn's Rum Cake

When I posted the 'It's Just Apples Darlin' (Rum Cake), I mentioned it was similar to one that was in a very old church recipe book. I am posting that recipe in memory of Evelyn M. who has been “in my life” as long as I can remember.  When I was little, she was one of my Sunday school teachers ….. the only one I remember rather vividly because she required us to memorize Bible verses. I went to HS with her son, and she's someone I enjoyed seeing at church and the local hospital where she worked the reception desk ….. you could always count on her for a cheerful greeting. She was a tiny mite of a woman physically, but her energy & enthusiasm were boundless and she had many, many friends from all the volunteer work she did. She and her husband did everything together. She commented once that he was 'stuck to her like velcro' and from the way they were with each other, it was no mystery why they were happily married for 61 years.


People tend to acquire 'signature' dishes, something you can always expect them to bring to a family gathering, a potluck or church circle meeting. Her signature contribution was rum cake -  she was famous for them and she always had a couple in the freezer that she could pull out on short notice. It's nothing fancy and easy to make …. we know because she shared her recipe in the church cook book. This wonderful lady died the day before Easter  -  I found out at the Easter breakfast at church and it made the day all the more meaningful to know that she was rejoicing with the angels in Heaven.

Evelyn's Rum Cake

(Evelyn M. - Taste of Trinity Cookbook)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped small
• 1 pkg. Duncan Hines Golden Yellow Butter Cake Mix
• 1 small package Vanilla Instant Pudding
• 1/2 cup rum (Jamaican is best)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs

Directions:

1. Sprinkle pecans in the bottom of a small greased and floured tube pan (or 4-5 small loaf pans)
2. Put cake and pudding mix into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add rum, water and oil and mix well.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.
5. Pour batter over nuts in the pan.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for an hour (or more) until done.
7. Cool in pan for 20 minutes.
8. Turn onto plate and top with glaze.

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons rum
• 2 Tablespoons water

 Stir together butter, sugar, rum and water and simmer for 3 minutes.

It's Just Apples Darlin' (Rum) Cake

This recipe came from a friend of mom's and is just the best thing ..... it's probably my very favorite cake recipe although Marian Morash's carrot cake (The Victory Garden Cookbook) is a close second. The recipe originally called for a tube pan, but a Bundt pan is the only pan I had so that is what I used. Without the apples, this recipe is very close to a basic rum cake recipe posted by The Pioneer Woman .... and an old recipe from our Trinity Church cookbook (so what I'm saying here is I think the apples could be optional if you don't feel like doing all the chopping).

Back in 'the day', in one department where I worked, we made birthday cakes for our co-workers & this was the cake one of the guys wanted every time .... in fact, I always made him two - one for everyone to eat and one for him to take home. 

IT'S JUST APPLES DARLIN' (RUM) CAKE

(Alice Lynn)　

Pre-heat oven at 325°

Grease and flour a Bundt pan well

Nuts - sprinkle in bottom of Bundt pan:
1 cup of pecans or almonds, chopped fine or grated in blender.

Apples - mix together & set aside:
4-5 large cooking apples - peel & slice 1/4 - 1/8 in. thin

3 teaspoons cinnamon

7 teaspoons brown sugar

5 teaspoons heavy cream

fresh nutmeg (grated over all apples)

Cake batter - mix together following ingredients about 1 minute:
1 box yellow cake mix (Duncan Hines or pound cake mix)

1 (3½ - 3¾ oz.) package instant vanilla pudding mix

4 whole eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup rum (dark rum is best)

1/2 cup cold water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

ASSEMBLE:
Pour a little batter in the Bundt pan - about 1/2 inch

Layer 1/2 apple mixture over batter.

Pour rest of batter over apple layer.

Layer the remaining apple mixture over the batter.

BAKE:
For 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes at 325°

Cool cake and glaze

Glaze:
1/2 stick margarine

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup rum

Melt together in a small pan and simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Drizzle over cooled cake.