A Dash of Class: Three cakes and a casserole

First of all, let me wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you will be able to be with friends and family and to remember, before you eat all your wonderful dishes, the true meaning of Thanksgiving and whom to thank for this bountiful feast.
I hope you enjoyed my last two columns about cutting back calories on big holiday dinners and that you were able to use some of the recipes.
Now, to warn you so you don’t go into sugar shock, my column on the last Thursday of the month usually includes recipes that have been shared with me or asked for. Today, by coincidence, three of the four recipes are for cakes. The last, a casserole.
As holidays are ahead, many of you may be having a large number of relatives for Christmas dinner, so it seems appropriate that the recipes I have for you today are all cakes.
The Italian Cream Cake is Betty Brangers’ recipe, which was omitted from my Nov. 4 column due to space constraints. The Pumpkin Pie Cake is shared by Shannon Love Gardner, a former student, and Butterfly Cake is being shared by another former student, Jessica Muth.
A dear friend, Ann Reeser, is a member of Cecilia Homemakers Club, as am I. She brought her Sweet Potato Pineapple Bake to our October meeting for the lunch buffet. It was delicious. Other than the pineapple, it reminded me of my sweet potato casserole without the crumble on top.
Remember, you can share any recipes that are your favorites by sending them to me at The News-Enterprise. If you have lost a favorite recipe, let me know and I will help you relocate it.
And remember, 2011 is right around the corner, and you can nominate your favorite cook to be “One of Hardin County’s Finest Cooks.”
Nora Sweat is a native of Hardin County and a retired home economics/family and consumer science teacher. She can be reached at norasweat@thenewsenterprise.com or by mail at 408 W. Dixie Ave., Elizabethtown, KY 42701.

Italian Cream Cake
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup margarine
½ cup shortening, butter flavored
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup chopped pecans
1 2/3 cups Angel Flake coconut
5 eggs, separated
Beat egg whites until stiff. Cream margarine, shortening and sugar until fluffy and then add vanilla. Add egg yolks, one at a time. Sift together flour and soda. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in nuts and coconut and fold in egg white. Pour into two greased and floured 9-inch pans or three 8-inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until it tests done.
Source: Betty Brangers, November “One of Hardin County’s Finest Cooks”

Pumpkin Pie Cake
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package vanilla instant pudding (small)
1 cup pumpkin
½ cup oil
½ cup water
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix on low for one minute, then on medium for two minutes. The batter should be thick and well blended. Pour in a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 32 to 35 minutes or until it tests done.
Nora’s Note: Shannon makes her glaze with confectioner’s sugar, milk, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. She pours it over the warm cake and it absorbs into the cake.
Source: Shannon Love Gardner

Butterfly Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup vegetable oil + ¼ c. pineapple juice
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cup white or brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cup mashed bananas
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup coconut
Frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup margarine, room temperature
4 cup confectioner’s sugar (a little less than 2 pounds)
In medium bowl mix flour, soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar and vanilla well; stir in oil until combined. Beat until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy. Add bananas, pineapple, coconut and nuts, stirring until combined. Add flour mixture, blending well. Divide batter between two greased and lined (with wax paper) 9-inch pans. (It is also a good idea to grease sides of pans and then dust with flour.) Bake until golden brown and cake tests done, 30 to 40 minutes.
Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool 10-15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cakes. Invert onto cooling racks. Remove paper and allow to cool completely.
For frosting: Beat margarine and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar, beating until the right consistency for spreading.
Source: Jessica Muth

Sweet Potato Pineapple Bake
1 large can sweet potatoes, drained
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained
1 stick margarine, melted
½ cup self-rising flour
½-2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon rum extract
Mash sweet potatoes, add remaining ingredients, and mix well. Spray a 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass dish with food release. Add the above mixture to dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Source: Ann Reeser