Daily Archives: July 16, 2021

Recipes

Granny Cake

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This is a Facebook find from 12 Tomatoes that has been a huge hit with the family and community. It is easy and quick to throw together and is the perfect coffee cake! It is a cake that will have them coming back for seconds and trust me, if you get home with any leftovers you will relish the moment you can sit quietly and take in the moist, smooth flavors of this simple yet luscious cake.

Cake Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, WITH juice
  • 1 to 1 ½ cups brown sugar

Icing:

  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, begin making the cake by whisking together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs and crushed pineapple (along with the juice) and stir until well mixed. Pour the batter into your baking pan and top with an even layer of brown sugar. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Before the cake is finished baking begin making the icing by combining the evaporated milk, sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour over the hot cake after it has finished baking and has been removed from the oven.

Let the cake cool about an hour or two so it absorbs all of the icing, then enjoy!

NOTES: It may seem like you have an abundance of icing when you’re pouring it over the cake. Pour it all on as that is what helps to make this cake so delicious and the cake will soak it up like a sponge. Refrigerate leftovers (if there are any leftovers).

Recipes

Caramel Pecan Rolls

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These are a “melt in your mouth” wonder that will be a hit at the table! The dough recipe I used is my Rise While You Sleep Overnight Dinner Rolls, which was perfect for having warm rolls at the morning coffee table, however they could also be easily made with my Sweet Dough (Cinnamon Rolls) recipe if you wanted a later-in-the-day serving.

Ingredients for the Topping:

  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Combine the brown sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Pour evenly into two greased 9×13 inch baking pans. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the caramel sauce and set aside.

Ingredients for the filling:

  • Butter (softened)
  • Brown Sugar
  • Granulated Sugar (white sugar)
  • Cinnamon

Preparing the Rolls:

Turn the dough onto a floured board and lightly knead until smooth. Divide in half, setting one half aside while you work with the other half. Roll the dough into a 12×15 inch rectangle (as well as you can, mine always look more like ovals). Top the dough with a generous layer of butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Starting with the long edge, roll up the dough from one side to the other, pinch seams and turn ends under. Cut the roll into 12 one-inch slices (you may get more than twelve so have a small baking pan ready for the extra rolls and/or ends). Place each of the slices, cut side down, into the baking pan. Each pan should easily hold 12 rolls. Repeat for the other half of the dough to fill the second pan, then cover the rolls and let rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool for 2-3 minutes before inverting them onto a serving platter (I use a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil as it is larger than the baking dish and makes it easier to flip the pans, plus the foil makes clean-up a cinch!) Enjoy!

Table Conversations

WHAT INSPIRED “THE TABLE?”

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I have a table in my home that is quite possibly 100-years-old.  My grandmother owned it before my mother and it was passed down to me nearly thirty years ago.  In fact, I think my great-grandmother owned it before my grandmother so it’s been an important part of our family for several generations.  This solid oak table folds down to a 40” square spaciously seating four, however you can seat nearly thirty people around it when you add all the leaves.

Christmas is what I remember most about the table.  Growing up, we anticipated the arrival of aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, and other guests.  A lot of work went into setting the table.  White linens were pulled out of drawers for covering.  Never would one tablecloth do the trick so you had to get linens that were similar and layer them.  Handmade centerpieces and candles were added.  The fine china and stemware were taken out of their protective display cabinets and gently placed at each setting.  The silver came out which had been polished days before, and cloth napkins were beautifully folded and added as a finishing touch.  It was a masterpiece!

Anything appearing out of place was gently nudged as we awaited the arrival of family, and first conversations often focused upon the beauty of the table.  Once everyone was present and the food was ready, dad would carry out the honor of assigning seats.  You did not sit at the table until dad had invited you to be seated at the place he had chosen for you.  The Christmas table was a heartwarming place that had an impact on us even as young children.  We looked forward to each year as it was always the center of where we would fellowship with one another before getting into the gift exchanges and visiting.  

Now don’t think it was all so sentimental and serious.  There were some spectacular food tossing moments between my siblings and I and some of their offspring.  Grandmothers would gasp as ham pieces flying down the length of the table cozied up to a mound of mashed potatoes and gravy.  Food tossing became a work of art and was never to exceed the rim of the plate at any time.  Trust me when I proclaim tossing fresh baked rolls across the room happened in homes long before it became popular at Lambert’s Café!

The table was the one aspect of Christmas that brought us together to celebrate.  A lot of things would vie for our attention throughout the year, but the Christmas table always called us home.  We don’t celebrate as an extended family around the table any more.  After my dad passed away, life changed our family dynamics.  My brothers were married with children of their own so the first Christmas without dad was celebrated in individual homes.  My mom and oldest brother had a quiet Christmas Eve dinner at a lovely little lodge in Green Mountain Falls.  We just couldn’t bring ourselves to gather around the table without Dad.  Since then, new traditions have come about but never has it been like those spent around the Christmas table.