Classic Southern Desserts

When I was a little girl, nobody made cakes using a mix. I’m not sure when cake mixes were invented, but they didn’t come to small towns in the South until way after everybody else was buying them. I, for one, think there is absolutely nothing as good as a made-from-scratch-cake. Yes, they are a little denser and heavier than box cakes, but come on! That’s actually the way cakes are supposed to be — we just have all gotten used to the box cake.

My Mama made cakes all the time. Mardi Gras Party Cake, a recipe she got out of a magazine, was was one of her specialties. It had nuts and coconut and I’m not sure what else. My Cousin Sissie made the best caramel cake and lemon cheese cake you would ever taste. Back then, cooks made real caramel icing. You mix white sugar and brown sugar in a cast iron skillet and cook it slowly until it caramalizes. I’ve got a much easier caramel icing recipe I use that tastes almost as good.

I’m betting most of you have never heard of lemon cheese cake. It’s not cheesecake; it’s “cheese cake.” There’s no cream cheese in it at all. It’s actually a white cake with lemon curd for the filling. Nobody ever makes it anymore, but it’s one of my very favorites. I’ve been trying to perfect it for years, and when I do, I’ll share it with you.

In the next post, we’ll start with one of the Southern cook’s favorite cakes, the old-fashioned pound cake. It’s easy to dress up with a chocolate or lemon glaze, but it’s just as good plain.

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