Italian Cream Cake

This is my grandmother’s recipe that she has been making ever since I can remember.  When I was little I remember at both Thanksgiving and Christmas we would have an amazing dessert spread and this was always on the table.  I’m not usually a fan of coconut or nuts in things but this is just way too good to pass up.  It’s not the easiest cake in the world but it’s definitely not the hardest either.  And it’s worth every minute of time spent making it!

Recipe taken from – my Grandma (35+ years old)

Cake:

2 cups sugar

1 stick butter

1/2 cup Crisco

5 eggs

2 c sifted flour 

1 tsp soda

1 c pecans

1 c buttermilk

1 c coconut

Icing:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 - (1 lb. box of powdered sugar)

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine baking soda and buttermilk and let stand for a few minutes.  Cream 2 cups sugar, 1 stick butter, and Crisco.  Separate 5 eggs, set whites aside.  Add the yolks to the creamed mixture.  Alternately add the flour and soda/buttermilk to the mixture.  Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup coconut.  Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in last.  Pour batter into 3 round greased and floured pans.  Cook at 350 for approximately 25 minutes.

Cream together 8 ounces cream cheese and 1 stick butter.  Gradually add powder sugar.  Add vanilla and enough milk to make smooth spreading consistency.   Stir in 1/2 c pecans and 1/2 c coconut.  Spread on each layer and top of cooled cake.

Don't forget to rotate your pans in the oven since one of the pans will be more than likely on the bottom level and two on top.

If you’ve never had a homemade Italian Cream Cake you must give this one a try.  It’s rich and delicious!

Apple Kuchen

I love anything apple that is a la mode!  I can’t really explain why because I don’t really care for the actual apples I just like all the crust and sugary goodness sauce that goes along with it.  My poor hubby knows if we see anything apple dessert wise on a menu I’ll probably get it if we have room for it.  Poor guy he’s so selfless giving up his chocolate for me to have my apples with ice cream!  Anyways, so I saw this and it sounded rather yummy and easy. 

We had family come in over the weekend so I got to make a few of my dessert recipes since I knew there would be plenty of people to help us eat them.  This was gone in 2 days.  Everyone really enjoyed it.  I’m the only one who put ice cream on it but that made it delicious in my book and yes I ate some of the apples but not all of them.

My few adjustments were to use butter instead of margarine and I did not let it get soft because all recipes that I’ve ever cut butter into anything it’s always been with cold butter.  To me soft would become a mess and not get a crumbly mix.  And then I just sprayed the pan with PAM which I’m glad I did because it still stuck a bit where I guess I didn’t get it good enough.  I used an offset spatula to spread around the sour cream mix and that worked well.  It covered a majority of the apples but as stated not all of them.  Also, note that even if it doesn’t look done after 25 minutes it is.  I was skeptical at first but it was perfect.

Recipe taken from – Heart of the Home (1982)

½ c soft margarine

1 box yellow cake mix

½ c coconut

1 (21 oz) can apple pie filling

½ c sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 c sour cream

2 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut margarine into cake mix until crumbly.  Mix in coconut.  Pat mixture lightly in ungreased 9x12 inch pan.  Build up slightly around edges.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Arrange apples on warm crust.  Mix sugar cinnamon and sprinkle on apples.  Blend sour cream and egg yolks.  Drizzle over apples (will not completely cover apples).  Bake 25 minutes.

Jam Cake

When I saw this cake was from 1912, I knew I had to make it as soon as possible!  I love that time period, the late 1800s and early 1900s.  I love to read and a lot of the books I read are historical Christian love stories.  The latest ones I just finished are here and here.  They were very good now I just need to get the third one.  If you enjoy reading I recommend anything by this author.  Anyways, I love how back then they made a hearty meal three times a day and they ate dessert with dinner.  With all that said that’s why I couldn’t wait to make this cake.  Since we were going to a friend’s house I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to make the cake so we wouldn’t have it all just for the two of us.  It was quite good.  We all loved it even the 20 month old!  It tasted like a spice cake but not quite as “spicey” as spice cakes.  I really couldn’t taste the blackberry jam but I’m sure it added to the moistness of the cake.

I followed this recipe exactly except for one unintentional adjustment.  I put the baking soda in with the flour and spices but it turned out fine.  I also made my own sour milk by putting ¾ tsp vinegar into a 1 cup measuring cup and then filling it to the ¼ cup line with milk and letting it stand for 5 minutes.  I cooked it for 22 min and 30 seconds.  I had two on my top rack and one on the bottom so I rotated them three times, every seven and a half minutes.  They were perfect when I took them out of the oven.  I then let them rest in the pans 8 minutes before I turned them onto the cooling racks

Recipe taken from – Heritage Cookbook (1976)

1 c butter or margarine

4 eggs

4 T sour milk

1 c jam (blackberry is best)

1 ¼ c sugar

2 c flour

1 scant tsp soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

Cream butter, sugar and eggs thoroughly.  Sift flour and spices together.  Add soda to the sour milk.  Add flour mixture and sour milk and soda to creamed mixture alternately, a little at a time.  Add the jam last.  Divide into 3 cake pans that have been greased and floured.  Bake at 325 till done.

Icing

1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

½ stick butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 1-lb box confectioner’s sugar

1 c finely chopped pecans (optional)

Cream the softened cheese and butter.  Add remaining ingredients.  Spread between layers and top and sides of cake.

Somehow I doubt that this icing is from 1912!  They probably didn’t have 8 oz packages of cream cheese!:)  But that’s ok it makes it yummy in 2011!

Oatmeal Cake

I actually found this recipe on the internet a couple weeks ago and the description read “While going through my grandmother’s old tin box of recipes I came across this old favorite, handwritten by her, and oozing with memories”.  With that description and it having oatmeal in it (I’m a sucker for oatmeal recipes) I knew I had to make it!  As I was going through all my new found treasures (cookbooks) it happened to be in every one of them.  All the recipes are slightly different but I’m sure the outcome is still the same.  I’m not going to be making it again for awhile just for the fact that I have lots of other goodies to try!  So, I’m going to post it with one of the cookbooks recipes and then I’ll put the recipe I actually used.

The cake was really good.  For some reason it reminded me of German Chocolate cake but I think that’s because of the topping of nuts and coconut.

I had already put the oatmeal soaking in the water when I realized that ants had invaded my brown sugar so what’s a girl to do you ask.  Find a substitute off the handy internet!  I found this link and made the brown sugar and it worked perfectly!  Just make sure you keep blending until the molasses is incorporated really well.  And yes it will be stinky but it is still good I promise!

Recipe taken from – Local School PTA (1989)

Cake:
1 c quick cooking oatmeal
1 ¼ c boiling water
¼ c butter
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 1/3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
1/3 c melted butter
½ c brown sugar
¼ c milk
1 c coconut
½ tsp vanilla
½ c pecans chopped

Pour boiling water over oatmeal and let stand 10 minutes.  Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.  Add mixture to oatmeal and then add: eggs, vanilla, salt, flour, soda, and cinnamon.  Blend well and pour into loaf pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until done at 350.

Mix all topping ingredients together and spread over cake immediately after coming out of the oven.  Put back in oven under broiler until lightly browned.

Here is the recipe I used in making mine.  Give this one a try!  It sounds different but it's different in a good way!