Aunt Esthers Favorite Cake Recipes

AUNT ESTHER'S SECRET RUM CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300. Grease tube pan with removable bottom. Add a ring of wax paper to bottom of pan to ease release after cooking.
• Beat butter and sugar thoroughly. Add yolks.
• In another bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda.
• Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream to butter mixture.
• Add extracts and rum, if desired.
• In separate chilled bowl, beat whites to stiff peaks.
• Fold whites into batter.
• Spoon into pan.
• Coat top with additional sugar.
• Bake at 300 for 1.5 to 2 hours until cake tester comes out clean.

AUNT GERALDINE'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9x13-inch pan; dust pan with flour. Sift flour, sugar and salt into large bowl. Combine coffee, butter, and cocoa in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture is smooth and comes to boil. Pour coffee mixture over flour mixture; stir until blended. Add buttermilk, eggs, cinnamon, baking soda and vanilla and stir until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack.
• For frosting:
• Combine cocoa, butter and 6 tablespoons buttermilk in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Stir until mixture is smooth and comes to boil. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat frosting until smooth, adding more buttermilk by tablespoons if frosting is too thick.
• Spread frosting over cake in pan. Sprinkle walnuts over. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature 3 hours before serving.)

AUNT BURVIN'S SOUTHERN TEA CAKES

Steps:

• Beat white sugar, confectioners' sugar, and butter together in a stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat until fully incorporated. Pour oil into sugar-butter mixture; beat until smooth. Slowly add flour to sugar-butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition until dough is stiff. Refrigerate dough, 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Drop dough by the spoonful onto baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Work in batches if needed.

AUNT GEORGIA'S GUMDROP CAKE

Steps:

• Remove black gumdrops if you don't like them (I use them). Toss gumdrops in a little flour before using. This keeps them from dropping to the bottom of the cake.
• Warm the applesauce in the microwave until just a bit hot, not REALLY hot. Stir in the baking soda and allow it to dissolve. Allow to cool a bit.
• Cream together: butter/margarine, sugars and eggs. Mix in applesauce with baking soda.
• In separate bowl, combine flour, allspice, cinnamon and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture along with floured gumdrops and nuts and stir in until incoporated.
• Grease two loaf pans or one bundt pan (9 inches at least). Add batter and bake in preheated 300 degree oven for 1.5 to 2 hours until done. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out with little specks of cake, but not doughy.

AUNT ESTHER'S SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the dry ingredients together, and set aside. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together 3 to 4 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and mix for about 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time Add the vegetable oil and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, a bit at a time, just until combined. Don't over-mix. For best results, line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or a Silpat). NOTE: The dough will be soft, so a cookie scoop makes the task a lot easier. Otherwise, chill the dough for at least 15 minutes, if you don't have a cookie scoop. I like to use a 2-inch cookie scoop to measure 12 cookies per sheet, spaced about 2" apart. With the flat of your palm (I lightly moistened my hands with water so the dough doesn't stick), gently press the cookie down just enough to flatten it out to be even. Sprinkle sugar on top. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. The cookies should be slightly brown around the edges. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Once the cookies are completely cool, they will be crunchy, with a tender texture on the inside. Yield: 3 dozen cookies. If you make 1-inch cookies, you should have 5 to 6 dozen.

FAVORITE AUNT'S POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Cream together butter and oleo. Add 2 eggs, then cream cheese and sugar. Mix in 1 cup flour. Add 2 eggs and mix in 1 cup flour. Mix in last 2 eggs and vanilla. Pour into greased and floured tube pan. Bake in cold start oven 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees.