I love to celebrate a birthday, not just because birthdays are synonymous with cake, but that certainly doesn’t hurt anything. I do love a good bakery cake, but for some reason I have always loved the personal touch of a homemade cake more than anything. There’s really nothing more special than knowing somebody loves you enough to take the time out of their day to make you exactly what you want for your special day.
When my mother-in-law, Ninny, makes a cake, it is always from scratch. She’s from the generation where homemade cake doesn’t mean homemade from a mix, it means she actually makes the entire thing herself from start to finish. This year she was making her youngest grandson an Italian Cream Cake. I couldn’t let it pass without pictures.
Here are the ingredients for Ninny’s Prize Winning Italian Cream Cake
- 2 C. sugar
- 1/2 C. shortening
- 1 stick margarine or butter
- 1 C. buttermilk
- 2 C. flour
- 1 C. chopped pecans
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 5 eggs (separate yellows and whites)
- 2 C. coconut
Cream together sugar, shortening, and margarine.
Add beaten egg yolks and vanilla.
Add buttermilk with dry ingredients. (flour, soda, salt) Do half at a time.
Fold in beaten egg whites and add coconuts and pecans.
Bake @ 325° for 30 to 35 minutes. She used a 9×13 pan but these are really moist and amazing when you use round pans and layer them.
Baking.
Now for the best part…the frosting. (or filling, as Ninny calls it)
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 stick margarine
- 1 lb box of powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Mix these together and beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cake. *Optional* Sprinkle chopped pecans, coconuts, or both on cake.
Ninny, looking at her masterpiece.
20 years young
And Many More.
I got a hamburger and the wasteland chips. These are the leavins’ of a the homemade french fries they make. I felt like I was doing a good deed for the environment while also having a delicious treat. They came with a dipping sauce that was addictive. The hamburger patty? It wasn’t in a perfect circle which to me indicates that instead of flopping a pre-made frozen number on the grill, they actually take real fresh ground beef and make the patty. This of course is always a better, tastier, juicier choice.
Next was dessert. We had been set on bread pudding and we certainly weren’t disappointed. Rod said it was right up there with the best bread puddings he has ever had. He said the fresh cream enhanced the flavor. He is seriously the pickiest eater ever, so if he says wow this good, that really translates into go buy some now.
I will have to tell you right now, it was an epic fail. I’ll continue on with pictures and try do better next time.
I found a pastry mixer in the back of the drawer and decided to use it to cut in the shortening. (PS-You can use lard instead. Our grocery store here does sell lard. Just FYI)
Once the shortening is mixed until you have small chunky balls, add the milk. Once you have a doughy mixture, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
This is where you roll out the dough. (I think this is also where I messed up.) That isn’t what I call lightly floured. Once you roll out the dough, you cut your biscuits. Try to cut them close together because you won’t roll the leftovers again. The more you roll them, the tougher they get so you want to roll them as little as possible once you have mixed it. You don’t have to have anything fancy. Mother used to use a jelly glass. A plain round cookie cutter will do fine. I happened to have pastry cutters so I used the small one.
My stone is seasoned, which is why its dark. Don’t think I have dirty dishes.
My biscuits look pretty much the same after cooking 20 minutes or more. They were a bit dry for my taste. Maybe I should have added bacon grease but I figured there was enough fat in there.
