If I knew that you were coming I would have baked a cake

This thread reminded me of the year that a friend's daughter asked to spend her 8th birthday with me. Things were tumultuous at home, and she didn't want to be there.

We made cupcakes from a cake mix, decorated them with Barbies and their accessories. The birthday girl took lots of out of focus photos of me, and I took a couple of splendid ones of her blowing out the big candle on one of the cupcakes.

K knew that I loved her a lot, and that there would be love and treats at my house on her birthday - no fussing, no arguing. She got married last autumn. I got her all kinds of baking things as her gift. She can't cook, but she can make a mean cheesecake. It's about love, baby.

Mmmm.

This is the closest thing I could find to my grandma's depression cake:

Eggless, milkless and Butterless Cake


Boil all together for 3 minutes:
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups cold water
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup seeded raisins
1 tea. cloves, ground
1 tea. cinnamon
1/2 tea. nutmeg
1/2 tea. salt

When cool add the following:
2 cups flour
1 tea baking powder
1/2 tea. baking soda
1/2 cup nuts

Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes


I remember hers as having dried apricots in it, maybe dates.......

Lovely, eBeth, just lovely.

Boom, your "Depression Cake" is my family recipe for "Ration Cake"... called thus because during the war (WWII), eggs, milk and butter were all rationed and in short supply.

Re: the KitchenAid Stand Mixer, I got a twenty-year-old one at a yardsale for $20.

I've had mine for about 4 years and figure that I've already gotten at least $300 worth of use out of it...

I guess I'm the only one who buys cakes

We have a great french pastry chef close by and her
cakes are devine. I always buy birthday/special ocassion
cakes there.

In my family, a scratch cake equalled love. Mom wouldn't touch cake mix. She baked cakes fairly often - there was usually part of a cake in the cake Tupperware. But for your birthday, you got to pick what kind of cake and frosting. (You also got to pick the menu for dinner.) She went thru an elaborate period of shaped cakes - a fish, a car. I was making cakes with almost no help by the time I was 11. I think the only thing Mom helped with was taking the pans out of the oven.

Carrot cake was actually my favorite, but Mom wouldn't make any cake that had oil in it ("you can taste the oil!") - <sigh>. So I only had carrot cake at restaurants, I guess.

These days, my sister has "caved" and uses cake mix. My sister-in-law bakes from scratch still. I don't bake cakes at all - haven't baked one for years. Instead, each niece or nephew gets a batch of homemade cookies on their birthday from me. They get to pick the flavor.

Boomerang, how big are the bag of blueberries and the can of pineapples? What size pan do you use? I want to try this one.

That's what folks around here call "Dump Cake." You can basically put in any kind of fruit. Here's a link to all kinds of dump cake recipes Dump cake

I'd never heard of such a critter. Those Dump Cake recipes are a riot! Definitely great for doing with very small aspiring (under 3) bakers in the house.

This is a good recipe to make with little ones who will be licking their paws - no eggs.

http://southernfood.about.com/library/rec00/bl01018c.htm

I wonder if I can try the same thing with muffin mix the next time a small neighbour wants to cook. hmmmmmmmm


Hey! there's even a version to make in a crock pot!

Crock Pot Blueberry Dump Cake

1 21 oz. can blueberry pie filling

1 package yellow cake mix

1/2 C. butter

1/2 C. chopped walnuts

Place pie filling in the slow cooker. Combine dry cake mix and butter, sprinkle over filling. Sprinkle the walnuts on top of that. Cover and cook on low for 2 - 3 hours. Serve warm in bowls.

Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.


http://www.thatsmyhome.com/slowcooker/bludum.htm

There's also something called a Flop Cake. I have a recipe that comes from the Ladies ofd St. Boniface, a church in the tiny town of New Vienna, Iowa. My mother-in-law gave me this cookbook when I first married her darling boy. She musta been afraid he'd starve if I didn't learn to cook It has some great recipes in it, I have to admit. Those farm girls know a thing or two about baking. Anyway the recipe goes like this:

CAKE
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 (NO.2) can crushed pineapple

Combine and place in a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 325 F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

FROSTING
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 sm. can evaporated milk
1 stick margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can coconut


Boil all ingredients except the coconut for four minutes. Add the coconut and pour over the hot cake.

I made a wacky cake.....

How is it?

it's good. My flour smells and tastes vaguely of lavender and that works!

I have just finished baking a cake with flour, eggs, and a little butter. It just kind of lays on the plate.

Would frosting help?

The Dump Cake is one of my favorites to do in the Cafe. I use Cherry Pie Filling and Pineapple.....it goes over great.

Another one to do that is very easy, but its RICH to eat. Is Brownie Mix....baked, following directions. When it comes out the oven, use a bag of small marshmallows, (or marshmallow creme) let that melt. Powder Sugar Icing..w/chocalate. Than top off with Walnuts. We call it Heavenly Hash..lol

And speaking of Cake mixes, I found one of the easier cookie recipes using a cake mix...that I have ever found. And the taste is wonderful.

Its tooo easy to be believed. Its one cake mix.....whatever flavor, with room temp butter. Use the dry cake mix...start out with about a cup of butter and knead it together. It has to be cookie dough consistency...add more butter if needed. When finished, roll it out , roll it up in saran wrap and freeze for a lil bit. Come back, slice.......cook on 350 and WaLaaaa.........You can ice these if you want, but just using a butter cake mix is great alone.

But think..... Butter Pecan cake mix w/ cocunut icing. Or Carrot Cake mix w/ cream cheese icing.

UMMMM.........LOL

Yes, Gus. That cake needs some sugar.

That "cake", Gus, is no such thing.
It has no leavening agents.
Sounds more like a very plain frittata.

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