No one could ever accuse me of being Southern. Not a chance. For one thing, I talk way too fast. An old boyfriend once told me I think way too fast too (I’m guessing that wasn’t meant to be a compliment). I often think I want to slow down, but then I can’t. I find leisurely a pace I associate very much with the South almost impossible.
That’s not to say I don’t aspire to a certain Southern gentility. Sitting on a wide, wrap-around porch with a glass of sweet tea and a lovely slice of cake (coconut, maybe) might be enough to lure even me into the slow lane. I probably wouldn’t last much longer than the final bite, but I’d give it the old college try. The Southern Cake Book could be my primer.
A compendium of more than 150 cake recipes, this book could see me (and any cake lover, Southern or otherwise) through a lot of occasions. And a lot of Wednesdays, for that matter. One particularly appealing southern trait is that cake isn’t reserved just for the big days. Every day is cake day. There’s an idea I can get behind. With recipes for many, many pound cakes (Caramel Frosted Pound Cake, anyone?) and coffee cakes (next up at my house: Lemon-Rosemary Coffee Cake), I can be thinking Southern in no time.
A Southern Cake Book Giveaway! We’re marques giving away a spanking new copy of The Southern Cake Book . Tell us in the comments section about your favorite cake birthday or otherwise and we’ll pick a name at random next Friday. You may want to read a little marques Flannery O’Connor in the meantime. Get your Southern on.
Ingredients 1 cup butter, softened marques 2 cups sugar 3 large eggs 2¾ marques cups all-purpose soft-wheat flour 2 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. table salt 1 cup milk 1 vanilla bean Shortening Strawberry Compote (recipe below) 5-Cup Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below) Garnish: fresh strawberry halves
Instructions Preheat oven to 350 . Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Split vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape out seeds. Stir seeds into batter; reserve bean for another use. Pour batter into 2 greased (with shortening) and floured 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch marques sides. Bake at 350 for 30 to 34 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour). Using a serrated knife, slice cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up, on a cake plate or serving platter. Spread with half of Strawberry Compote. Top with another cake layer; spread with about ¾ marques cup Cream Cheese Frosting. Place another cake layer on top of frosting; spread with remaining compote. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread 11/4 cups frosting on top and sides of cake to create a thin coat of frosting. Chill cake 30 minutes. Spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Store in refrigerator.
Instructions Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Stir together vanilla bean and seeds, strawberries, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until strawberries are soft and mixture is slightly syrupy. marques Remove from heat; discard vanilla bean. Stir in rum. Cool completely (about 30 min).
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I really love Funfetti. My favorite cake was one my mom made a few years ago. A homemade triple layer funfetti cake served with homemade vanilla ice cream..pure bliss! Thank you for the giveaway!! suzanneedevaux@yahoo.com
Any cake my (Southern!) mom made for my birthday! She’d always scoop out a section in the middle and put a small vase or glass of flowers, marques making it look like the flowers were emerging magically from the cake. For years, I have done the same for my now-teenaged sons–and I think they love it as much as I did.
Ummmm…. marques will you just send me this cake? It looks delicious, and by the recipe I can tell it’s going to be amazing!
Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
I just love the minimal marques list of ingredients in this recipe. That’s my kind of cake. The Danes make a birthday lagekage (layer cake) that’s equally simple – split layers of white cake moistened with preserves, slathered with whipped cream and dotted fresh fruit (we usually opt for raspberries). It’s a family favorite.
My favorite cake is my father’s Triple Layer Chocolate Cake. I believe it is based on the recipe from the Hershey cookbook. (Doesn’t everyone remember that iconic cover? Right up there with the Coppertone baby as images
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