Pineapple Icebox Cake - Mildred M.

You know those recipes you anticipate and think this will be amazing!  I can't wait to try it!  This is one of those.  You also know the recipes you know will be amazing and they completely live up to your expectation?  This isn't one of those.

This is very similar to this Fruit Salad recipe.  First the crust is just crumbs, but by the time I realized I should have combined the crumbs with butter it was too late.  The the top was just tasteless and marshmallowy.  We ended up throwing out the entire 9x13 with the exception of the few sample that were taken.

I also had to call my sister to debate on whether the recipe, which said, 1 pint whipped cream, meant 1 pint cream, whipped, or just a pint of cream, or 2 C of whipping cream.  We went with a pint whipped.

Pineapple Ice Box Cake

1 lb marshmallows

1 C milk

1 C nuts

1 lg can crushed pineapple, drained

1 pint whipping cream, whipped

Crushed graham crackers

2 T butter, melted

Mix butter and crackers and place in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Melt marshmallows over hot water (I used the microwave). Cool.  Add pineapple, nuts, and whipped cream. Pour moisture over graham cracker crust and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs and chill overnight.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake by Kathy N. (and Pillsbury)

This cake calls for something that no longer exists, Pillsbury double dutch fudge butter cream frosting mix.  When I googled the frosting mix to see if I could find it, I found out that this recipe is "infamous".  It was a runner up in the 1966 Pillsbury bake-off.  When Pillsbury discontinued the mix, they modified the recipe, by substituting powdered sugar and coca.  They say that is all the mix was anyway.  I guess people still wanted a mix to use, so RetroRuth at The Mid Century Menu came across a Jiffy mix and tried it with some success.  You can see her efforts here.

I couldn't find the Jiffy mix, so I used the Pillsbury recipe.  It turned out yummy, for those who like nuts.  I baked mine a little too long, so it wasn't as fudgy as it could be.  It was still good.  I put on the glaze that the Pilsbury recipe has because glaze makes everything better.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake by Kathy N.

1 1/2 c softened butter or margarine
6 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 package Pillsbury double dutch fudge butter cream frosting mix (2 Jiffy fudge frosting mixes, or 3/4 c cocoa and 2 c powdered sugar)
2 c chopped walnuts (this will not work without the nuts)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.  Slowly add sugar, and cream until it is light and fluffy.  Stir in the flour, frosting mix and nuts by hand until well blended.  Pour into a well greased 10" tube or bundt pan.  Bake for 60-65 minutes.  Cool 2 hours before removing from the pan and serving.  Do not overcook, or you will not have the fudgy center.

Lazy Daisy Cake - Maurine G.

They loaded opposite of what I wanted but here it is.  This cake to the left is a close up of the texture.  It is very much like a sponge cake you would buy from the store for strawberry shortcake.  It has the same texture and flavor  I decided to give the family a variety if tastes.  I iced this one with a cream cheese frosting and topped it with strawberries.  It was really yummy and summery for Fathers Day.  (So I did it really early.  I got mixed up.)

The one to the right is the cake the way it is written. This is a really fast and easy cake.  The flavor is very mild.  Whatever you wanted to put on top would be wonderful.  I put the frosting on the hot cake and broiled it immediately.  I liked the broiled coconut topping but it gave it a heavier wintery feel.  I liked the cream cheese and strawberry one better.  I have had an orange, cream cheese, and cool whip type topping served on sponge cake somewhere and that would be light and summery too.  This is definitely a keeper because of it's versatility to any taste.

Lazy Daisy Cake - Maurine Grimshaw

4  Eggs                                                      2  C. Flour
1  1/2 C. Sugar                                          2  tsp. Baking Powder
2  tsp. Vanilla                                             1/2  tsp. Salt
1  C.  Milk                                                 1  Tbs. Butter

Sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Beat eggs until light.  Add sugar gradually and beat well.  Add vanilla and mix.  Add sifted dry ingredients and mix.  Heat milk and butter to boiling point and add to above mixture beating continually so eggs do not cook.  Beat well.  Pour into greased 9" x 13" cake pan (or other shape of equal size if desired).  Bake about 30 min at 350o F.

Icing for Lazy Daisy Cake   (If you like more frosting you may choose to double the recipe, this picture is.)

6  Tbs. Butter                                             6  heaping Tbs. Brown Sugar
4  Tbs.  Canned Milk or Cream                  1  C. Coconut or Nuts (I only used coconut.

Melt butter and mix with cream, add sugar and cocout or nuts.  Spread on baked cake.  Broil until lightly browned.

Cheesecake - Ann W.

If you have ever had Lion House cheesecake.  This is close.  The Lion House cheesecake recipe makes a lg. 10" cheesecake and feeds approximately15.    If you only need a few servings this is a great option. I used a 9" pie pan so it was a little bit shallower but would actually give you more servings than an 8".  I used a glass pan so I didn't butter it as the recipe calls for and it worked fine.  The filling has a great flavor and the sour cream topping enhances it.  I just used frozen strawberry jam but any type of topping would be good.



Cheesecake - Ann W.

Crust                                                             Filling                                             Topping        

1  1/4   C. Graham Cracker Crumbs              1  8 oz. pkg. Cream Cheese           1  C. Dairy Sour Cream
3/4  C. Melted Butter or Margarine                1/2  C. Sugar                                 2  Tbs. Sugar
                                                                      1  Tbs. Lemon Juice                      1/2  tsp. Vanilla
                                                                      1/2  tsp. Vanilla                            
                                                                      dash of Salt
                                                                      2  Eggs

Combine cracker crumbs and butter well.  Press into buttered 8" pie plate, building up sides.  Beat softened cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually blend in sugar, juice, vanilla and salt.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each.  Pour (or spoon so crust does not split) filling into crumb crust.  Bake in 325o oven 25-30 min. or until set.  For topping, combine ingredients.  Spoon over top of cake.  Bake 10 min. more.  Cool several hours before serving so filling can set.  Serve with topping of your choice.

Yum Yum Cake by Loleen G.

Are you thinking: "Wow, she's all over the place on these recipes, and doing them all our of order"?  Good, that means you're paying attention.  I'm just doing them as I can since I've gotten so far behind.  I figure if I can finish by the end of the year, it will make up for my procrastination this summer.

If a recipe is called "Yum Yum", I expect chocolate, or at least some caramel or butterscotch.  This has raisins, and we all know how I feel about raisins (see the post about raisin filled cookies).  However, it is dairy free, and my little milk allergy child LOVES raisins.  Here is a picture of him eating the bread:

Since there is no way I'm going to eat it and report on how it tastes, I figure you can just see how well he likes it.  :)

As for the recipe:  I ended up cooking it about 10 minutes longer than the recipe says, since the middle was still doughy.  Also, I couldn't get it to slice and look good.  Maybe it will cut better tomorrow after it's sat for a while, but right now, there is no way it will slice "thinly".

Yum Yum Cake by Loleen G.
1/2 C shortening
12 oz raisins (or 2 Cups)
1 C brown sugar, packed
1 C hot water
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t cloves
2 C sifted flour
1 t soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 t lemon extract
1 c chopped nuts

Cook raisins, shortening, brown sugar, water, and spices for 5 minutes.  Cool.  Sift together flour, soda, baking powder and salt and add to raisin mixture.  Blend well.  Stir in flavoring and nuts.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes in large loaf pan.  Slice thinly.

Devils Food Cake - Myrtle R.

If you are looking for a dense, delicious cake, this is the one for you!  Add to the fact that my husband made it for my birthday, and he is not known to be a baker, and you know it is a keeper.  It makes 2 9x13's so you will want to 1/2 for regular use.  To do 1/2 an egg, I find it best to scramble the egg then measure 2 T and discard the rest.  Or you can just 2/3 the recipe which makes a thicker cake.  That is what we did.  It his isn't a strongly flavored cake, but it is delicious.  If you want a strongly flavored chocolate cake, I recommend Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake. But is you just want a dense, mild, chocolate cake, make this one.

A few notes:

•When adding the soda it expands quickly.  My husband and the kids have decided this may be a part of their science experiment next year.

•the original recipe has a really bad sorted ingredient list, this one is better

•the original recipe doesn't have adding the vanilla in the instructions, we added it with the sugar.

•if you 2/3 the recipe, we baked it in a 9x13 pan on 350 for 35-45 min (it took 43 for us, but we are high altitude so it may be different if you are lower.

Devil's Food Chocolate Cake

3 eggs

3 C sugar

1 t vanilla

1 t salt

3 1/2 C flour

1/2 C cornstarch

3 C sour cream

1 1/2 C hot water

1 scant C cocoa

1 1/2 t soda

Beat eggs until light, add sugar and vanilla and beat well.  Add 1/3 of sifted dry ingredients followed by 1/3 of the sour cream.  Repeat until all is gone.  Boil water and add cocoa, stirring until mixed in.  Add soda (note, this will expand rapidly, use a larger bowl or dump quickly - we chose option 2).  Add to cake and blend well.  Bake 375 for 30-35 minutes.  Makes 2-9x13 cakes.

Plain Cake and Frosting for Plain Cake by Lillian G.

Plain cake is a great way to describe this.  It is just a yellow cake.  It is yummy.  My mom always used this recipe to make strawberry shortcake, but I used Lillian's frosting recipe.  I made the chocolate variation because, as I have mentioned, my husband only recognizes desserts with chocolate.  There is a typo: The recipe says to add 1/2 c milk 3 different times, but you are only supposed to add it the first 2 times, for a total of 1 c milk.

Plain Cake by Lillian G

1/2 c shortening

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 c milk

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Sift together dry ingredients, Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture.  Add 1/2 c of the milk, then another 1/3 of the dry ingredients; repeat.  Beat well.  Bake at 350, 20-25 minutes for layers or 30-35 minutes for a 9x13 pan.  Cake should spring back when touched.  

Frosting for Plain Cake by Lillian G.

4 T shortening (I used butter because I knew I liked it better)

1 tsp vanilla

1 T corn syrup

1/4 c canned milk

Enough powdered sugar to make it spreadable

Optional: 2 heaping T cocoa

Beat until smooth.

Rhubarb Cake - Lillian G.

 Some of our family LOVE Rhubarb Cake, others do not.  We have made a recipe similar to this recipe for years.  It is a very moist, almost pudding like texture because of the rhubarb.  The main difference between the one we have made for years is the crumb topping on this cake.  I personally prefer the one below with the rhubarb topping instead of the buttery crumb topping.  I would rather NOT use the added fat calories in the crumb.  I would rather have my calories sugar calories in the rhubarb sauce.  But you must understand, I like the tangy flavor of rhubarb. 

A dollop of whipped cream adds eye appeal when serving but I didn't have any that day. 
I will post the recipe as written in the cookbook.  I will also post the topping from my other recipe so if you want to try either way you have the recipe.








Rhubarb Cake - Lillian G.

1/2  C. Shortening                                              1  tsp. Baking Soda
1  1/2  C. Sugar                                                 1  C. Sour Milk
1/3  tsp. Salt                                                      2  C. Flour
1  Egg                                                                1  1/2  C. Diced Rhubarb
1  tsp. Vanilla

Cream shortening, sugar and salt.  Add egg and beat well.  Mix baking soda with sour milk.  Mix flour with fresh rhubarb.  Add flour mixture to first mixture alternately with the sour milk.  Add vanilla.  Pour into greased 9" x 13" pan .
Topping
1/2  C. Sugar                                                      1  1/2 Tbs. Butter
1  1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
Mix together with fingers til crumbly.  Sprinkle over batter.  Bake 350o F.  for 45 min.

Optional Rhubarb Topping way- Bake cake as directed sprinkling the top with just cinnamon & sugar NO butter added.  Then serve with sauce and whipped cream.
3  C. Diced Rhubarb                                             3/4  C. Water
1  C. Sugar
Boil slowly on stove until Rhubarb is cooked and falls apart.  Serve warm or cold.

Burnt Sugar Cake-Louise M.

This cake sounded so delicious!  I was excited to get to make it.  I don't remember Grandma making it, to me she was the pie and roast grandma.  Unfortunately, I think I still prefer her pies.  This cake is good, but not amazing, like Grandma's roast and pie were.  It was a little dry but I think that was due to a typo on the temperature, not the recipe.  It says 325-degrees for 35 minutes, but it actually took about an hour to fully cook.  It also seemed to be missing something, I am assuming salt.  The frosting, on the other hand, was amazing!!!  You could live on it, maybe not for long, but it would be a good life while it lasted.  I think I will make it again with the added salt and see how it goes.  Either way, this frosting WILL be used in the future.

Note:  the burnt sugar syrup will be more an you need for the recipe.

Burnt Sugar Cake

2 C sugar

1 C shortening

1/2 C burnt sugar syrup (recipe below)

1 t vanilla

4 C flour

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

1 1/2 C water

5 egg whites

BURNT SUGAR SYRUP: in a heavy skillet over med-high heat add 1C sugar.  Stir until it melts and creates a dark syrup.  The darker the better tasting the cake will be.  Add 1 C hot water, slowly, stirring a you pour it in.  Continue stirring until the syrup is perfectly clear and any sugar pieces are dissolved. Measure out 1/2 C syrup.

CAKE: sift flour, salt, & baking powder together 4 times and set aside.  In a separate bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.  (Make sure your shortening isn't rancid or you will have to start this over,not that I had to do that or an..y..thing....).  Add burnt sugar syrup and blend well.  Add vanilla and beat well.  Add flour alternately with water, small amounts at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.  Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold into cake batter.  Pour into 2 9-inch pans.  Bake on 350-degrees for 35 minutes.  Ice with Carmel icing (recipe below).

Carmel Icing

2 C brown sugar

2 C granulated sugar

Dash salt

2 C cream

1/2 C butter

In a med saucepan, bring sugar and cream to a boil, stirring constantly.  Add butter, boil until syrup forms a soft ballon water.  Let cool to lukewarm and beat until thick and creamy, the right consistency to spread.

Banana Nut Cake by Louise M.

I always like doing recipes from Grandma!

This cake was good, but not earth shattering.  I followed the directions exactly, except for leaving out the nuts.  One of the layers fell, but not the other.  They were filled the same, but maybe one side of the oven is hotter than the other??  Mom (Louise' daughter) said that the cake always fell, so I didn't feel too bad about it.  I also confirmed the recipe for lemon cream frosting, and I added it below the cake recipe.  Since I can't find the camera ANYWHERE, imagine a two layer cake with bright white frosting, and cake that is a greyish brown.  That sounds like a disgusting color, but I promise it looks yummy!

Banana Nut Cake by Louise Matheson
2 ½ C flour
1 ½ t baking powder
1 ½ C granulated sugar
¾ t soda
¾ t salt
¾ C shortening
6 t flour (I left this out)
½ C brown sugar
6 T buttermilk
1 ½ C mashed bananas (approx. 3 large bananas)
3 eggs
1 ½ t vanilla
¾ C chopped nuts (I left this out)

Sift dry ingredients into large bowl, add shortening, brown sugar, buttermilk, and bananas.  Mix enough to dampen flour.  Beat 2 min.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat one minute.  Fold in nuts dusted with 6 T flour
(since we don’t really like nuts in cake, I left out both of these ingredients and this step).  Turn into two greased 8” layer pans lined with paper (or coffee filters, which are the perfect size).  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Frost with lemon cream frosting

Lemon Cream Frosting (all measurements are approximate)

1/2 C shortening

1 t vanilla

dash salt

4 C powdered sugar

1/2 C lemon juice

Mix all ingredients, adding lemon juice as needed.  Beat several minutes to achieve fluffiness.  DO NOT USE MILK.  I guess the lemon juice will sour the milk if you add it.  

Date Nut Cakes

When I looked at my cake recipes, I realized that I have 2 that were almost identical, so I decided to make them both and have people vote for the best one.  Isn't that the only reason we try new recipes, to find out if it is better than the recipe we already have?  I know I come from a family of great cooks, because it is pretty rare for me to find a recipe that is better than what I already have.

Anyway, I HATE nuts and I only like dates a little, so I relied on the opinions of others to tell me which one tastes best.  The consensus is that the Date Cake is moister and more cake-like.  They said it is not just the topping, the whole cake is moister.  The Queen Elizabeth Cake is more like a bread.  The Queen Elizabeth Cake definitely had more steps to mix up and dirtied more dishes.  The Date Cake was easier to mix up, but you have to make the topping, so they take about the same amount of effort, but for the extra effort you get a gooey topping.  Both cakes fell.  I think this is because I tested them with a toothpick at the wrong time.  They definitely took longer to bake than the recipe said.  I will probably never make them again, but for all you date and nut lovers, make Lillian's Date cake, it is better.

left-Queen Elizabeth Date Nut Cake,   right-Date Cake

Date Cake by Lillian G.

1 1/4 c chopped dates
1 c boiling water
1 T butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 c chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour a 9 inch square cake pan.  Put dates and butter in a mixing bowl and pour the boiling water over the top.  (I let it sit for a little while because I was making both cakes at the same time)  Add everything else, but the nuts, and beat 2 minutes.  Stir in nuts.  Pour in prepared pan and bake 30 minutes, or until it is done in the center.  It will be a dark brown.  Cool slightly, and spread with slightly warm date topping.

Date Topping

1/2 c sugar
1/2 c chopped dates
1/4 c water
1/2 c chopped nuts

Combine sugar, dates, and water in a small sauce pan.  Boil for 2 minutes, then add the nuts.  Cool slightly.

Queen Elizabeth Date Nut Cake by Veda M

1 c boiling water
1 c chopped dates
1 tsp soda
1/4 c butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 c chopped nuts

Measure dates into a small bowl, pour boiling water over the top, and add soda.  In another bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients, and then the nuts.  Add date mixture, and mix well.  Pour into a greased 9 inch square pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done in the center.

Applesauce Cupcakes - Loleen G

This is an excellent applesauce cupcake!!!!!  It is very moist and has great flavor.  The texture was very good.  The batter was a little stiffer than regular cake, more like a fruit bread so they are a little heavier but great.  The recipe says to grease the muffin tins so I wonder if the batter was stiffer to allow them to release from the pan easier.  (This was probably before we had paper cupcake papers.)  I baked one with a paper just to see if the paper would stick too hard to the cupcake.  The result was; the paper one worked well, the paper came off fine and it was baked just right.  The non papered ones were a little drier because they were baked harder.  I was surprised how much the paper protected the cupcake from over baking.  Word to the wise.  Paper liners do slow the baking process a little bit.  But, lets get serious who would ever grease 24 cupcake cups when paper liners are so much more convenient!!!!  I used Aunt Mattie's cupcake tins just so the process would be authentic.  I only got 16 cupcakes.  If you need the full 24 you would need to do extra.

Applesauce Cupcakes - Loleen G.

1/3  C. Shortening                                                      2  C.  Flour
1  C. Sugar                                                                1  tsp. Soda
1  Egg                                                                        1/2  tsp. Salt
1  C. Unsweetened Applesauce                                  1  tsp. Cinnamon
1/2  C. Raisins                                                            1/2  tsp. Cloves
1/2  C. Nuts, chopped

Sift together flour, soda, salt and spices.  Mix raisins and nuts.  Cream shortening and sugar well.  Add egg and beat until mixture is fluffy.  Stir in applesauce, raisins and nuts.  Add flour mixture and mix well.  Rub muffin pans with shortening, or use paper liners.  Fill 2/3 full and bake in 350o oven for 18-20 min.  Make sure and check.  Mine cooked really fast.  Makes approx. 16 cup cakes.  Ice with Easy Penuche Frosting or leave plain.

Easy Penuche Frosting:  from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook
Melt 1/2 C butter or margarine; add 1 C brown sugar.  Bring to boiling; cook and stir 1 min. or until slightly thick.  Cool 15 min.  Add 1/4 C hot milk and beat smooth.  Beat in enough of 3 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar for spreading consistency.  Frosts two 8 or 9 inch layers or loaves.

Potato Chocolate Cake by Pearl H. with Fudge Icing by Della G.

This cake took me all day to make and dirtied every dish in the house, but it might be worth it.  I always put garlic in my mashed potatoes, so I didn't think they would work well.  Luckily, I found a box of instant in the back of the cupboard, so I used those.  Once I got the potatoes ready, I realized I had to separate the eggs and beat the egg whites, so I did that.  Then, I got the dry ingredients ready because they alternate with the potatoes, and melted the chocolate so it could cool.  I felt like a cooking show with all my little bowls sitting there ready to make my cake.  The recipe says nothing about how you should cook it, so I guessed and it worked perfectly.  The cake is dense and moist, kind of like my applesauce cake.  It has a really mild chocolate flavor, in fact that is the only complaint we had.  I would experiment with adding more chocolate if I made it again.  The frosting is super fudgy, so that helped with the flavor.  I might have been too much if the cake had more chocolate.

I did have some trouble with the frosting.  I accidentally cooked it too long and it went to sugar.  I ended up adding more milk and cooking it down again, and it worked great.  I think you could cut the salt in half because it is a little too much.  I also proved that you can just dump everything together and boil it for a couple minutes if you don't want to mess with all the steps.  If you cook it less, it would also make a great hot fudge topping.

Potato Chocolate Cake by Pearl H.

1/2 c hot milk
1 c mashed potatoes
2/3 c shortening
2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg yolks
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
4 egg whites
1 c walnuts (optional)
1/2 c maraschino cherries (optional)

Beat milk and potatoes together, cool.  Cream shortening and sugar, add vanilla and egg yolks and beat well.      Combine flour and baking powder.  Alternately add potato and flour mixtures, beating after each addition.  Add walnuts or cherries with last flour addition if desired.  Add chocolate.  Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into batter.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool and frost.

Fudge Icing by Della G.

1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c cream or evaporated milk
1/4 c water
1 T corn syrup
1/2 tsp (1/4 tsp) salt
2 sq melted unsweetened baking chocolate
2 T butter

Boil sugar, cream, water, syrup, and salt until soft ball stage.  Cool to room temperature and add chocolate, butter and vanilla.  Beat until thickened.  Or, Dump everything, but vanilla, in the pan and stir until it boils.  Boil 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  Add vanilla and beat until thick enough to spread.  

Caramel Nut Pudding Cake - by Helen J

Helen let me down this time.  I left out the raisins and nuts because I knew my familywouldn't like those, but it still wasn't our favorite.  The nutmeg was really strong.  That said, the texture was great and there was oodles of caramel sauce in the bottom to pour over the top, you can see how much in the picture.  It was easy to make and doesn't have any unusual ingredients.  So, if you LOVE nutmeg, you should give this a try, but I think I would rather have the chocolate version.
 *EDITING NOTE:  This recipe is listed twice in the index.  Use the recipe on page 62, because the recipe on page 59 is not complete.

Caramel Nut Pudding Cake - by Helen J.

1 T butter, softened

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c milk

1 c sifted flour

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c raisins

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c nuts

Cream butter and sugar.  Add milk and dry ingredients, and beat until smooth.  Add raisins, nuts and vanilla. Pour into a 1 1/2 qt baking pan.  Pour sauce over the top.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Sauce

1 c brown sugar

2 T butter

2 c boiling water

Put all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  

Chocolate Cake - Rue J.

Chocolate Cake- Rua Jones

As you can see by the picture, this cake makes a good 65th birthday cake. This recipe will set your world on fire even without all of the candles. We thought this was a very good chocolate cake recipe. The only thing we changed, was to add 2 tablespoons of cocoa. Either the squares of chocolate are different than they used to be, or it was a different kind. The cake was not very chocolatey with just the two squares the recipe called for, so we added the cocoa. We used the raisin filling recipe also by Aunt Rua for this cake and a powdered sugar glaze. This is Dad's favorite kind of cake. It is what his mom used to make him for his birthday.

Chocolate Cake-

1/2 C butter
2 t vanilla
1 lb brown sugar
2 eggs
2 squares melted chocolate
1/2 C buttermilk
2 1/4 C flour
1/2 t salt
2 t soda
1 C boiling water

Cream butter, add brown sugar, beat until fluffy. Add eggs. Stir in melted chocolate, buttermilk and vanilla. Add flour and salt. Stir soda into boiling water and add to the batter. Pour into baking pans. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350. The batter is very thin. We give it a 4.

Lemon Cake, Helen J

Let me just start by saying that I love this cake! I pretty much love all things lemon, like lemonade, lemon heads, lemon starbursts, lemon pie, lemon bars, and lemon scented cleaning products. I think it is genetic, my Dad loves lemon and his Mom, Helen J, also loved lemon. Just the other day my pregnant self was thinking how much I would like some sort of lemon something, well, Lemon Cake was just what I was looking for.

The recipe is pretty much just the directions off of a cake mix, so any lemon cake mix will do. I did not use all of the oil specified in the recipe, it seemed like a lot, so I went with the box directions on that one. I also used the baking directions on the box, 30 minutes was not quite enough. Now for my favorite part! When cake is done, use the end of a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the top. Then pour the fabulous jello/powdered sugar glaze over the top, all of that sugary goodness will soak into the cake. Let cool and "ice" with Cool Whip, or just eat it warm. (Not that I would know anything warm cake or the missing corner of cake. Hence no full cake picture, whoops)

If you are a little frightened about the sugar content, just use sugar free jello for the glaze. Also have fun with the jello flavors, mix it up depending on the holiday, or the birthday. I have had this cake for my B-day cake a few times, with varying flavors. Thank you Grandma Jones! 4 stars!


Lemon Cake- Helen J

1 pkg lemon velvet cake mix
4 eggs
1 pkg lemon jello
3/4 C oil
3/4 C water

Mix all ingredients well and pour into 9 x 13 cake pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until cake springs bake when touched with finger.  take from oven and prick all over cake, clear to the bottom with toothpick or fork.  Mix 3 oz package of jello with 1 1/2 cups hot water, dissolve.  Glaze with jello and rind of 2 lemons, mixed with 2 C powdered sugar.  Put back in oven for 1 minute.  Good warm or cold, with or without whipped cream.

Oatmeal Cake by Della G.

I really liked this cake!  The recipe is almost identical to the Oatmeal Cake in the Lion House cookbook, but this one only requires one bowl, which we all know is better.  Plus, the cake itself is dairy free, so I was able to feed plain cake to my dairy-allergy baby.  I chose to ice it with cream cheese frosting, but the cake disappeared so quickly, I didn't get a picture with the icing on it.

The cake was very easy to make, it's moist and has good flavor, so it's definitely a 4 star recipe!

Oatmeal Cake
1 1/4 C boiling water
1 C quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 C shortening
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
1 t cinnamon
1 t soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C flour

Pour boiling water over oatmeal & shortening in mixer bowl.  Let sit and cool (10 minutes or so).  Add sugar, vanilla, & eggs and beat well.  Add sifted flour, cinnamon, soda, & salt.  Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes in a greased 9x13 pan.

Topping for cake  I didn't use this because it would have soaked into the cake and made it NOT dairy-free, but I've used ones like it before, and it's excellent.

2/3 C brown sugar
6 T melted butter
1/2 C coconut
1 t cinnamon
1/2 C nuts
1/2 C cream
1 t vanilla

Mix ingredients & spread over hot or cold cake.  Broil in oven for 1 minute.

Raw Apple Cake - Maurine G.

When I first saw this cake, I assumed it would be a spice cake, but turns out it is a yellow cake of sorts, with shredded apples.  Consequently, I was curious.  The brown color of the cake comes from the apples that browned while I peeled, cored,  & shredded 6 cups of them.  I used a combination of Jazz, Honeycrisp, & Gala.  The recipe didn't indicate whether to peel them, and while I am one to avoid peeling all things (potatoes, apples, etc) as much as possible, after serious consideration I decided to peel the apples. As with all the cakes and cookies I will make I had to adjust slightly for the higher altitude (5700 ft) so I have marked the high altitude flour in parenthesis, I also raised the temperature by 5 degrees.  Because we have a gluten free gal, I decided to make her one as well.  I figure I will try to do that with as many recipes as possible, then we can share them with Grandpa.  So I have given a GF 1/2 recipe below.  Lastly, the recipe indicates adding nuts, if desired, but doesn't indicate what kind or how much.  I made an executive decision and added 1 C chopped, pecans, but assume walnuts would taste good as well.

I took it to a RS Luncheon and asked the sisters what they thought.  They gave it a 4.  That said, I am only giving it a 3.  It was delicious and very moist, but it was a lot of work peeling the apples, 4 cups of shredded apples is a lot of apples, so I don't know that I would make it very often.  And there just seemed to be something missing, I'm thinking granny smith apples (my favorite) would have given it more flavor. I used what I had on hand since I made it on Sunday, jazz, honey crisp, and gala.  I also think it could use a touch more salt.  As for the vanilla in the frosting, it was a little much, it almost had a bitter alcohol flavor.  I also doubled the frosting for the 9x13 & 8x8 cakes.  I think the original recipe wasn't enough.  :) I am planning to make it again at some point with the changes and see what happens.  As for the GF cake, it fell, something awful, It was only after I frosted it and we cut into it that I realized that I must not have tested the cake with a toothpick in the right place because it was almost raw in the middle, despite being on the top shelf, and cooking the whole hour and being half the size.  We did take the middle, scrape off as much frosting as possible and put it back in a greased loaf pan and baked it on 350 for about 30 minutes until it was really golden and it worked great.  I will be testing that one again to figure out what exactly went wrong, because our GF gal loved it, especially with swirls of frosting in it.

I also baked both cakes in the oven, and I baked the regular one an extra 20 minutes.  The edges got done a lot earlier than the middle of the cake so I covered the edges part of the way through to help them not get too brown.  I think I can attribute all of these baking errors to too much in my dumb oven.

RAW APPLE CAKE 
3/4 C cooking oil
2 eggs
2 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 C peeled, cored, shredded raw apples
1 C chopped pecans or walnuts, opt
2 1/2 (2 7/8) C flour
2 t soda
1/2 tsp salt

Stir together the oil and sugar, Beat in the eggs, one at a time (I goofed on this due to interruptions, and just dumped the oil, sugar, and eggs in all together, it seemed to work fine).  Add the vanilla and shredded apples.  Stir in nuts, if using.  Stir in the dry ingredients.  Bake in a greased, 9x13 pan, at 325 for 1 hour.

Frosting
1 sm pkg cream cheese
2 T butter
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 C powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and butter together, add the vanilla.  Mix in the powdered sugar.  Spread on the cake.

GF RAW APPLE CAKE
3/8 C cooking oil
2 eggs
1 C sugar
1 t vanilla
2 C peeled, cored, & shredded raw apples
1 1/4 (1 1/2) C GF Flour mix
1 t soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 tsp, heaping, xanthan gum

Stir together the oil and sugar, Beat in the eggs, one at a time (I goofed on this due to interruptions, and just dumped the oil, sugar, and eggs in all together, it seemed to work fine).  Add the vanilla and shredded apples.  Stir in nuts, if using.  Stir in the dry ingredients.  Bake in a greased, 8x8 pan, at 325 for 50 min-1 hour.

Jelly Roll by Maureen G

This Jelly Roll sounded yummy, but I was a little disappointed.  The cake recipe was labor intensive and didn't have a lot of flavor.  Vanilla might fix that.  When I added the raspberry jam, that was all we could taste.  I also had a little trouble getting the cake off the dish towel when it was time to fill it.  I lined the pan with greased, and floured, waxed paper, even though it didn't say to, and I was glad I did. It was hard to get the paper off and I don't think it would have come out of the pan in one piece.

Jelly Roll by Maureen G

4 eggs, separated

4 T water

1 c sugar

1 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  In another bowl, whisk water and egg yolks until lemon colored.  Gradually add sugar and beat well.  Add dry ingredients.  Gently fold in egg whites.  Pour batter into a wax paper lined, greased, and floured cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 until light brown, 15-18 minutes.  Immediately turn onto a damp dish towel, remove wax paper lining, and roll up to cool.  When cooled, unroll and spread with a pint of jam, then re-roll and refrigerate.

Fruit Cake-Katie H

NOTE OF INTEREST:  This is the famous fruit cake that sparked the idea of having a big supper to raise funds in town (you know where) and made over $1200.00 for the Building Fund in the late 1940's.  Katie made many cakes to sell at the bake sale that night.
(I wouldn't want to cut up that much fruit for cake).
I looked at my cake recipes and chose this one.  I figured if it was a fruit cake, this time of year would be the easiest to find the ingredients.  After 3 (all) grocery stores in town and $15.00, I found them.  I covered the fruit a little too deep because I didn't need any of the Grape Juice. This cake brought back all the memories of holidays at home.  I remember Mom making this or one close to it and topping it with a hot lemon sauce instead of frosting.  I used easy Penuche Frosting.  I followed the recipe as written except I only found packaged prepared fruit so it was easier.  I loved it (my sentimental journey).

FRUIT CAKE - Katie H.
1 C Butter                                   1 T Lemon Peel                      2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 C Brown Sugar                        1 T Orange Peel                      1/2 tsp Cloves

1 C White Sugar                         1 C Chopped Nuts                  1 tsp Nutmeg
3 Beaten Egg Yolks                     1/2-1 C Grape Juice                1/2 tsp Mace
1 C Seeded Raisins                     2 C White Flour                       3 tsp Baking Powder
1 C Seeded Dates                       2 C Whole Wheat Flour           1/2 tsp Soda
1 C Currents                               1/4 tsp Salt                               3 Beaten Egg Whites

1 C Figs                                      2 Tbs. Cocoa
1/2 C Citron
Clean and cut fruit.  BARELY cover with boiling water and let stand 20 min.  Line 2 loaf tins with waxed paper.  Sift baking powder, flour, salt and spices together.  Cream butter and sugar well.  Add beaten egg yolks and blend well.  Add 1/3 of flour mixture, then fruit and nuts.  Add remaining flour and enough grape juice to make stiff drop batter.  Dissolve soda in 1 tsp. water and add and blend well.  Fold in egg whites and pour mixture into 2 loaf tins (or 4 med. ones).  Bake in moderate oven for 1 hour or more.  Ice with caramel icing. (No recipe listed).
Penuche Frosting:  from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook
Melt 1/2 C butter or margarine; add 1 C brown sugar.  Bring to boiling; cook and stir 1 min. or until slightly thick.  Cool 15 min.  Add 1/4 C hot milk and beat smooth.  Beat in enough of 3 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar for spreading consistency.  Frosts two 8 or 9 inch layers or loaves.