Saturday, January 31, 2015

Almond Cake and vintage kitchen love revisited!


Hello everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I've got a tasty new cake to share that I first put up back in November 2012.  We've been celebrating birthdays here, and then everyone got a terrible cold, and then we have another round of birthdays, so I've got cakes on the brain. Well, cakes and tissues.  So, without further ado, here's a cake recipe to warm up your cold winter day... and a little bit of kitchen kitsch to go with. 

It all started when Edna was thinking on the good old days. She talked about dresses, and aprons and pyrex...


                                                             And utensils...

Which reminded me of something I picked up but wasn't sure what to do with... Ask Edna, of course! She knew what it was right away. It was a hard cheese grater, but you could also use it for grating nuts, like almonds.

But why would I want to grate almonds?? I mean, that's the real question here, right?

Edna was scandalized I had never made an almond cake. And so we began.

I'm a lazy, modern woman and didn't want to spend 3 hours grating almonds. And I have this minor wrist issue. Typing and all that. Ouch. I watch the wrists the same way a model takes care of her face.

(Here I am chained to my desk. I know, a little facial waxing may be in order.)

It's not quite our 'locavore' lifestyle, but a can of almond filling does the trick. You can also find recipes online for making your own if you don't have wrist issues and want to do everything the hard way.

Mix 1 cup of softened butter
        1 cup sugar
        and 3 eggs.  

Wait, this sounds like cookies! Hmmmmm.....


 
And in the almond filling. (Ugh. Is this a dump cake? I'm still scared to Google that term. Looks pretty close to what I was picturing..)
 

In one bowl, mix 2 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp baking powder. THIS IS A COOKIE RECIPE! I knew it!

 Oh, wait. And 1/3 cup whole milk. Edna said to add them, alternating between the flour and the milk, but STARTING with the flour and ENDING with the flour. Got that? I almost rolled my eyes, but I've learned to take dear Edna at her word.

You can add a coin for good luck, or a small porcelain figure, like a tiny baby Jesus. It's tradition that the person who finds the coin or the baby has wealth and happiness... But make sure everyone searches their cake piece BEFORE eating it.

 
55 minutes in a greased and floured Bundt pan at 350F. My house smelled AMAZING. It was like an amaretto latte being waved under your nose.
Drizzle of basic powdered sugar icing. I wanted to dress it up but Edna said DO NOT MESS WITH THE CAKE. So I didn't. She was so pleased, immersed in happy memories.

I got out some nice china for our cake and tea. I was ready to serve the warm cake and Edna made a strange little sound.

 
She was staring at a plate. Not a nice one, either. It was plastic and a little chipped.
 
Oh, AHEM. Yes. Early art project. Mother's Day, kindergarten, specifically.

See, she's wearing a crown. :) All mamas are princesses, you know. I have no idea if she really had a striped dress like that, or if I just liked red and blue. And I'm fairly sure her hands were NEVER that size.

Edna requested her piece of cake on that old plate. I tried to talk her out of it. Old, yes, but not a nice kind of old! Not pretty vintage! Plastic and scribbled and not safe for the mircrowave kind of old.

 
She would not be dissuaded. She said that vintage is a matter of time, and treasure is a matter of perspective. In forty years, my grandchildren will think it's a great plate so I should stop sticking it in the microwave.

One big thumbs up from one small person. He also managed to sneak in some blue frosting. Because all food tastes better when it's BLUE.

Note: Well, no matter what I do, that first paragraph is determined to show up ORANGE. Lol. So, I'll just let it be pretty and orange. 
Until next time!

15 comments:

  1. I do love all your kitcheny stuff. And the kids just don't stop growing. Going to have to find the almond paste because that would make a great GF cake.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, he's even bigger now! That was three years ago and he just turned six!
      And I had it as a GF cake, too, at someone's house recently. Very tasty!

      Delete
  2. I remember when creating those plates for Mother's Day was so popular. I may still have one of my own kicking around somewhere.

    The cake looks and sounds amazing (if I ignore the 'dump' part). :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't that funny? It was such a fad for a while!
      LOL. I still can't get over "dump cakes". that just means something totally different in the PNW.

      Delete
  3. I have numerous small children who search the counter for an extra pot of frosting, regardless of color and usually find it.

    They love me SO MUCH.

    It's food bribery but I don't care. Love is priceless and the cost of a little extra frosting, or chocolate chips, or cookies, or ice cream... you get the picture, I'm copacetic. I have used that word a couple of times lately, and it's fun. It might become a new fave. Children and sugar are a happy combination here.

    You know my applesauce cake was a dump cake and oh my stars, amazing.

    I just turned the last three pieces (and the trimmed outside) into caramel/apple cake balls dipped in Ghirardelli dark chocolate.

    We'll see how our Superbowl buds handle that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *breaks down into louds sobs* What did you just write?? caramel apple cake balls in Ghirardelli dark chocolate???

      My life has no meaning now. I'm completely eaten up with envy and jealousy. I'm rocking myself in the corner, repeating the ingredients, looking at plane tickets to NY state.

      Delete
    2. Copacetic. I am of the personal opinion that just because there is the exact word, does not make it a perfect word. Copacetic is one of those.
      Sounds like a skin disease.

      Delete
  4. I have that exact hard cheese grater! Love it. Love this post and love almond cake. What a great reminder of fun times in the kitchen. Oh! And mom had those dishes, too, as well as some of the other utensils.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aren't those great dishes! I love Blue Willow, and the old tale behind the design. :)
      And this grater certainly works much better as a cheese grater than a nut grater!!

      Delete
  5. Yum. Yum. Yum.

    That is not dump cake.

    This is dump cake.( use a 9 x11 or 13 pan)


    (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple with juice, undrained
    • 1 can Duncan Hines Comstock® Country Cherry
    • 1 package Classic Yellow Cake Mix
    • 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
    • ½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine


    Baking Instructions

    1.Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 13"x 9" pan.
    2.Dump pineapple with juice into pan. Spread evenly. Dump in pie filling. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over cherry layer. Sprinkle pecans over cake mix. Dot with butter.
    3.Bake 50 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WHY/ Why must you all torture me this way?? I'm beginning to feel suspicious. *gives side eye*

      Ruthy gave a simple description but you... YOU have left a recipe.

      And I'm totally making this cake on Monday.

      Delete
  6. Isn't it amazing how children change in only three years? But moms - we never change. We remain forever princesses :)

    That cake looks scrumptious. I wonder if you could make almond paste by pulverizing almonds in a blender or food processor past the almond meal phase? That would save your wrists, too!

    And you can blame it on the long day and the late hour, but I didn't notice the first paragraph was orange until you mentioned it. I'm certainly no Sherlock Holmes tonight!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I've made it from scratch before... or tried to. I added corn syrup, almond flavoring and rum. That seemed to be an approximation of the canned stuff!
      And yes, he's changed so much! But still loves cake. Always cake.

      Delete
  7. I'm laughing so hard at the facial hair comment. LOL!

    I remember you posting this before. I made it! I'll have to do it again soon. Thanks for sharing again.

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  8. I'm not sure where I've been, but I've never had an almond cake. At least I don't think so. And that's odd because I love almonds and I adore cake. The cake looks so yummy. I'm going to try to make it this coming weekend. I always love seeing pictures of your adorable brood...they seem to love their Mom's delicacies.

    ReplyDelete