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Dear Reader,
Reading emails from readers is the best part of my day. Thanks so much for sharing. I really appreciate it.
Reader Mail...
"Suzanne, I wanted to let you know how much I like being a member of this book club. Your column [the other day] highlighted all the benefits [of the book club], but for me there is another, less tangible 'prize.' That is knowing that when I click on your email, there's a good chance that hundreds of others are opening theirs as well. We are all reading a snippet of your book selection, we are all reading your column; we might win a book. I appreciate especially your 'honest' columns, where you reveal the personality flaws or quirks that so many of us share. And so many of your readers are librarians. I am not, but admire the profession. So thanks again for writing your column and keeping this group going." -- Sue M
No Eggs, No Problem, Start Baking
"Hi, Suzanne, my in-laws had divorced years before I came on the scene, and I was friendly with both of them. Shortly after our marriage--not quite 30 years ago, before my father-in-law's birthday, I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. He responded that he wanted the chocolate cake my mother-in-law used to make. So I called her and she dictated the recipe to me over the phone.
After we hung up, I thought it was strange there were no eggs in the cake, but she had told me that it was a recipe handed down from her grandmother, so I guessed perhaps it was a Depression-era conservation measure and I forged ahead. While making it, I found I had to beat it on high for quite a while to get the batter to look right. It baked up fine, I frosted it, and my father-in-law said it was great. I continued to make that family recipe for years--and it always brought raves. Now this is no fancy cake--just a simple 9 x 12 pan cake with a delicious, slightly grainy icing.
About five years after I started making the cake, I made it for a family gathering that included my mother-in-law. As everybody was enjoying the cake, I commented that it was the only cake I had ever made that contained no eggs. My mother-in-law got a funny look on her face and replied that it had two eggs! I showed her the piece of paper that I'd written the recipe on when she read it to me over the phone--no eggs! To this day I still do not know if she accidentally omitted the eggs, or if she wanted her version to be better. Here's the recipe, including the eggs:
Great Grandma Fisher's Cake
Dissolve together: 1 1/2 C sugar & 1 1/2 C buttermilk or sour milk (we like the sour milk version better) Melt and cool: 3 oz baking chocolate & 3 Tbsp butter Gradually add to sugar/milk mixture: 2 1/4 C flour & 1 1/2 tsp baking soda & a dash salt Beat in 2 large eggs & 1 1/2 tsp vanilla Beat in chocolate/butter mixture, beating until light.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.
Frosting: Combine 1 1/2 C sugar, 3 Tbsp butter, 1 1/2 oz baking chocolate, dash salt, 1/3 C milk, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until at a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute, still stirring, then remove from heat. Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, and beat until spreadable. OK to frost the cake when warm. Enjoy! -- Devon M.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
** AUTHORBUZZ **
THE RECIPE BOX (Fiction) by Viola Shipman
My new novel is inspired by my grandmothers' beloved recipe boxes and filled with treasured family desserts like cherry chip cake and peach-blueberry slab pie. We all have old, flour-flecked, handwritten recipe cards with treasured recipes, ones we ask our moms, grandmas and sisters to make because they capture beautiful memories. Like a favorite family dessert, The Recipe Box is filled with love and sweetness, things we could use more of these days.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE RECIPE BOX to read more and to email author Viola Shipman, you'll get a reply.
* This month's Penguin Classics book is PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, by Joan Lindsay. Start reading now and enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin tote bag.
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