The Best Carrot Cake In The World

This is my husband's favorite cake so it gets made a lot. For his birthday I make two 9" cake rounds and layer with cream cheese frosting. ~Cheryl

The Best Carrot Cake In The World

 

This is the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted, it’s juicy, soft, full of wonderful aromas and not too sweet. You can garnish the cake with this creamy frosting that gives it a delicate sourness, but you can make it without the cream as well.

The Best Carrot Cake

Ingredients 

2 cups peeled and grated carrots
½ cup roasted pecans
⅓ cup raisins
1¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt (Fleur-de-Sel)
1¼ cups sugar
½ cup Muscovado sugar (or dark brown sugar)
1 cup canola/grape seed or other vegetable oil
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 large eggs

Creamy Frosting:

1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
⅓ cup confectioner's sugar
¾ cup Philadelphia cream cheese
½ cup Mascarpone cheese
pinch of ground cinnamon

Preparation 
1. Carrot Cake: Place the grated carrots, pecans and raisins in a food processor and process until chopped. Add 2 tbsp of the flour and process for a few seconds. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
2. In the same processor bowl process together all the rest of the ingredients till smooth. Add the carrot mixture and process for a few seconds. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. line 2 x 19cm loaf pans with parchment paper.
4. Pour the mixture into the loaf pans and bake for 40-45 minutes or until just cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the pan.
5. Creamy Frosting: In a mixer bowl whip together cream, confectioner’s sugar, cream cheese, mascarpone and cinnamon until stiff peaks form.
6. If you want to get fancy, pipe the cream on the cake.
Tip: The cake can be kept for about a week out of the fridge, without the cream cheese. You can make the cream and not pipe it on the cake but serve it next to it, so the cake will last longer. 

Hôtel de Crillon Famous Chocolate Cake - Paris

This is a wonderful chocolate cake with no flour, so it's gluten-free. It's become quite famous and I needed somewhere to save it. Let me know how you like it!

8 oz (227g) best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used Callebaut, Valrhona, or Guittard)

8 oz (227g) unsalted butter

1 c (200g) granulated sugar

1½ t kosher salt

2 t vanilla extract

4 eggs, room temperature

cocoa powder and/or chocolate curls, for garnish

Grease an 8" or 9" round cake pan. Cut a parchment circle to fit in the bottom of the pan. Grease the parchment as well. Dust with 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and tap out the excess. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place chocolate, butter, and sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Carefully microwave in several 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until butter is melted and chocolate has softened (or melt using a double boiler). Remove and stir to melt chocolate and smooth mixture.

boiler). Remove and stir to melt chocolate and smooth mixture.

Add eggs, one at a time and whisk well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Pour batter into pan and place pan into a larger cake pan or a baking dish. Fill larger pan with water to come 1/3 of the way up the sides of the cake pan. Bake about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool at least one hour.

Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Place a serving plate over pan and invert, carefully banging several times to dislodge the cake. Leave the parchment round on the cake and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the fridge, and let stand 30 minutes until sides are soft enough to be smoothed with a knife. Remove parchment round and sift cocoa powder on top. If desired, decorate with chocolate shavings. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Cheryl's Amazing Crusty Peach Cobbler

You'll need: 

- 2 boxes Pillsbury pie crust (refrigerated section at store)

-  1 gal can of sliced cling peaches in light syrup. (Smart & Final)

- Cinnamon; Butter; white sugar; one egg yolk (optional to add shine and crisp up top crust even more)

- Use the very largest pan you have. 10x13 at least, and 3" deep. Mine is a little bigger.

Directions: 

Set both boxes of rolled pie crust out of frig about 30 minutes before using - no more . Makes it easier to unroll then without breaking

1.  Preheat oven to 425°.

2.  Drain peaches in colinder, keeping the juice in a bowl. Spoon half of the peaches into the pan, spread around. 

3. Whisk 4 tablespoons of cornstarch into the peach juice which will thicken while cooking. It's ok if a bit lumpy. Pour half of that over the peaches.

3.  Sprinkle good with cinnamon. Dot all around with chunks of real butter. 

4.Carefully unroll one box of pie crust  which has 2 crusts. Lay the two crust side-by-side over the peaches. A little  Overlapping is fine and it doesn't need to look pretty.

5. Pop in preheated oven on middle shelf and cook till crust golden. Watch so it doesn't burn. 

6. Remove from oven and chop the crust up in the dish. This cobbler was double layered.

7. Now put the rest of peaches, pouring most of the rest of thickened juice. Dot liberally with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Don't want it bubbling over while cooking so use judgement when pouring in the rest of juice.

8. The top crust (the two other ones in box 2) you will carefully arrange covering all the peaches. You can try and make edge  pretty. But really nobody cares! 

9. (Optional) Separate  one egg so all you have is the yolk. Whisk it with a tablespoon of cold water. Use a pastry brush to brush it over the crust. 

Sprinkle the top with about 2 T. tablespoons white granulated sugar and cinnamon to your liking. Just enough! 

10. This time use a fork to prick several places on crust - about 5-6 places fine -whichever releases air so it doesn't bubble up. 

11. Back in 425 oven on middle shelf until beautiful golden color. Doesn't take but maybe 15 min. Just watch it. (If your pan is very full you might want to put a foil lined cookie sheet on shelf below it to catch drips)

Voila! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. 

If made a day ahead, no need to refrigerate. Keep covered and to reheat, use 250° preheated oven for about 15 minutes with a sheet of foil lightly laying over the top. 😘

Mana's Fudgy Pudding Cake (no eggs!)

Warm Fudgy Pudding Cake

Serves 6 to 8

For the cake:
1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (6 ounces) white sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk, whole or 2%
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the pudding:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) white sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) brown sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup (8 ounces) cold water

Vanilla ice cream for serving, optional

Heat the oven to 375°F. Grease or spray with non-stick cooking spray an 8"x"8 baking pan.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt through a fine-meshed strainer into a mixing bowl. Combine the milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Pour the liquids over the dry ingredients, and stir gently with a spatula just until no more dry flour is visible. Scrape this batter into the pan and smooth the top.

For the pudding layer, combine the white sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Pour over the cake batter and shake the pan to evenly distribute the sugars.

Pour the cold water over the sugars. Do not stir. Put the pan immediately into the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. As it bakes, the cake will rise to the top while the pudding forms beneath. The cake is finished baking when the edges of the cake turn dark brown and crispy, and when the top of the cake is shiny and dry to the touch.

Let the cake cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Scoop slices of cake and the pudding beneath into individual bowls and top with ice cream. Leftovers will keep refrigerated for up to a week and can be reheated for 20 seconds in the microwave.

Best served warm and with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Mana's Pecan Sandies

These melt-in-your-mouth cookies, dusted with powdered sugar, were always made for Christmas.

Cream together:

1 cup soft butter
1/4 c. Powdered sugar

Add and mix well:
2 t. Vanilla
1 T. Water
2 c. Flour

Add: 1 c. Chopped pecans

Make into balls and bake on cookie sheet at 300 degrees for 20 min. Roll in powdered sugar after letting cool a bit.

Grandma Smith's Luscious Pound Cake

Grandma Smith made grandpa a pound cake every Saturday which he ate all week.

Set out 1/2 lb unsalted butter to soften
1/2 c. Oleo margerine
3 c. Plain flour (measure sifting)
1/2 t. Baking powder
3 c. Sugar with a dash of salt
5 eggs (room temperature)
1 c. Sweet milk (room temperature)
1 t. Vanilla
1 t. Lemon flavor, or zest from one lemon (not the juice) a(opt.)

• Directions: Cream butter, margarine and sugar then add eggs one at a time.
• Alternate dry with wet ingredients, beginning and ending with dry.
• Add vanilla and lemon flavor last.
• Pound cake must be cooked in a greased and floured tube pan (so it has a hole in the center).

Bake at 300° for 1 hr. Then turn down to 275° and cook 20-30 minutes more.

Don't open and close oven door or Bang around causing vibrations or cake could "fall"... but even if it does,  it's still good!

Stick a skewer in it to see if it's done.  Grandma would pull a long straw from hey broom to use. Remove and set on a cooler rack for 10 minutes then carefully turn over onto track to cool thoroughly. Hold your socks,  because you're not going to believe how yummy this is! 

Cheryl's Spicy Homemade Applesauce

We lived in Virginia for 14 years in apple country. In the autumn when there was a cold snap in the air, corn mazes in the fields, wine tasting at all the vineyards, Fall Festivals all over the county, and all the varieties of apples, grown in NW Virginia and just over the border in West Virginia, filled the roadside farmers markets, I'd buy bushel baskets of apples at a time and make homemade applesauce. My very favorite apple to eat is Honey Crisp. You can make this applesauce out of your favorite, but I recommend Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith (or a mixture of your choosing).

8 - apples, peeled, cored and cubed (best are granny smith, honey crisp, and golden delicious)

1/2 - cup packed brown sugar

1/2 - cup water

1 - teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker; stir to mix. Cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours, or on high setting for 3-4 hours. 

When done stir with a wooden spoon. Gently crush applesauce against the side of the slow cooker to desired consistency. 

I used my immersion blender with the blade attachment until I had the consistency of applesauce. 

Eaten warm with some homemade oatmeal cookies right after it's done is amazing.

 

Dwight and I at on the "Farm Tour" in Virginia riding in a hay wagon.

Bear's Den on the Appalachian Trail (close to our house)

The beautiful scenery in Loudoun County near Middleburg.

Mana's Southern Rice Pudding (my favorite way to eat rice!)

Ever wondered what to do with leftover cooked rice. I'll tell you what to do - make a rich and comforting baked rice pudding, the very essence of "comfort food." I've seen some recipes that are cooked on top of the stove, but mom's was baked in the oven where it develops into a wonderful custard. It's great just like that, but I saw a recipe in a Southern Living Magazine once that added two ingredients at the end and made a crunchy caramel brulee-like top and although I've never tried it, I'm putting it here because I think it would really be the pièces de résistance. Prep time on this is only 5 min. It cooks for 1 hr. 30 min. This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups cooked leftover cooked rice ( If you don't have leftover rice cook 1/2 c. uncooked rice with one 1 c. water. Let rice fully cool before using. )
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup raisins

Instructions
Beat eggs. Stir in sugar. Add other ingredients. Stir.
Spray oven proof casserole dish with Pam. Pour mixture into dish.
Set dish in pan of hot water and bake at 300 degrees for 90 minutes.
After 30 minutes of cooking insert spoon at edge of pudding and stir from the bottom to distribute rice and raisins.

Place the baking dish in a larger pan and filled with hot water to within 1” of the top of the baking dish. To make this easier to handle, I place my filled baking dish in the empty larger pan. Then sit it on the oven rack and add the water. Much easier than trying to carry the pan filled with hot water and pudding all together! Bake uncovered for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Stir well after the first 30 minutes of baking, pulling the rice/custard up from the bottom.. Continue baking until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Start checking after the first full hour of cooking and remove immediately when done. Do not overcook. This is good at room temperature or chilled (I prefer it warm.)

Allow the pudding to cool for about 30 minutes.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the cooled pudding. Place under the broiler (or use a torch) until the topping is melted and bubbly.
Topping:
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Snow Ice Cream - Yummy!

Have you ever eaten snow?! We did growing up. Mom never used the first snow but as soon as we got the second snow and it's still fresh and new, she'd brush back the top layer and scoop up a big bowl of the frozen magic below. This process has to happen very fast because snow melts fast! You can also just set out a big bowl(s) when you know it's going to snow and catch it coming down. Since we don't get snow in my part of California, it may be a while before I have this again!

Snow Ice Cream     

8 - 9 cups freshly fallen snow  
1 - (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
a tiny pinch of salt
1 - teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:   
Place snow into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla.  Slowly Mix to combine.  Serve and eat immediately in bowls.    

Mana's Chocolate Applesauce Cake

(Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.)

Ingredients

   CREAM together  

1/2 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups sugar

ADD 2 eggs, 1 at a time, blending

    SIFT TOGETHER 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 c. baking cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Alternate adding dry ingredients with applesauce, beginning and ending with dry.

 2 cups unsweetened applesauce

 Mix together TOPPING:

 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

 1/2 cup chopped pecans

 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

    In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture alternately with applesauce. Pour into a greased and floured 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Yield: 16 servings.

Mana's Homemade Vanilla Pudding (with pie variations)

Mana used this for her famous and delicious banana pudding (double the recipe because this won't last long!). For banana pudding, line a deep dish with vanilla wafers then a layer of sliced bananas. After the pudding has cooled about 20 min, pour 1/2 on top of layers. Add another layer of cookies and bananas (don't forget sides!) and finish with the rest of pudding. Mana liked the vanilla wafers to get soft so she just covered with wax paper and let it sit on the counter instead of refrigerating...until it was served - it didn't last long anyway! You can also use this as a base for banana cream pie or coconut cream pie. Use about 2 more T. flour to thicken it up for pie and add sliced bananas into cooled vanilla pie filling or if making coconut cream pie, add  2 c. grated coconut; top with merangue, lightly sprinkle with coconut and brown merangue in oven. Refrigerate after cooling. Pies can be topped with meringue and then refrigerated. Each recipe makes one pie.

Mix together in a medium size pan on stove:

3/4 c. sugar
6 T. flour
dash salt

Gradually stir in the 2 1/2 c. milk

When it just starts to very lightly boil and thicken you put spoonfuls, one at a time into 2 egg yolks that have been beaten lightly (Mana did this in a 1 cup measuring cup) stirring constantly to keep the eggs from cooking too fast. After you have added about 3-4 spoonfuls of pudding and stirred into the eggs, dump in the egg/pudding mixture and turn off the heat (Don't just put the egg straight into the pan without mixing first or the egg will cook immediately and you'll have lumpy pudding.)

Add 2 T. real butter and 1-2 t. vanilla and stir in.

 

Pecan Sandies

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
(20 min. baking time)

CREAM TOGETHER:
1 c. butter (soften on the counter prior to using)
1/4 c. powdered sugar

ADD AND MIX WELL:
2 c. All-purpose flour
2 t. vanilla
1 T. water

ADD:  1 c. chopped pecans

Make into balls by rolling between palms or form into crescent shaped fingers.  Bake 20 min. on ungreased cookie sheet.  After removing from the oven, roll in powdered sugar.



Famous Mana Muffins

Mana saw a recipe for oat bran muffins she thought she'd try but after putting it together she didn't realized she had used a conglomeration of two different recipes, one for date bread, that were right beside each other in the book (as she says..."In typical Mana-fashion!").  This "mistake" became her famous Mana Muffins and are requested often by everyone in the family.

PREHEAT OVEN:  400°

Mix together:
3 packages any flavor instant oatmeal
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt


Blend together and add to dry ingredients:
3 egg whites or 2 whole eggs
1 2/3 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. chopped dates (optional...but good!)

If the mixture is too thin, stir in about 1/4-1/2 c. regular oatmeal.

Bake in Pam sprayed muffin tins for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden brown. Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full of batter.

Mana's Double Pie Crust

2 level cups flour
stir in 1 level teaspoon salt
 2/3 cup vegetable/canola oil - then pour this into 1 cup measuring cup (use same one used for flour
Hold this cup over dry ingredients bowl and slowly pour cold milk into it until it runs over  Dump into dry ingredients and stir with a fork until blended and form roughly into a ball.Split ball in half and put that half onto large sheet of wax paper and form gently into a ball. Lay another large sheet of wax paper on top. Use pie plate and press down to flatten a bit into circular shape. Use rolling pin to roll into a circle larger than the top of pie dish to allow for depth and overlap. Careful not to get too thin. Should be pretty uniform. Peel off top paper and flip crust over onto pie dish. Gently peel off wax paper and use hands to fit down into dish hanging over side. For single crust that needs to be cooked before filling (see pie recipe), crimp and flute top edge (if you don't know how, youtube it). Bake in preheated 425 deg oven, middle rack, until lightly brown. Cool, then add filling.

For pie with top crust, roll out other ball the same as above. Put pie filling into bottom crust (leaving overhang). Add top crust. Then seal the crust by punch fluting top and bottom together. Use sharp knife to cut slits in top, or pierce with fork for venting. Bake per recipe

Don't forget making pie crust cookies with leftover dough!  Roll out. sprinkle sugar cinnamon over top, roll into a 'jellyroll". Slice roll into 1/2" cookies. Place in pie plate and bake on 425 till light golden. Cool off before you toss them in your mouth - if you can wait!

Grandma Smith's Moravian Cookies

Grandma and Grandpa Smith (photos of grandma below), daddy's parents, lived in Leaksville, NC, fairly close to Virginia. That's where daddy grew up. It was a Fieldcrest Mill town. That's where grandpa worked from the time he was a small child until he retired.  Grandma was a member of the Leaksville Moravian Church. Moravians are one of the oldest Protestant denominations in the world, originating in Bohemia and Moravia during the late 14th century. The Moravian Movement was founded by Jan Hus. He and his followers attempted to reform the Catholic Church one hundred years before Martin Luther. They have many rich traditions that have been passed down. Grandma was a very active member at the church. We grew up with a Moravian star hanging on our porch at Christmas.  I had to look up it's origin online and it was quite interesting. The Moravian star originated in Saxony, Germany, in the two towns of Niesky and Kleinwalka in the 1830s. The stars were used as craft projects to help demonstrate geometry lessons to young boys attending Moravian school. The stars were quickly adopted by the Moravian Church as a symbol of the birth of Jesus and represented the star of Bethlehem. Traditionally, the star is hung the first Sunday of Advent and remains up until Epiphany, January 6, or the time of the coming of the Magi. The star has 26 points. I have one I got that hangs in my house at Christmas. 

Another tradition of the Moravians was baking, especially during the holidays. They sold a lot of their baked goods. Grandma's specialities were pound cake and Moravian cookies which she only made at Christmas. They are very thin, very spicy, and very special. Moravian Cookies date back to the 18th century, when settlers from the European kingdom of Moravia journeyed to America and founded the town of Salem in 1766. They created these thin cookies as a way to preserve and enjoy rare, treasured ingredients like molasses, allspice and ginger. Because of the precious ingredients and the time required to roll the dough so thin, the cookies were traditionally made only during the holidays. The town eventually became Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

These cookies are so tantalizingly good. You have to eat them slow and enjoy the crisp, thin, spicy goodness. Great with a hot cup of tea.

Moravian Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 quart molasses
• ¾ pound brown sugar
• ¾ pound shortening
• 2 Tbsp ground cloves
• 2 Tbsp ground ginger
• 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp baking soda
• 3 ¼ pounds flour

Directions

1   In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the molasses, brown sugar, spices, and shortening over medium heat until the shortening is melted and the mixture is uniform. Do not let it scorch!

2   Add the baking soda and mix well until it is dissolved. The mixture will be very foamy. Remove from the heat, pour into a large, heat-proof mixing bowl, and let cool to room temperature.

3  When cool, add the flour. Mix until the flour is fully incorporated, roll into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

4  The next day remove the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 325 F, and prepare a large cutting board or countertop by sprinkling liberally with flour (flour your rolling pin too). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cut off a fist-sized chunk of the dough and return the rest of the dough to the refrigerator while you work. At this point it is important to work quickly while the dough is still cool. Roll the dough until it is uniformly thin – ¼ to ⅛ of inch thick; don’t be afraid to use more flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the board or the rolling pin. Cut out the cookies using whatever shape cookie cutter you wish, gently brush off any excess flour with a pastry brush, and place on the parchment-lined cookie sheet (a thin spatula will help to move the cookies). Bake at 325 F until barely browned around the edges, 7-10 minutes.

5  Repeat the process with the remaining dough until all the cookies have been baked, remembering to work quickly and keep the dough chilled. The dough keeps quite well in the freezer, so you can roll out the sheets and freeze them for up to 3 months for future use. Just remove from the freezer and let rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before cutting; bake as directed above.

 

 Here I am in Leaksville as a little tyke with grandpa Smith (left), 

daddy (right) and my great-grandparents on the porch. My great-grandpa was Lumbee Indian (tribe particular to North Carolina).

 Grandma Smith (Mary Sue)

Grandma loved to fish!

Mom's Best Christmas Cookies (Cheryl)

Cream together:

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. softened butter

Add:

2 beaten eggs

1 t. vanilla

Add:

3 c. flour

3 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

Add alternately with 1 cup cream.  Chill and roll out with flour.

Bake 350 degrees oven. Decorate

Heirloom Grandma Smith's Pound Cake

Grandma Smith made a pound cake every week for Grandpa and he'd eat it all week. I'm not a big cake lover, more of a pie girl, but Grandma's buttery, dense pound cake makes me weak in the knees. I dare not make it because it's just that good! When she or my mom made it, we children always had to tread lightly in the house, not making jarring vibrations or slamming doors that could "make the cake fall." Still don't understand that one. You shouldn't open the door of the oven until the cake is more than halfway baked. And even then, it's problematic if you keep opening the oven door every couple of minutes to check progress. Opening the oven door, you can interrupt the reactions that are kick-started by heat, which cause a cake to rise correctly. Falling means the middle of the cake kind of collapses in the middle because the air pockets collapse and the dense batter falls in. It's a chemical reaction. As the cake cooks, air bubbles are formed and existing air bubbles expand, as any substance does when it's heated. A cake that has fallen in the middle will be dense and kind of doughy in the middle and obviously doesn't look to great. Never stopped us from eating it though. An improperly calibrated oven is another falling hazard so invest in an oven thermometer if you take your baking seriously. Temperature is important. (Are you starting to think maybe you'll just buy a cake mix?  DON'T!  I'm telling you, this is totally worth it!)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. country butter (don't you dare use margarine!)
1/2 c. shortening
3 c. granulated sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. lemon extract or 2 t. Lemon zest 
3 c. sifted flour (I use cake flour)
1/2 t. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 c. milk (room temp)
6 eggs (room temp)

Directions:
Cream butter, shortening, sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and lemon extracts and blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating in between (always go one direction with the electric mixer and don't overbeat your batter. Just mix ingredients well. Sift together the dry ingredients and add slowly, alternating with the milk (wet ingredient). This is an important step so don't cheat! I'd usually alternate back and forth about 6 times, starting and ending with the dry ingredient.

Generously grease a tube cake pan with shortening, don't miss any spots, then sprinkle flour onto the greased pan and distribute but tilting back and forth until the flour is sticking to all the greased places. Don't use cooking spray or your cake won't come out of the tube pan. Pour your batter evenly into the large greased and floured tube pan and Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hrs or until you can stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean with no raw batter. Make sure when you start testing you are careful to open and shut the oven door gently. Don't laugh - you could make this sucker fall and then what would you do?! You'd eat it of course because it's insanely good whether it falls in the middle or not!!!! 

My mom sometimes made a thin lemony sweet drizzle to pour over the cake, but I like it just the way it is!

Best Pumpkin Bread

Yields: 2 Loaves

 

3 - cups self rising flour, sifted (Do not substitute) -- Don't use All Purpose!
1 - teaspoons nutmeg
1 - teaspoon cinnamon
3 - cups sugar or 1 1/2 cups truvia or splenda baking blend
1 - cup vegetable oil or (1 - cup really soft butter)
2/3 - cup water
1 - teaspoon vanilla extract 
1  1/2 - cup fresh pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
4 - eggs
1/2 - cup chopped pecans, optional
cinnamon sugar topping, optional

In a large bowl or kitchen aid stand mixer add the sifted flour, spices and sugar. Using the paddle attachment mix to combine.  

In a medium bowl blend the oil, water, vanilla and pumpkin. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and blend on low-medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time and mix to combine. 

Pour the batter into two greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans that have been greased and lightly floured. If using cinnamon sugar lightly sprinkle some on top of bread before baking. 

Bake at 350 for 45 - 50 minutes. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean and golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and run a offset spatula around the edges to loosen the bread. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool completely on a baking rack.

Note: I also wanted to note that some people like to substitute applesauce in place of oil. I tried replacing 1 cup of applesauce instead of all oil and the bread was so dense and heavy, so I don't recommend it. I think you could get away with using half oil and half applesauce but not all applesauce. If making mini loaves - bake for 20 - 25 minutes. I also do not recommend using all purpose flour. The bread yields a dense loaf  when all purpose flour is used. 

Southern Pecan Pie

Ingredients
1/2 - cup sugar
1/4 - cup butter, softened
1 - cup corn syrup or replace with cane syrup
1/4 - teaspoon salt
1 1/2 - tsp vanilla3 - eggs
1 - 1 1/2 - cups pecans

1 - 9-inch unbaked deep dish homemade single crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream (mix) the sugar and butter well in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add syrup, salt, and vanilla. Mix again.
Add eggs and mix. Stir in pecans (save a few to place on top of pie after cooking).
Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust. Bake in preheated oven until top is brown and pie set (about 45 minutes). Toothpick stuck in center of pie should come out almost dry.
Note: Be sure to mix ingredients well. Otherwise the pie may not set up. You can use chopped pecans or whole. Store in the refrigerator. May be reheated in microwave before serving (about 15 sec).

OLD FASHIONED BANANA PUDDING or COCONUT CREAM PIE

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding or 
Coconut Cream Pie

(* Use same custard recipe but instead of bananas and cookies, stir in 1 cup sweetened coconut, pour into 9" cooked pie shell. Top with meringue and sprinkle coconut carefully over meringue before baking. Cool on the counter then refrigerate.)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
2 cups milk (NOT skim) 
* 4 or 5 ripe bananas, sliced thin (cover with plastic wrap or sprinkle with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown) 
* 1 box vanilla wafers 
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract 
1 tablespoon Butter (not margarine) 
4 Egg yolks (Large eggs or better)

Meringue: 5 egg whites, room temperature (be sure no yolk gets into the white when separating)
6 tablespoons sugar 
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the bottom of a 9×9-inch pan with a layer of vanilla wafers. Combine sugar, flour and salt in a bowl, and mix well. Set aside. In a heavy saucepan, beat the egg yolks well. Over medium heat, add the flour mixture to the egg yolks, alternately with the milk and vanilla, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil and, when the mixture begins to thicken, add the butter, continuing to stir. Keep boiling and stirring until mixture reaches a nice pudding consistency. Make sure you don’t scorch the pudding. Remove from heat. Place a layer of banana slices on top of the vanilla wafers. Pour half of the pudding over the banana layer. Put down another layer of vanilla wafers, another layer of banana slices, and cover with the remaining pudding. Beat the egg whites at high speed until they form soft peaks. Add the cream of tartar. At high speed, gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold the vanilla into the meringue, and spread the meringue over the pudding, sealing it at the sides of the dish. Bake until meringue browns, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool off and eat, or refrigerate to chill.