My dad enjoys his food and clearly has since birth. Grandmom wrote in his baby book that his first sentence was “I want a piece of cake.” My great-grandmother – Ida Gates Hamlin – made the most amazing biscuits. I can still remember how they smelled and tasted. She also made a great pound cake. No matter how I try to top her recipe with one of my own, hers remains everyone’s favorite.
Here are two of my favorite cake recipes.
from the kitchen of Ida Rebecca Gates Hamlin:
Pound Cake
Cream together 2 sticks butter, ½ cup shortening and 3 cups sugar. Add 1-teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Add 6 medium eggs, beating in one at a time. Sift together 3 times: 3 cups flour, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon baking powder. Stir in 1-cup milk divided into thirds alternating with flour so you end with milk. Bake in a well-greased and floured large tube pan at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cake stand in pan for 10 minutes before inverting.
from the kitchen of Nellie Russell Clark Wilkerson:
Carrot Cake