The Gift of Yummy

Earlier this month I shared my great-grandmother's amazing banana bread recipe. Today, I want to share another yummy recipe from my mother, a 16 layer cake.

I've yet to try this recipe without Mom around, because it requires both skill and patience. When it comes to cooking, I'm a devoted recipe follower. I measure and re-measure, check and recheck. My mom is a "throw it in" lady. Sometimes trying to get a recipe out of her is madness. I have to watch, take careful notes, and try to ascertain what a "dollop" is.

This cake is delicious, gorgeous, and most importantly... equal parts cake and icing. Once you try it, you won't go back to regular cake. It's addictive.

Mom has gotten as many as 16 layers. I feel happy to get 12 to 13. My family is evenly split between chocolate and vanilla lovers, so we always have what I affectionately call the Jekyll and Hyde version to make everyone happy.

Since I've only made this with Mom, it's as much about the memories as the cake.

16 layer Cake
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Cake Mix
6 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients until well blended. Grease and flour cake pans. Use only enough batter, about 1/4 cup, to spread across pan. It will barely cover it!

Bake cake layers approximately 3 minutes. You want them to be shiny and not brown around the edges. Invert layers immediately onto wax paper. Continue baking layers until batter is used. you should get 14-16 layers from one box of cake mix.

Place cake layer on plate and spread approximately 1 tbsp of icing on a layer (you want it to be a thin coating), keep repeating until last layer is used. Use rest of icing to ice the sides and top of the cake.

Bonus: Mom's Icing
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup cocoa, sifted
1 box confectionery sugar, sifted
6 tbsp milk (scant more if icing becomes too dry)
sprinkle of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix in a glass bowl and microwave for two minutes. Stir.

If too thick, thin it with a bit more milk. Mom usually uses two batches of this icing recipe to ice her cake. I use store bought icing, so I'm fine. ;-)

Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

The Thought that Counts

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt: What was the first gift you ever made another person?

Growing up, my mother encouraged us to make our own gifts and thank you cards all year long. But, let's be honest... anything a kid makes and gives to a parent is a masterpiece. I'll never forget the time Mom was sick and I made her a special salad. Lettuce with chopped up hot dogs and barbecue sauce. Voila!

All the ingredients needed for
hot dog salad

She went on and on about how wonderful the salad was and how sweet I was to make it for her. Later that year my Girl Scout troop decided to make a recipe book for Mother's Day. I didn't need to ask my mom for a recipe. I knew the perfect one: Hot Dog Salad. After all, Mom loved it. Needless to say, my hot dog salad looked pitiful next to the other girls' baking recipes handed down from their grandmothers.

I see why teenagers and young adults audition for American Idol and actually think they can sing. Sweet old Mom has been clapping for them for years!

A botched cross-stitch piece or poorly constructed card is precious when you are young. Here the thought really does count. Once you are an adult, well... My first adult-made gift: a homemade recipe book for my new sister-in-law.

I knew my sister-in-law loved cooking, and my husband and I didn't have a lot of money for Christmas presents, so I decided to cut recipes out of magazines for a few months leading up to Christmas. Then I bought a small scrapbook and glued them in. On the front cover, I made a title and glued on a wooden spoon. Sounds wonderful, right? Problem is I didn't know what kinds of foods she liked, so it was a hodgepodge of recipes. Add to that my complete lack of skill with creative projects, and it was pitiful. I tried, and I hope that counted for something.

Come to think of it, she never did mention the recipe book. And I didn't have the guts to ask. I'll assume it still has a place of honor among her other loved recipe books. It makes me feel better.

I feel my best homemade gifts are behind me. But, I do make a mean chocolate chip banana bread that lots of neighbors will receive this holiday season. That counts as homemade, and I guarantee grandmother's recipe will make people happy.

My gift to readers, trust me you will love this:

Grandma's Banana Bread
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup AP flour (Mom swears by King Arthur flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, well beaten
3 ripe bananas, broken into pieces
1/2 bag of mini chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat again. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, and beat again. Pour half a bag of mini chocolate chips (big ones will fall to the bottom) into the batter and stir. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/4 hours.

Gluten-free version: Substitute King Arthur Gluten-free flour for AP flour (same amount). It's wonderful!

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When was the last time you made a gift? Was it a success?