To Catch A Husband Cake

The recipe to this story is the Husband Catcher Cake. In honor of this theme, I'd like to share two short stories of Happy Endings.

Mom had been dating a young man, Peter, when she was in her early twenties. He was a nice guy whose parents were friends of Mom's parents. As swell as Peter was, there weren't any "sparks", and this was a blessing for 4 important people in our lives.

One day, Peter's mom, Tess, took my mother aside and said, "Eugenia, Peter is a fine young man and I love him, but he's not the one for you. Wait until you meet my other son, Paul, he's the one." My mom smiled and nodded politely.
Shortly after, there was a party in which my mom attended. She sat in a corner drinking punch with Peter at her side when suddenly a handsome man wearing "Dress Whites", a US Navy uniform, made an entrance. Mom felt as if no one but the sailor and she were in room, her heart quickened and her pulse drummed in her ears.
"Paul!" Peter exclaimed rushing to the soldier's side and pulling him toward Mom. Introductions were made, and it was love at first touch for both of them.

The only dilemma... Mom didn't want to "drop" Peter and hurt his feelings, even though there wasn't a real commitment between them. The solution? Nina, mom's first cousin, was pretty, fun and available. Mom just knew that Nina and Peter would be a good match. And it was...they hit it off from the start. The two couples were inseparable and walked down the aisle not long afterwards.

I once asked Dad what attracted him to Mom...with a twinkle in his eyes, he said, " she had a shapely derriere and boy-oh-boy could she cook!" Spoken like a true...um...sailor. I think if Mom had to resort to "dolci" she'd have baked, The Husband Catcher Cake, and snagged him in a blink!

The second story is short and sweet and true, and it was the lucky lady in the story who gave me the Husband Catcher recipe.
Chris was crazy for Tommy, but he paid little attention to her. He was quite popular. She was determined to win his heart and brought this chocolate-to-die-for cake to a party they were both attending. Near the end of the evening, she cut a slice and sweetly offered it to him. He took her home that night and they've been married for over 30 years, happily I might add.  The End.

Husband Catcher Cake


2 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
6 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil **no substitute
2 Tablespoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream diluted in 1 cup of milk
1/2 cup hot water

1 well-greased Bundt pan
Preheat oven 350 degrees
Stir all the ingredients together *except the vanilla extract* with 1/2 cup of hot water
*Do NOT mix with an electric mixer.  Batter should be loose/soupy
Add vanilla extract. Stir
Pour batter into well greased bundt pan
Bake 40-50 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean

*Remember....Make Memories At The Table

Kids Say The Darndest Things: Whipped Cream Cake

There was a TV celebrity and humorist, Art Linkletter who had a show, "Kids Say The Darndest Things." It was sort of a Candid Camera with kids as the "victim". Children were put on the spot with questions like, "What did your parents tell you NOT to say on this show today?" The answers were always hilarious. A response might be, "They said not to tell that they always fight or that Daddy walks around the house in his underwear." The parents of these kids had bragging-rights.
Parents and Grandparents brag about their kids...a lot. Rightly so, most of the time. A baby is a beautiful miracle, but tell the truth, not all babies are beautiful...a few look like Mr. Magoo.  Anyway, I'm a Mom who is proud of my child and his accomplishments, BUT. Years ago, I made a promise that my son would not be the main topic of every conversation with friends and family. I might love him with all my heart, but no one has to hear about every detail of his quite ordinary life. As I've often told him, "The world's not gonna love you like momma loves you." On the other hand, I never said I wouldn't talk about him in a blog.
Food & kids is a topic I enjoy. Nothing pleases me more than a child that eats with gusto. A baby that is a two-fisted eater is a delight to behold. Most of my 17 nieces and nephews will agree that the Feast of the Seven Fish on Christmas Eve is a meal they look forward to all year. Bowls of scungilli & stuffed calamari in a tomato sauce get devoured on this special night. Plates of octopus salad, battered shrimp and baccala are inhaled in record breaking time. All I can do is sit back and grin. Broccoli, green salad and escarole pie are equally enjoyed by my not-picky younger generation of the family. Is there anything cuter than a wee one with chocolate smeared on his/her smiling face? Not in my books.
My favorite photo of my child is...he's less than two years old sitting in his high-chair. There's a bowl of mussels in marinara sauce in front of him. He's so excited about the frutta di mare before him that he's run his sauce slicked little hands through his hair. It's sticking out in every direction. A huge smile is plastered on his sauce splattered face. Now, that's my kind of kid! So not to sound like I'm bragging...I will tell you that this same child ate sand at the beach..by the hands full. In his defense, the doctor said it was nature's way of relieving his teething pain..the salt in the sand and the grittiness felt good.
Okay, now to get to the recipe for this post. I was waiting at the bus stop for my son to get home from school. He was about 5 or 6 years old. The bus pulled up and the doors opened. My child stumbled off, literally. What a sight he was. His shirt was half in and half out of his jeans, his face had a black smudge on it and his hair was mussed out of control. He was a mess! "What on earth happened to you?" I asked. He looked down, then back up at me. He gave out a long sigh and with grown-up seriousness said, "Today, I was whipped-creamed." He certainly looked it. And....kids say the darndest things.

Chocolate Whipped Cream Angel Food Cake

1 Box of Angel Food Cake
1 Quart Heavy Cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt
1 cup coconut flakes
8-10 chocolate candies or coffee chocolate beans (any kind you like)
Tube cake pan
Whipped cream tip: place metal mixing bowl and beaters in freezer for 10 min. before mixing.

Bake the Angel Food cake according to the directions and pour into a tube pan. Let cool. Once cooled, slice top off of Angel Food Cake about 2 inches. Scoop out a second "well" inside of cake about an inch from tube "well", set aside the cake you scooped out. Fill inside of cake (both wells) with chocolate whipped cream, packed tight. Put top back on cake and frost the top and the outside with remaining cream.

Frosting: put cold heavy cream in a mixing bowl & beat on medium speed until slightly thickened.  Gradually add powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and cocoa. Beat on high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Don't overbeat.

After frosting cake, sprinkle top with coconut.  Decorate top with candies. Left over pieces of the inside of the cake are good for dipping in fondue or remaining cream.

**Kudos to my co-worker, Kathy, for baking this cake and giving me the recipe.

Remember To Make Memories At The Table