Tasty Tuesday- Truvy Cake with a Twist

A Disclaimer: You'll find the ingredients and directions throughout this post, but it's so easy that I'm going to forgo an actual recipe. 

Our oldest son, Josh is home for a week before heading back to Mt. Angel Seminary to start his first year of theology. Generally, when the kids are home, I try to cook/bake at least a couple of things they like. While we were talking yesterday- and we tend to talk a lot when he's home, especially as he has just completed a three week silent retreat- he mentioned how much he has realized he likes cake. 

With this in mind, I decided to bake a cake. I wanted to do something easy, but I wasn't sure what kind to do. I just happened to be on Instagram when I saw a post from Southern Living Magazine. It was a video of the movie Steel Magnolias where Dolly Parton's character, Truvy shares her recipe for a "Cuppa, Cuppa, Cuppa" cake.  It's a really- we're talking really really- simple recipe for a cake. Basically, she says "You take a cuppa flour, a cuppa sugar & a cuppa fruit cocktail (with its' juice) & mix it and bake until golden brown and bubbly".  

I didn't have any fruit cocktail, however, I had a 1/2 of a pint jar (yep, that's a cuppa) of homemade mincemeat in the fridge that I thought might fit the bill. There wasn't as much liquid in it as I thought it needed, so I scavenged around and found an almost empty bottle of orange lemonade we had drank at my youngest' going away dinner last week. I mixed those two up and voila, had a nice citrusy/raisin/date/nuts concoction that I thought would work.

I got out Grandma's mixing bowl and proceeded to follow Truvy's instructions. It looked pretty good as I poured it into a 9" square pan while my toaster/convection oven was heating to 350 degrees. I popped it in & set the timer for 30 minutes. After about 6 minutes, I realized something didn't feel right. Once I thought about it being a southern recipe, I knew what the problem was- I had just used regular flour without any added leavening. Truvy, being a true southern gal, would've used self-rising flour. I immediately pulled the cake out, added 1 teaspoon baking soda and a good dash of salt, mixed it up and popped it back into the oven. I figured even if it didn't turn out well, I could always use it for trifle or crumble. 

After 30 more minutes, I pulled out the cake which had a nice rise and golden color. We decided to have it after dinner with some vanilla ice cream- especially since, as Truvy says, "the ice cream cuts down on the sweetness". So the next time you or one of your family members gets a craving for cake, you don't need to look any farther than your pantry and fridge for a "Cuppa, Cuppa Cuppa" to make a delicious cake!

Middle of the Week Wanderings- TGKBC April Update

Vanilla Ginger Cake

I've still been doing lots of baking as part of my self-induced "Great Keatley Baking Challenge". The biggest issue has been being busy doing other things and having to sometimes almost force myself to bake. A couple of Sundays ago I was in the mood for something sweet, so I made this Vanilla Ginger Cake. The flavor choice came from the ginger that was sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be used. I had made candied ginger before, so I thought I'd do it again and use it for part of the flavor profile of this little cake. It may not look like it, but it was baked in two 6" pans. I made a full batch of frosting (and used the whole bowl) which is why it looks a bit "frosting heavy". 

Brian and I enjoyed it over a number of days as it was so rich (again, I am sure because of the amount of delicious frosting). Here's my recipe for a small Vanilla Ginger Cake:

VANILLA GINGER CAKE

For Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cups granulated sugar (use vanilla sugar if you have it)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup milk

2 Tbsp. candied ginger, cut into small pieces

For Frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened

16 oz box powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2-3 Tbsp. heavy cream

1/4 cup candied ginger, cut into small pieces

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.  

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 30 seconds or until softened. Add granulated sugar and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl frequently. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Alternately beat in flour mixture and milk on medium-low speed just until mixed. Fold in candied ginger. Pour into two greased and floured 6-inch baking pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes on rack then turn out to continue cooling.

For the Frosting, beat butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating well after each addition and scraping sides and bottom of bowl frequently. Add milk and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Fold in candied ginger. Frost when cake is cooled completely. 

You can serve right away or store in the refrigerator. I stored mine, uncovered for 1 hour then covered with plastic wrap. I think it stayed nicer and longer in the refrigerator. 

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

~Mangia Mamma