Thirty-One Things - Sweet

Sweet

Some crave salt; some crave sweets.  I am definitely on the sweet side.

My mother always had something sweet available for “snack” before bed.  Sunday dinner was the only meal followed by dessert.  Of course, we had the traditional birthday cake (although sometimes she made my dad a pie for his birthday).  My mother also made candy for Christmas time:  black walnut fudge, peanut butter fudge, orange blossoms, Hollywood squares, thumbprints, stained glass windows.  I miss those days.

Fridays our family went to the grocery store and my brother, my sister, and I could choose a packaged candy for snack that night.  I always chose Brach chocolate stars.

My favorite sweet since I was little has been cake. My mother always had a boxed cake made in a 13 x 9 pan for snack.  The frosting was always homemade (they did not have canned frosting in those days, thank goodness!)

Every birthday, my mother would make my favorite cake…I called it colored coconut, but Duncan Hines used to make a Confetti Cake with colored coconut.  My FAVORITE.  It has since been discontinued but I’m looking for recipe hacks to relive that experience.

My next favorite cake is white coconut cake (do you see a theme here?) and white wedding cake.  I will not eat cake with fruit filling or pineapple upside down cake.

I have made Watergate cake (rumor is someone stole the recipe, thus how it got its name), which includes 7up and pistachio pudding.

The easiest cake I make was a recipe given to me by Lois Schuey:  Crème de Menthe cake.  Think mints you get at Olive Garden.  BONUS:  I’ll share it:  White cake mix (no pudding) and using whole eggs.  Otherwise, bake as directed adding 3 T. of green crème de menthe liqueur.  Once cooled, spread a thin layer of chocolate fudge frosting.  Mix 3 T. of green crème de menthe liqueur with a tub of thawed Cool Whip.  Spread over cake.  Keep refrigerated. Wallah!