SNOW CAKE 1910 -- SECOND (AND THIRD) TRIES

An almost full moon

I remember my mother saying that the first cake mixes weren’t very good. She continued to make her cakes from scratch even after mixes were available. Then one day she went to a meeting where the hostess served a delicious cake made from a mix. “I will never bake a cake from scratch again,” Mother vowed. 

Having overbaked my first “Snow Cake” from Grandma Ina’s recipe, I decided to try again. Here’s the recipe again, this time with my revisions:

 

 

Kathy’s Snow Cake (based on Ina’s 1910 recipe)

1 ½ cups sugar, divided

½ cup shortening (Crisco)

5 egg whites [I used ½ cup of purchased egg whites.]

1 cup cream (half and half)

2 ½ cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Cream shortening with 1 ¼ cups sugar until light a fluffy. Add half and half and vanilla; mix well. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt; then add to shortening mixture. Beat egg whites with ¼ cup sugar. Fold into batter. Pour into prepared 9x13 pan. Let stand for 10 minutes. Bake at 350 for 28 minutes.

You will note that I substituted Crisco shortening for the butter. I thought butter was out of place in a white cake, but farm wives probably had butter on hand rather than shortening.

I thought the combination of lemon and vanilla in the original recipe was strange. Does it mean lemon extract or lemon juice? One method of souring a cup of milk is to put a teaspoon of lemon juice in it, but the recipe specifically calls for sweet milk. I have no way of knowing what was meant, so I just left out the lemon juice.

We keep skim milk (0% milkfat) on hand, and I reasoned that Ina would have used rich cow’s milk, so I substituted half and half for the milk. I creamed the shortening with 1 1/4 cups of sugar, and added the additional ¼ cup as I beat the egg whites.

With Trial #2, I used a 7x11 baking dish and baked 40 minutes at 350, beginning with 30 minutes. Again, the cake was overbaked around the edges while underbaked in the middle. I reasoned that the pan was still too small for the batter.

With Trial #3, I used a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish and baked the cake for 28 minutes at 350. Perfect! Delicious! Or to use Aunt Lynn’s word – “Excellent.”

But -- would I say it’s better than a white cake from a mix? To be honest, no. I did it for the fun of baking a cake from scratch using my grandmother’s recipe, but it was not as moist and flavorful as from a mix -- and a lot more work. And speaking of work, just think of Ina and Aunt Lynn making that cake without electric appliances. I mixed the cake with a heart full of gratitude for my kitchen appliances. KW

SNOW CAKE, 1910

Well, it’s the winter. We’re still staying close to home. Nothing much is happening. I pursue quiet indoor activities.

I think a lot can be learned from an old recipe box. As we cleared out the family home in 1991, I was surprised when my sisters weren’t at all interested in the many old recipe boxes we found. They let me have them without dispute. Today, I would say, “Score!!!!”

I guess my aunt, Myrtle Dobson (Aunt Lynn, as she liked to be called) must have agreed with me because while she was living at the farmhouse to care for Grandma Ina, she organized Ina’s recipe box. Occasionally I see her handwriting as well as Ina’s.

And this brings me to the recipe for “Snow Cake,” dated 1910, which I found in Grandma Ina’s recipe box. The card is soiled and obviously used. Perhaps it was even a favorite because at the bottom of the card, Aunt Lynn has written, “Excellent.” Intrigued, I decided to try that recipe.

Snow Cake, 1910

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup butter

5 egg whites [I used ½ cup of purchased egg whites.]

1 cup sweet milk

2 ½ cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp each lemon & vanilla [lemon extract?]

Cream butter and sugar. Add milk and flavoring; beat well. Next add flour with baking powder; beat well. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Put in pan and let stand 10 minutes. Bake. Excellent

I confess that I added ¼ teaspoon salt. I baked the cake at 350 in a prepared 8x8 glass pan for 30 minutes. It wasn’t done, and that’s when I began to hear my mother instructing me. “When it isn’t done, you must add time in small increments because you can easily overbake it.”

“Yes-yes-yes,” I say impatiently, knowing she isn’t really there – or is she? I knew she would have stood at the oven door watching that cake to be sure it didn’t over-bake. Patience was her virtue, not necessarily mine. 

Initially, I tried adding three minutes, then five, then another three, etc., realizing that I was behaving rather recklessly. In the end, the cake was over-baked – dry around the edges. Sigh.

But Mike said it was good, so I will try again. I’ll tweak the recipe and let you know how it goes. KW

2021 -- AND ACCOMPLISHMENT COMES SLOWLY

 Santa brought me a two-pair set of holiday socks. “You do like holiday socks, don’t you,” asked Daughter Hallie. I assured her I do, but I didn’t tell her that I could hardly wait to cut them up. I love them because they make such cute doll sweaters, like the one pictured here, which I just finished. I have a growing stash of socks that I just love!

And speaking of stash, the one thing I have accomplished so far in 2021 was to organize my stash of yarn and crochet thread by weight (or type). I pulled yarn from here, there, and everywhere and sorted it into categorized storage bins. Then I’d find more yarn and have to swap the bins around in order to accommodate it all. And in the process, I eliminated quite a lot of yarn.

Sellers encourage makers to use scraps of fabric and yarn, and I had planned that one day I would make another scrap afghan, but you know, the prettiest ones are mathematically ordered and color-coordinated, and not all yarns and colors belong on the same afghan. And then, the scraps are never enough, so you have to buy more, and this is what retailers hope you’ll do, of course. And buying more is fraught with problems because yarns and colors come and go, change over the years, and are even discontinued. And if you have to buy more to finish your project, you’re bound to have some left over. Thus, the stash cycle is self-perpetuating. 

So, in the end, it seemed best to donate some of my excess yarn. I know someone who knows someone who belongs to a group that crochets and donates what they make to those in need. The group is appreciative of donated yarn, so I am happy to have contributed to a worthy cause. After all, some of my yarn came from my mother’s stash – and how many years have I hoarded it? (The answer is 30.)

But don’t think I’ve finished crocheting. Far from it! There’s more yarn out there, and I want some of it! KW

WATER USAGE

A recent sunrise

Our utility district sends a monthly report showing the customer’s water usage for the past 13 months. This allows us to compare the current month’s usage with that of previous months, including the same month last year. Mike studies this report carefully, and I have to say that by doing so, we have uncovered a leak or two. It pays to pay attention. On the other hand, when our usage varies a little, I often have no explanation.

For the last several months, Mike has been concerned about increased water usage. “It’s not out of line,” he said, “but why are we using more water than we did a year ago?”

And then I remembered. “It’s the dishwasher,” I said.

“Do we really wash the dishes more than last year?” Mike asked.

“No,” I responded, “but this dishwasher actually uses water. The previous dishwasher barely used water at all.”

It still seems like a miracle to have a dishwasher that actually washes the dishes. KW