Another recipe from great-great-grandmother’s 1920 cookbook–Simple ingredients for a simple life! A VINTAGE RECIPE from Cozy Kitchen Wood Stoves!

But Ohhhhhh so good!

My grandmother, Bella’s great-great-grandmother, helped me bake this cake for my home economics class back in 1973. Back then, all girls were required to take home-ec. My teacher accused me of going to a bakery and buying the cake. She was serious! I remember to this day how that hurt my feelings.

So, it has been 50 years since I baked this cake in my Nanny’s kitchen at the old farm house. I wanted to bake it with Bella. It turned out fabulous! But we did have one little flop. Since confession is good for the soul, I will share it with you at the end of this blog. Hopefully it will keep you from making the same mistake!

The cookbook that my grandmother got when she was married in 1919 called this caramel cake a Burnt Sugar Cake. The cookbook is long gone, but fortunately I copied the recipe down in this old ledger when I was 12 years old. As you can see by the stains, the recipes in the ledger have been well used. The Chocolate Chip Coffee Ring on the opposite page is a family favorite.

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. sugar divided
• 3/4 c. hot water
• 3/4 c. shortening (Crisco)
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 c. whole milk
• 2 1/2 c. flour (We used Swan’s Down Cake Flour–but all purpose will work.)
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder

Method:

• Sift together 2 1/2 c. flour, 1 t. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda. Sift 3 times and set aside.

• Burn 1/2 C. sugar in a small black skillet. Do NOT stir. The sugar will liquify and turn a dark caramel color.

• Add 3/4 C. hot water. Stir until dissolved. Set aside to cool.

• Cream remaining 1 c. sugar and 3/4 c. crisco shortening.

• Add 2 well beaten egg yolks and mix.

• Add 1 c. milk. Mix–it will be lumpy.

• Add 2 1/2 c. flour and mix well.

• Add burnt sugar liquid and 1 t. vanilla. Mix well.

• Fold in 2 stiffly beaten egg whites.

• Pour batter into two greased and floured cake pans.

• Bake in medium oven. The thermometer on our oven read between 350 and 400 degrees. We. slid the first pan into the left back corner–the hottest part of the oven nearest the firebox. After 25 minutes we removed that pan to cool on a wire rack and slid the second pan into the sweet spot for an additional 5 minutes.

• Removing first pan from oven after 25 minutes.

• Removing second pan after 5 additional minutes.

• Cool for 5 minutes in pan and then remove to cake rack to finish cooling. Do NOT try to put icing on cake until completely cool.

Our Fabulous Flop!

I promised you a confession at the end of the blog. A fabulous flop. Well, here it is. We overcooked the first batch of icing. Turned it into a hard, sugary glob. We tried to save it by rolling it into candy balls. That even had to be trashed! The oven had the house a balmy 82 degrees, and by now it was 10 o’clock at night. So, we decided to wrap the cake to keep it from drying out and make another batch of icing the following morning.

Even after having let the fire to out the night before, the house was still uncomfortably hot the following morning. So we agreed to cook the icing on the electric range. Actually, my husband insisted. You know how men are about a hot house!

I decided to try a similar icing recipe, but this one had one and a half sticks of butter. It could not have turned out better. SOFT and CREAMY!

CARMAEL ICING

Ingredients:

• 3 c. sugar + 5 T. sugar to burn
• 1 1/3 c. milk
• 1 1/2 sticks butter

Method:

• Measure 3 c. sugar and 1 1/3 c. milk into a saucepan. Stir and start heating while you move to the next step–burning the 5T. sugar.

• Burn 5 T. sugar in small cast iron skillet. Do NOT stir. When ready, the sugar will liquify and turn a pretty golden brown color.

• Slowly pour the burnt sugar into the saucepan with the milk, stirring as you add. Cook on medium heat until very soft ball stage.
• Cooking icing until very soft ball stage.

• Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 sticks butter.
• Beat with mixer until spreading consistency. If it is too thick, you can add 1 T. milk and a time and continue beating until it is spreadable. We did not add milk. Turned out perfect this time!

• Put first layer on cake plate. Add icing to middle of layer and spread.
• Put on top layer.
• Start in center and drop icing on in big spoonfuls, allowing it to run down the sides of the cake.

This cake turned out so pretty! The icing was about 1/4 inch deep on top and sides–so soft and creamy! Bella decides to keep the “caramel ice cycles on the cake plate edge.

Cutting the cake!

Weekly Timeless Treasure

My obsession with wood cook stoves began when I was 10 years old. My grandfather bought this little stove for me from Mrs. Una Black, an elderly lady who lived in our community.

I went with him to pick it up, and she told me all about it. She said that her daddy bought it for her from a traveling salesman in the late 1800’s when she was 5 years old. She said that it was the salesman’s sample stove. Every part works, so he could demonstrate to potential buyers.

Mrs. Una had no children, and was happy to pass it on to me. She knew that I would take good care of it for years to come.

The skillets, tea kettle, eye lifter, and other utensils are original to the stove. She said that she had a second skillet, but that she had lost it. The miniature china that I have stored in the oven also belonged to her.

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