Our First Lane Cake Entry!

It was my sister in law, 
Pat's turn to choose the cake
for this year's
Davidson Cake Bake Off.
Remember, this is not really
a  competition.
For the past several years
a cake has been chosen by one of us,
then my sister Nancy, brother Rick,
sister in law Pat and me
bake the cake, 
using a recipe of our choice.
(We all live miles apart,
so this has been a fun way
to "do something together.")
We then share our thoughts and pictures.

Pat's choice, 

The Lane Cake,

was first baked more than 100 years ago 

for the annual baking competition

at the county fair in Columbus, Georgia

by Emma Rylander Lane

of Clayton, Alabama.

It was the first prize winner!

Pat baked her choice,
one with a strawberry-pecan filling
and cream cheese frosting,
using a recipe from
TASTE OF THE SOUTH MAGAZINE.
It was a birthday cake for her husband, my brother Wade.

In Pat's words,

"The filling for this cake was a challenge,

but this was the first time

I had attempted making a filling.

I don't think I got it quite right,

it ran out the sides

when I was assembling the cake.

Overall, I think it turned

out pretty well.

It tasted good!"

Looks good to me Pat!

Come bake with us.

Bake your version of

The Lane Cake

and then share your

pictures, recipe and thoughts with me.

I, in turn, will share on my blog!

Bon appétit!

The 2017 Davidson Bake Off

Got chocolate?

For the past couple of weeks,

my family has had chocolate to the max!

Do you remember our Bake Off cake from last year?

It was a Zucchini Cake with

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

and it was GOOD!

This year my brother Rick choose our cake.

It was the 1966 second place winner in the

Pillsbury Bake-Off Competition.

The Tunnel of Fudge Cake

This cake has a soft fudge core baked into the

center, hence the name.

The original recipe calls for a package of

Double Dutch Fudge Buttercream Frosting Mix.

Alas, powdered frosting mixes are now defunct.

Because this recipe is one of the Bake Off's

most requested recipes,

Pillsbury developed an alternate recipe,

resulting in the same cake.

Above is Rick's cake from the oven.

Here's Nancy's cake just out of the oven.

I must tell you, 

Nancy gets extra points for her cake,

since she is limited to the use

of a toaster oven for her baking endeavors.

(Another whole story there.)

Nancy and Rick used the same recipe.

As usual, I had to go in another direction

and found a recipe for the cake from

the New York Times.

Rick's finished cake. 

It got high marks from him.

Nancy's cake. 

Her assessment of it was

it's a good cake, but next time

she'll buy a package of brownie mix

and make those instead.

Enough said.

Here is my sister-in-law, Pat's cake.

Pat is picking up the slack from our 

brother Bill, who is not a baker.

However,  Pat says the cake was yummy 

and passed Bill's taste test.

Here's my NYTimes cake,

which was the only one 

to not call for a glaze.

This cake is VERY rich and

really didn't need a glaze.

However, if the glazed cake

 is NOT rich enough for you,

serve it with 

a scoop of ice cream,

as Nancy did.

My neighbor Sue, 

who was gifted

with a few slices of my cake,

suggested heating a slice,

topping it with ice cream,

and then perhaps a 

drizzle of chocolate sauce. 

(This suggestion was given as a joke!)

The recipe I used had some 

of the most specific instructions 

I have ever come across in a recipe.

For example, 

"Crack the 4 whole eggs into a large mixing bowl.

With a small knife,

cut the yolks and barely

stir the eggs,

minimally blending the

whites and yolks."

What the...???

Another interesting instruction,

"About 30 minutes after taking the cake 

out of the oven,

press the inside and outside

edge of the cake bottom down

all the way around 

to minimize the air pocket"

above the soft fudge center.

I followed this recipe to the letter,

but it started cracking 

before it even came out of the pan.

More cracking and collapsing!!!

Total collapse!!!

The cake is now all gone,

enjoyed by several people.

I don't think it's a cake

I'll ever make again,

although, Pat has already gotten

a request to make one for someone.

We all had fun with this year's cakes.

Thank you Rick for choosing our

cake and keeping us on track!

Nancy with her cake.

Sharing this week at
Foodie Friday/Rattlebridge Farm

Update on the Zucchini Cake Bake Off

Update on my family's 

Zucchini Cake Bake Off

I had thrown out a challenge to my older brother, Bill

to make this cake too, since all the other

siblings in the family had given it a try.

Bill is NOT a cook,

so the challenge was actually

an inside joke to my sister Nancy and 

brother Rick.

Well, he still isn't baking,

but his sweet wife Pat

has come through for him!

You can see her cake above.

According to Pat via a Facebook post,

"Susan, Bill didn't bake it but he sure is eating his share of it!!"

Yea Pat!

Bill and Pat.

My Family's Zucchini Cake Bake Off

It all started with an excess of zucchini.

Last time I visited my parents and Nancy,

their garden was producing zucchini big time.

Nancy loaded me up with it when I returned home.

Since then I have been baking

Zucchini Bread

and now have 16 loaves in my freezer.

(Don't ask why.)

Nancy, on the other hand found a recipe for a wonderful sounding

Zucchini Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.

It was a hit...

...and was declared "a winner" by my Dad.

You'd have to know him to know

what high praise that is.

At any rate, Nancy's cake was enough to inspire our

brother Rick, who lives in Germany and is

quite the cook to give the cake a try.

His cake was a success too!

Well, that was more than I could stand.

I needed to make this cake too!

(I cannot let my little sister and little brother

get ahead of me in the cooking department...)

YUM!!!

I served it yesterday to my knitting group 

who were meeting here.

I didn't hear any complaints.

(You can find the original recipe here.)

So, I am laying down the gauntlet to my other brother Bill,

SHOW US WHAT YOU'VE GOT!

Isn't Life a Bowl of Cherries?

Thirty plus years ago I had a friend named Kathy.

Kathy and I were friends by default.

Our husbands had been boyhood friends,

having grown up across the street

from one another.  

We became friends early in 

Kathy's marriage

because of our 

husbands' friendship.

We lived in different states,

but had periodic visits.

We welcomed all our children

into our circle

as they came into our lives,

four for Kathy,

one for me.

As lives became busier with

children, careers, and homemaking

our visits grew less and less.

By the time my marriage ended

ten years ago,

I had not had any 

contact with Kathy for some time.

As is often the case in divorce,

alliances form along the lines 

of "couple" relationships

("his" friends/"her" friends).

I moved ahead,

getting totally engrossed 

in forging a new life for myself

and never made any attempt to keep

my relationship with Kathy alive.

Then out of the blue

a few weeks ago,

I got an email from...KATHY!

She had stumbled upon

my Etsy shop and hence this blog.

She took the time to read my past posts

and reached out to me.

She tells me she read

ALL my blogs posts!

I can say without a doubt,

no one has done that except me!

I don't doubt her because this week 

I received the above three bottles of

Mexican vanilla in the mail

from Kathy as a result of my post of

January 13, 2013.

Now Kathy and I are

reconnecting totally on our own

as two middle aged, divorced women

with grown children.

We will create a new friendship

based upon who we are now. 

Life is certainly

a twisty tale,

isn't it?

Now about that Mexican vanilla...

I used to make a wonderful

homemade vanilla ice cream.

But, with our current consciousness

concerning uncooked eggs,

I hesitate to share the recipe with you

because it is a "no-cook" one.

It also requires an ice cream maker

which I no longer own.

It was one of the many "things"

I shed when I reinvented myself

at Buttermilk Cottage.

I offer you instead a simple new

one I intend to try soon

with some of my

Mexican vanilla.

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix the condensed milk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Whip the cream with an electric mixer

until stiff peaks form.

With the mixer on low speed,

slowly add the vanilla mixture

to the whipped heavy cream and combine.

Pour into a freezer safe container 

and freeze for 6 hours or overnight.

 Google Images

Thank you Kathy

for the Mexican vanilla,

I've been without it for quite a while.

But mostly, thank you for reaching out.

You've put the cherry on top of my ice cream!

Caprese Garlic Bread

I haven't made bruschetta all summer long.

The reason is because of the

above recipe on Pinterest.

I used to post my cooking endeavors  
fairly regularly on my blog.

But since becoming an avid "pinner" 

I see there are so many bloggers out there

doing it SO much better than me.
(Believe me I know my photography limitations!)

So, I think I'd rather

try their recipes and link 

you up with them when I find a real winner.

THIS is the BEST recipe I have yet

discovered on Pinterest.

It's from Two Peas and Their Pod

and it is for

Caprese Garlic Bread

In addition to replacing your favorite bruschetta recipe

it's also a great replacement for take-out pizza.

What I think sets this recipe apart is a 

spread of garlic butter on the bread

and a finishing drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

The only change I have made is I am

no longer reducing the vinegar

as the original recipe instructs.

Instead I have purchased a mister

and am misting the balsamic vinegar on at the end.

With tomatoes in season

and basil plentiful in the garden,

there is NO reason not to give this a try!

Tuna Salad - Kick It Up a Notch!

As the weather starts warming I'm in the mood for lighter meals.

This recipes comes from  Martha Steward's HORS D'OEUVRES.

It is a recipe for a finger food I first served for a gathering several years ago.

There were a few left over after the party and the next day for lunch,

I put them in a pita and discovered it was a wonderful sandwich.

CURRIED TUNA SALAD

makes 40 hors d'oeuvres

Drain 1 7-oz can of tuna well and put it in a mixing bowl.

Add 1/4 c. currants

1/4 c. chopped toasted pecans

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1 T. red wine vinegar

2 T. chopped chutney

Curry powder to taste

I like Harry and David's Mango Chutney.

Mix well.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Martha then topped rounds of cucumber slices, for hors d'oeuvres.

I usually double this recipe, decreasing the mayo a bit,

 since I use it for sandwiches.

I'm trying to get more fish into my diet.

Do you think this will count?

You Can Do a Lot with a Cake Mix (Idea #1)



One of my "Kitchen Truisms" is

"You can do a lot with a cake mix."

Here is one of my favorite uses.

It's so easy, it's almost a crime.

This recipe comes from my sister(in law), Terry,

and it's absolutely the best thing she ever gave me.

I use it a lot.

It's one of those recipes passed by word of mouth

and I'm not even sure of it's name.

I call it

Fruit and Cake Crumble.

You'll only need three ingredients.

Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread two cans of pie filling in the bottom.

You can use any flavor you like.

I've tried them all, and they're all good.
In addition to cherry, I also favor
blueberry and apple.

Sprinkle a box of yellow cake mix over the fruit.

Cut a stick of butter into chunks...

...and dot the top of the cake mix with them.

Please, DO NOT use anything but butter here,

it just won't be as good.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve, hot or cold,

with ice cream, on top or bottom.

It's a gift from the gods....

Other than indulging in this dessert,

I really like it because you can always keep

the ingredients on hand.

It makes a great dish when you want

something to take to a neighbor or friend.

Put the coffee on, I'll bring dessert...

Coconut Macaroons



The current issue of REAL SIMPLE magazine

has an incredibly easy macaroon recipe.

Just in case you missed it, here it is.

Coconut Macaroons

Five ingredients are all you need.



Heat your oven to 325 and

line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together 3 large egg whites,

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 t. pure vanilla extract

1/4 t. kosher salt

until glossy and the sugar is almost dissolved.

Fold in

1 14-oz. pkg. sweetened, shredded coconut

(about 5 cups)



Using a small ice cream scoop,

I'm using a new one I got for Christmas...



...drop the batter in mounds

(about 2T. each) 1-inch apart on

the prepared baking sheet.

Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through,

until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cool completely.

The macaroons will keep for up to

5 days at room temperature

in an airtight container.

Makes 16 cookies.

Enjoy!