Made from scratch: heaven in a cake pan

Akron Beacon Journal (MCT) - They are the hidden treasures of our past, tucked among the yellowed pages of a grandmother's long-forgotten cookbook collection: recipes for cakes made from scratch. To many, making a cake without the aid of a boxed mix or a call to the bakery is a foreign concept.

For Linda Gross of Norton, Ohio, "from scratch'' is still the only way she bakes. "To me, it's just not that difficult,'' she said.

Gross said her mother used cake mixes, but when she married 30 years ago, she decided to bake from scratch, turning out cakes that are heavy, dense and moist. ''They're just better,'' she said.

There was a time when baking a cake from scratch was as expected a weekly chore as doing the laundry.

Flour was sifted and butter and eggs measured with care to create a fitting ending to Sunday dinner, an elegant presentation for a club meeting, or a treat served up at the kitchen table with glasses of cold milk.

But the introduction of cake mixes following World War II changed the way Americans baked.

In "The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink," author Stephen Schmidt writes, ''Cake is not really all that difficult, but decades of reliance on store-bought cakes and cake mixes have rendered American home bakers, particularly younger ones, helpless before even the simplest recipe.''

Dolores Reeves, co-owner of Akron, Ohio's Reeves Cake Shop, said she thinks baking from scratch is actually gaining in popularity as people become more concerned about preservatives and chemicals added to cake mixes.

The cakes produced at Reeves' shop are made from scratch, with the same recipes used by her parents in the 1920s, when they operated Bachle's Bakery in Akron's Kenmore neighborhood.

One of her shop's specialties, Hummingbird Cake, contains crushed pineapple, bananas, and pecans and is part of the old guard of American cake recipes, along with the likes of Lady Baltimore Cake, Mayonnaise Cake, Oatmeal Cake and Orange Chiffon Cake.

''I got the recipe from a friend in Tennessee. It's an old southern recipe,'' Reeves said, noting that the cake got its name because it was considered so sweet, it would attract hummingbirds.

While mixes focus on the basics _ chocolate, yellow, white _ baking from scratch provides a wide variety of flavors and textures, and produces cakes that also serve up a slice of history.

The Orange Chiffon Cake, for example, was invented in the 1920s by Harry Baker, a California insurance salesman turned Hollywood caterer, who later sold his recipe to General Mills, according to the Oxford Companion.

Baker's secret was using cooking oil, rather than butter, to create a lighter-textured cake. His recipe was one of the first widely accepted oil-method cakes.

General Mills included the recipe on packages of Gold Medal flour, and by 1948, Betty Crocker _ the fictitious baking persona for General Mills _ hailed the Orange Chiffon Cake as ''the cake discovery of the century,'' according to "The Good Home Cookbook," which includes the recipe.

Many scratch cake recipes came from companies trying to promote one of their ingredients. Oatmeal cakes became popular in the 1960s, when Quaker Oats came out with its quick-cooking version.

Other recipes were born of necessity. Reeves, 75, said she remembers the World War II Mayonnaise Cake that became popular because it contained no eggs and no oil, items that were rationed during the war.

Recipes like Seven-Minute Frosting, which requires mixing for seven minutes while simmering, have fallen by the wayside because current busy lifestyles don't allow the time, Reeves said. ''People don't take the time for that frosting anymore.''

Gross, who works full time in the benefits department at Bridgestone-Firestone, said baking from scratch is really no more time-consuming than baking from a mix, as long as your pantry is stocked.

''Just have the stuff on hand. That's the what the real hassle is, not to have the cocoa or not to have the vanilla. Make sure your cupboards are stocked,'' she said.

When the ingredients are on hand, a scratch cake is little more work than adding eggs, oil and water to a cake mix.

Gross looks for simple, one-bowl recipes, some that don't even require her to plug in her mixer.

''There are simple recipes out there. Some do involve more work, but there are some that are very simple,'' she said.

Reeves said new bakers just need to keep in mind that unlike cooking, where you can throw a pinch of this and handful of that into the pot, baking is an exact science that requires care.

''When baking, you have to be very careful. Just measure very carefully and follow the instructions on the recipe as it says.''

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OATMEAL CAKE

For the cake:

2 cups boiling water

1 ˝ cups quick oatmeal

1 ˝ sticks butter or margarine

1 ˝ cups granulated sugar

1 ˝ cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 ˝ tsp. baking soda

1 ˝ tsp. cinnamon

2 Ľ cups flour

1 ˝ tsp. salt

For the topping:

˝ stick butter or margarine, melted

˝ cup evaporated milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup shredded coconut

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, place oatmeal and butter or margarine with boiling water. Stir to combine. Let sit for 20 minutes.

With an electric mixer, beat eggs. Add in white sugar and brown sugar and beat with eggs until combined. Mix together flour, salt, soda and cinnamon. Add flour mixture to egg mixture a little at a time and mix until incorporated.

Add oatmeal mixture to batter and mix until well combined.

Pour cake batter into a 9-by-13-inch metal cake pan that has been greased or sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until cake is done.

While cake is baking, prepare topping. In a saucepan over low heat, mix all topping ingredients and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar has melted.

While cake is still hot, cover with warm topping.

Place cake in broiler for 1 to 2 minutes to toast topping. Remove from broiler. Cool cake completely before serving.

Makes 1 cake.

Note: You must bake this in a metal pan; most glass cake pans are not safe for the broiler.

_Lisa Abraham's collection

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WORLD WAR II CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE CAKE

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

Ľ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 ˝ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup water

For the frosting:

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

˝ cup packed light brown sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1 cup confectioner's sugar

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.

Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Stir the mayonnaise, granulated sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl until smooth. Add the water and stir until combined. Whisk in the flour mixture until incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, at least 45 minutes.

For the frosting, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil until the mixture begins to thicken, about 2 minutes, then, off the heat, carefully stir in the milk.

Return to a boil, then remove from the heat to cool until just warm, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the confectioner's sugar and spread the icing evenly over the cake. The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes 12 servings.

_America's Best Lost Recipes

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ORANGE CHIFFON CAKE

7 large eggs, separated

2 Ľ cups sifted cake flour

1 ˝ cups superfine white sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

˝ tsp. salt

˝ cup oil

ľ cup orange juice

2 tbsp. finely grated orange zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

ľ tsp. cream of tartar

Separate the eggs and place the whites in one bowl and 6 egg yolks in another, discarding the last egg yolk. Cover both with plastic wrap and bring them to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Stir the flour, 1Ľ cups superfine sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg yolks, oil, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla extract. Beat for 1 minutes with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Set aside.

Put the egg whites in a separate medium bowl and beat until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining Ľ cup superfine sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold the egg white mixture into the batter until just blended. Pour into an ungreased, 10-inch tube pan.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed.

Thread the pan, right side up, onto the neck of a bottle and cool completely before removing the cake from the pan, 1˝ to 2 hours.

To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the tube pan and center core. Invert onto a greased wire rack, cool and serve.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

"The Good Home Cookbook," Richard J. Perry, editor

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HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

˝ tsp. salt

3 eggs, slightly beaten

ľ cup vegetable oil

1 ˝ tsp. vanilla extract

1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained

2 cups mashed bananas

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8-inch or two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Use a fork to mix well.

With a large wooden spoon, mix in the beaten eggs, oil, vanilla, pineapple, bananas and pecans. Mix well, stirring gently just enough to blend everything into a good, thick, nubby batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cakes are nicely browned and pulling away from the sides of the pans.

Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks or folded kitchen towels for about 15 minutes. Then gently turn out the cakes onto wire racks or plates. Turn the layers top side up and let them cool completely.

To complete the cake, place one layer, top side down, on a cake stand or a serving plate and spread with frosting. Place the second layer, top side up, on the first, frost the sides and then the top of the cake.

If using a third layer, frost top of second layer and then top it with third layer, top side up. Then frost sides of cake and finish by frosting top last.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes or so to help the icing set.

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PECAN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

Ľ cup butter, softened (˝ stick)

1 (16-oz.) box confectioner's sugar (3-2/3 cups)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

˝ cup finely chopped pecans

In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter and beat with a mixer at low speed to mix well. Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla and beat until the frosting is fluffy and smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down the bowl and blend everything thoroughly. Add the pecans and stir well.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

_"Southern Cakes," Nancy McDermott

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LAZY DAISY CAKE

For the cake:

1/3 cup milk

1 tbsp. butter

1 cup sifted cake flour

˝ tsp. salt

1 Ľ tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

For the frosting:

3 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. cream

˝ tsp. vanilla extract

˝ to ľ cup coconut

Scald milk, add butter and cool to lukewarm. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Beat eggs slightly and add sugar gradually, beating constantly until thick and lemon colored. Add vanilla.

Add sifted dry ingredients and milk alternately in small amounts, mixing lightly but thoroughly.

Pour into greased, 8-inch square metal pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Combine ingredients for frosting in listed order. Remove cake from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Spread frosting evenly over cake. Place cake under broiler and heat until coconut is delicately browned.

Makes 1 cake.

Note: Scald milk by heating it until it just comes to a boil. Use a metal baking pan, as most glass pans are not broiler safe.

_"Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook" (1971)

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LADY BALTIMORE CAKE

1 ľ cups cake flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Ľ tsp. salt

8 tbsp. (˝ cup) butter, softened

1 Ľ cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

ľ cup milk

3 egg whites (about ˝ cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and sift them together onto a piece of waxed paper.

Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and well blended. Stir the vanilla and the milk together and add to the butter-sugar mixture in two stages, alternately with the flour mixture, beating until the batter is well blended and smooth after each addition.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff, but moist. Gently stir one-third of the beaten whites into the batter, then scoop up the remaining beaten whites, drop them onto the batter and fold them in.

Divide between the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick or straw inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in their pans for 5 minutes, then turn them out of the pans onto a rack to cool completely.

Fill with Lady Baltimore Filling and frost with Seven-Minute Frosting, recipes follow.

Make 8 to 10 servings.

SEVEN-MINUTE FROSTING

1 ˝ cups sugar

Ľ tsp. cream of tartar

1/8 tsp. salt

2 egg whites

Ľ cup water

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients except the vanilla, in a bowl or pot over simmering water. Beat steadily over low heat with a rotary or electric hand beater until the frosting stands in peaks, about 5 to 7 minutes, no more.

Remove from the heat and continue to beat until thick enough to spread. Add the vanilla before spreading. You will have enough to fill and frost an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.

Makes 3 to 4 cups.

Note: This is a light billowy frosting with a sheen, very much like a boiled frosting. Seven-minute frosting dries out quickly, so keep it refrigerated if you're not using it within a few hours.

LADY BALTIMORE FILLING

1 recipe Seven-Minute Frosting

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup dried figs or dates, cut into bits

˝ cup raisins

˝ tsp. almond extract

Divide the frosting in half. Fold the pecans, figs or dates, raisins and almond extract into half the frosting and use it as a filling between two white 8-inch cake layers.

Use the remaining plain frosting to cover the sides and top of the cake.

Makes about 3 cups.

_"The Fannie Farmer Cookbook," Marion Cunningham

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© 2008, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).