Sock-it-to-Me Cake

1 yellow cake mix

4 large eggs

1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese + 2 Tbsp. milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

Streusel Filling:

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Glaze:

½ cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. melted butter

1 tsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.  Melt cream cheese in microwave until soft.  Stir in milk.  Combine cake mix, eggs, water and cream cheese.  Mix well for 2-3 minutes on medium speed.  Pour ½ of the batter into the pan.  In another bowl mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans.  Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter (save 2-3 Tbsp. for topping).  Add remaining batter over streusel mix.  Bake 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Glaze:  Mix the powdered sugar, melted butter and milk.  Drizzle over hot cake that has been placed on a plate.  Sprinkle with remaining streusel filling.

COMMENT:  I have a friend who is 99 years old and her favorite cake is the Sock-it-to-Me Cake.  I normally buy one but when I was getting ready to make something good to take to the nursing home on Sunday I spotted a Sock-it-to-Me Cake on the Duncan Hines site.  I checked it out and found it a bit hard to read due to the way it was written but decided to give it a try anyway.  The original recipe called for sour cream, which I normally keep but found that I was out and didn't want to go all the way to the store for just one cup.  Then I spotted the cream cheese.  I knew that if I microwaved it and added just a little milk it would end up the consistency of sour cream so I made that substitution.  It was one that I'll be using in the future for not only sweet dishes but also a few veggie dishes.  The original also called for a carton of their frosting mix.  I seldom use store bought frosting so I made up my own using the powdered sugar.  They also added 1/4 cup of sugar to the cake mix.  I couldn't see the need so I eliminated that.  My only other change was to save some of the streusel to sprinkle on the top.  All of these changes worked beautifully.  The taste the cream cheese gave the cake was so good.  This is a simple, yet one of the best cakes that would be great for the upcoming holidays.

Pineapple Coconut Cake

1 pineapple cake mix
1 can sliced pineapple (save juice)
1 can (or 1 cup) shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Make cake mix according to directions but use the pineapple juice in place of the water.  This can be made in loaf pans, round pans or 9 x 13 baking dish.  Spray the pan you plan to use with non-stick spray.  Lay out the pineapple.  Sprinkle with coconut.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Bake according to the directions on the package for the pan size you're using.

Comments:  This is one of the best cakes I've ever had the pleasure of eating and all of my food testers agree.  There is one ingredient I love to use but have a hard time finding.  It's a grated coconut in a can with coconut milk.  When I do find this it's usually in the Mexican food section but I seldom run across it.  If you use this grated coconut with milk, spoon it over the pineapple, picking up some of the milk as you go.  Use about 1/2 the can over the pineapple and include the remaining into the cake mix.  Just make sure you take the amount of coconut milk into consideration when adding liquids to your cake mix.  I measured my remaining milk and then added the pineapple juice to come up with the amount of liquid the cake mix called for.

Pumpkin Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 can pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 stick butter, melted
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup water
2 cartons (8 oz. each) Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread
1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl mix cake mix, pumpkin, butter, eggs, cinnamon and water until smooth and creamy.  (I mixed my butter with the pumpkin to cool it off).  Pour into 2 cake pans sprayed with non-stick or 1 bundt pan sprayed with non-stick or 1 deep square pan sprayed with non-stick.  Bake according to time on the cake box or until toothpick comes out clean.  I used a large square pan and cooked mine for about 45 minutes.  If using a bundt or deep square pan, allow cake to cool and slice across the center making 2 layers.  In another large bowl mix cream cheese and 1 cup of powdered sugar.  Add more if needed to make a creamy, spreadable mixture.  After cake cooks, ice.  Refrigerate.

Comment:  A friend gave me 2 containers of Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese and I had no idea what to do with it.  It is delicious as is but the expiration date was coming up soon and I knew I would never eat both containers before that date.  I've made cream cheese frosting before and know how delicious it is so why not make Pumpkin Cream Cheese frosting.  The cake portion came partly from a recipe I found online for a layered, bar cake/cookie but it gave me enough information to know how much liquid to eliminate while using the can of pumpkin.  This one turned out to be a winner.  Even if you don't like pumpkin, you'll never know that is what you're eating.  I gave a big slice to a friend who hates pumpkin.  He loved it.  I told him it was a spice cake with cream cheese icing.  Fooled him!  You can add a few nuts to the cake or icing if you like to give it another texture.  Oh yeah, the frosting makes enough that you can put a nice thick layer between the layers.  Enjoy!

Coconut Pecan Cornbread

1 pkg. Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup powdered sugar
cream (milk or water if you want)

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix muffin mix according to package directions.  Stir in coconut and pecans.  Pour into 3 mini-loaf pans.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Mix the powdered sugar with the cream (milk/water) using just enough to allow it to melt and drizzle.  Spoon over hot bread.  Sprinkle with more coconut and chopped pecans (optional)

Comment:  My order at a nearby BBQ house came with a sweet mini-loaf of cornbread.  I don't normally like sweet cornbread but gave it a try.  As I took a bite I noticed how moist it was and that it wasn't very grainy.  This made me start thinking about how good this would be with coconut and pecans added making it a dessert instead of just a bread.  I remembered how sweet Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix is and decided to give it a try.  I didn't hit the nail on the head, but I came close.  The Jiffy Mix did have a bit more of a grainy texture but it still worked beautifully.  And my food testers loved it too!  One stood eating her whole loaf while we were standing there talking about it.  She said it was that good.

Better Than Sex Cake

Sorry I don't have a picture of this cake.  Working with a new program and somehow lost the picture.  It was a pretty picture and tasty looking picture.  This is a picture I found that looks the closest to my cake.

1 Butter Yellow Cake Mix
Mix and bake according to directions using a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Poke holes in the cake (I used a wooden spoon handle).  Allow to cool.

1 cup sugar
1 large can crushed pineapple with juice
While the cake is cooking combine the sugar and pineapple with juice in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil over med. high heat allowing the sugar to melt.  Pour evenly over the cooled cake.

1 large box vanilla instant pudding mix
Make pudding mix according to box directions.  Spread evenly over pineapple.

Sprinkle with nuts and coconut.

Top with whipped topping and sprinkle with pecans.

Refrigerate.

Comment:  Shirley McLain, Author of Princess Adele's Dragon, sent this recipe to me to go with my review for her book.  As soon as I read it I knew I had to add this to my must make list.  I made it over the weekend and OMGoodness!  This cake is a gotta make many times again recipe.  I used unsweetened coconut and almond slivers which gave it a nice texture and taste.  So good.  I want to give this a try using a carton of frozen, thawed strawberries next.  This cake has many possibilities.

Coconut Pudding Cake

1 cake mix (yellow or white)

2 pkg. (4 serving size each) coconut pudding
2 1/2 cups milk

Mix the cake according to package directions and bake in 2 round cake pans.  Cool COMPLETELY.  Mix pudding and milk.  Allow to thicken.  Slice the cakes in down the middle making 4 round layers.  Carefully lay a layer onto your cake plate, cover with pudding.  Carefully add the next layer and repeat with pudding.  Continue ending with pudding being your topping.  Sprinkle with coconut (optional).

Comment:  This is so easy.  I originally thought about putting the pudding between the layers only and icing the cake but changed my mind using the pudding on top.  When I sliced my layers I carefully placed each on a paper plate.  When putting together use the thickest one 1st (there will always be one thicker than the other when you slice).  Add pudding, top with a thinner layer, add pudding and top with other thin layer using the other thick one for the top.  This cake came out so moist!  And think of all the other flavors you might want to use.  Pistachio would be delicious!!  You could do chocolate with chocolate cake, or yellow.  Lemon maybe.  Whatever pudding flavor you might like you can make a delicious cake with.

Lemon Almond Pudding Cake - the only changes was to use a lemon cake mix and lemon pudding along with almond slivers sprinkled over each layer.  So good!

Butter Pecan Pan Cake

1 box Butter Pecan Cake Mix
chopped pecans
cinnamon
Butter Pecan Syrup
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a spring form pan with non-stick spray.  Mix the Butter Pecan Cake Mix according to package.  In the bottom of the spring form pan sprinkle pecans (about 1/4 cup).  Sprinkle with cinnamon (about 1 Tbsp.).  Pour half the batter over the nuts.  Sprinkle more pecans over the batter (about 1/4 cup).  Sprinkle with cinnamon (about 1 Tbsp.).  Drizzle with Butter Pecan Syrup (about 1/4 cup).  Add remaining batter.  Bake 40-50 minutes or until done in the center.  Let cook for 10-15 minutes before moving to a plate, nut side down.

Mix 1 cup powdered sugar with enough Butter Pecan Syrup to make a drizzle.  Add the syrup just a little at a time, mix, add more as needed.  Drizzle over warm cake.  Sprinkle with more chopped pecans.

Comments:  I spotted a butter pecan cake mix in my cabinet and decided to play with it.  I thought I would see if I could come up with a coffee cake using the pecans and cinnamon on the bottom and in the center.  Just before I added the 2nd half of the batter I decided to give it a little drizzle with the syrup.  That, my friend, is what gave this cake it's special Pan Cake taste.  It came out moist yet a little gooey in the center from the syrup.  The glaze of sugar & syrup ended up being the perfect touch to make it even better.  I've had everyone that had the pleasure of trying this cake tell me it was the best yet!  And I do have to agree.  Perfect for the upcoming holidays.  The spring form pan is a must due to this being sticky.  It would fall apart if you tried to make it in a regular bundt or cake pan.  So, why did I name it Butter Pecan Pan Cake?  When I go to IHOP I always have butter pecan syrup over my pancakes and this cake turned out tasting just like them, with a few nuts added.

Cherry Pie Cake

1 yellow cake mix
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick butter, melted
1 can (21 oz.) pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  To make the crust - In a medium bowl combine cake mix, eggs and butter.  Press into baking dish.  Spread pie filling over the crust.  Bake 40-45 minutes or until cake is done.  A toothpick will not come out clean in this so watch for a spring in the center when pressed down.

Comments:  I had a can of cherry pie filling, that had been forgotten, in my pantry.  The use by date was still about a year away but I didn't want to forget it again so I started thinking about ways to us it other than as a pie or cobbler.  I remembered some cookies that I make using a cake mix so decided to see how that would work out as a crust.  Boy did I hit it right!  I used the cookie recipe which uses the ingredients above but instead of making them into cookies I just pressed the mix into the baking dish to form a crust, adding the pie filling as a topping.  The flavor from the butter along with the cherry filling gives this dish such a rich flavor.  It's good hot, warm or cold and you can change the filling to your own favorite.  I can't wait to try this with strawberries or black berries or mixed berries or blue berries or, or, or----

Sad Cake

4 eggs, beaten well
1 box (1 lb.) light brown sugar
2 cups biscuit mix (like Bisquick)
1 cup pecans
1 cup coconut

Combine all ingredients.  Cook at 350 degrees. (read my comment for better directions)

Comment:  This was the total recipe with directions that I found in an old 1970's cookbook.  I had never heard of a Sad Cake so I googled it to see if I could find more info.  I was able to find that it is called a "Sad Cake" because it falls.  I also found that the recipe I found online included 1/2 cup of oil... so, I decided to follow everything above and add 1 stick of melted butter.  The recipe I found had this baked in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  I poured mine into 2 pound cake pans because I wanted to use one as a gift.  Now for the cooking time.  At 350 degrees my 2 pound cake pans took about 45 minutes to cook.  This cake won't come out with a clean tooth pick but it will come out with a gooey one like you would find if making brownies.  Actually, this is more of a brownie than a cake.  For taste.... OMGoodness!  You can taste the brown sugar and the butter.  Then you get a crunch of the pecans and chew of the coconut.  This is a really delicious 'cake' but don't expect it to come out of the pan nice and pretty.  It won't and that is probably why it's called a Sad Cake.

My thoughts on the name - When I was a kid my mother always yelled at us not to slam the door so her cake wouldn't fall.  I have a feeling this was a cake that had too much sugar added, not enough flour and the poor kid that slammed the door was blamed for making it fall.  I'm glad it did fall because it's delicious.

Cinnamon Cake (from 1983 cookbook)

Sugar Mixture:
1 tsp. cocoa
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar

Batter:

1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream


1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 yellow or white cake mix
1 cup pecans or walnuts
2 tsp. vanilla

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 - 2 Tbsp. hot water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix sugar, cocoa and cinnamon - set aside.  In a mixing bowl combine cake ix, eggs and oil.  Beat until smooth.  Add sour cream, pudding mix, vanilla and nuts.  Beat until blended.  In a spring form pan sprayed with non-stick spray, spread 1/3 of the batter evenly over bottom of pan.  Sprinkle with 1/3 of the sugar mixture.  Carefully spread 1/3 of the batter over sugar mixture.  Sprinkle with 1/3 of the sugar mixture.  Again, carefully spread the remaining 1/3 of the batter over sugar mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 of sugar mixture.  Bake 45 minutes.  Mix powdered sugar, butter and enough hot water to make a glue like paste.  As soon as the cake comes out of the oven and before releasing the spring form, pour glaze over top of cake and allow to melt down the sides.  Cool cake before removing from pan.

Comments:  I found this recipe in a cookbook that has no date but there was a hand written date of 1983 written at the top of the 1st page.  The only sign of an author was the name Nomma from Atlanta, GA.  This cake turned out so good that I can't wait to try more recipes from this book.  It was a little difficult when it came to spreading the batter over the sugar mixture but it was worth the extra trouble.  This is a cake that is simple to make and everyone has loved.  The only changes I made was to add the glaze and the original recipe called for 1 cup pudding mix.  That seemed like a lot so I just used 1 small box of instant pudding.

Strawberry Bars

1 pkg. dry yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 cups sliced strawberries (about 1 pint whole)
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup vanilla wafers, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 x 2 baking dish with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg.  Mix with a fork until crumbly.  Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Bake 10 minutes. 

Evenly lay strawberries over partially cooked cake mix.  In a large bowl combine cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar and vanilla.  Pour over strawberries and carefully spread out evenly.  Bake 25 minutes.  Sprinkle with vanilla wafers and bake another 5 minutes.  After cooled, cut into bars.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Comments:  This was originally a recipe using peaches but a friend picked up some strawberries on her way back from the beach so I decided to give this a try using them instead of the peaches.  The only other change was the addition of the crushed wafers.  In the original you withheld 1/2 cup of the cake mix for topping but I used the whole mix as my crust and topped it with the wafers.  This dish could be made with the peaches, blueberries, and just about any fruit you might like.  It's easy to make and so good to eat.  This would be delicious served hot with a scope of ice cream.  As you can see form the picture, this can also be made in smaller serving dishes.  When I made the smaller size I found no need to change the cooking times. 

Comment from Carol:  We loved this dessert!  I was regretting how short strawberry season is when I tasted this but then I thought it will probably be great with peaches too!

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Cranberry Orange Cake

1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cranberries in a bowl and add 1/4 cup orange juice.  Set aside.  In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and sugar.  Add eggs, oil and buttermilk.  Blend on high for about 2 minutes.  Fold in cranberries with juice.  Pour into bundt or tube pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Invert onto a plate.  Mix confectioners' sugar and 2 Tbsp. orange juice.  Drizzle over hot cake.

Comments:  This recipe actually came from the Pam Cooking Spray site.  The only changes I made was to the eggs.  They were separated with the yolks being added and the whites beaten until stiff and then folded in after the cranberries.  I added my eggs without separating them nor whipping up the whites.  It worked out perfectly.  The only other change was to the drizzle.  The original recipe called for 2 Tbsp. buttermilk which I just couldn't bring myself to use.  I love the taste of buttermilk as long as it's cooked in but not by itself.  This is where I used the 2 Tbsp. of orange juice instead.  No matter what - this is a really good cake.

Root Beer Bundt Cake

1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups root beer

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used semi-sweet chips)
1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp. salt

3 large eggs, beaten

2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Heat 2 cups of the root beer, cocoa powder, chocolate and 1 stick of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts.  Add both sugars and whisk until dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool.  (I put mine in the refrigerator and it had cooled in about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 12 cup Bundt pan with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, allspice and salt.  Whisk the eggs into the cooled root beer mixture.  Gently fold in the dry ingredients (the batter will be slightly lumpy.)  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.  Rotate the pan halfway through.  Transfer to a rack.  Gently poke the cake all over with a skewer and pour 1/4 cup root beer over the cake.  Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes then invert the cake onto a serving plate and let cool completely.  For the glaze whisk the remaining 1/4 cup of root beer, a pinch of salt, the confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.  Drizzle over the cake.

Comments:  This recipe came from a 2001 Food Network Magazine.  There was one step that I didn't do and that was drizzle the 1/4 cup of root beer over the cake while hot.  Instead I glazed it with the sugar mixture.  I'm not a chocolate lover and especially one with this much but the comments I received from my food testers was that it is moist and simply delicious.  They all loved it.  Even those who aren't root beer fans.  I think I'll play with this one and eliminate the chocolate and maybe use some white chocolate instead.  That just might give it a float taste.


Comments from Food Tester Carol:  There is just a hint of root beer in this cake.  In fact my mother did not detect it but other members of my family were delighted by the combination.  My sister said that the root beer makes the cake moist and I agree.  Mother found the cake to be more like the old Devil's Food cake she used to make every Saturday evening for Sunday dinner.  Everyone loved this cake.  It's rich but not heavy like so many of our double and triple chocolates these days.

Butter Cake (with Coconut)

1 1/3 cup good quality unsalted butter, softened (300 gr)
7/8 cup of castor sugar* (200 gr)
pinch of salt
2 cups shredded coconut
3 cups all purpose flour (300 gr)

1 egg, slightly beaten

Mix the butter with the sugar and salt until smooth.  Mix in coconut then mix in the flour 1 cup at a time until you have a dough that sticks together to form a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  Press the dough into a deep pie pan.  Brush dough top with egg and let rest for 1/2 hour.  Preheat oven to 390 degrees (200 C).  Brush again with egg and use a fork to create a grid.  Bake 20 minutes or until golden.  Let cool before taking out of pie pan. 

Comment:  This recipe came from the Netherlands and it called for *castor sugar.  I had no idea what that might be so I did the usual and googled it.  Castor sugar is a very fine sugar but it isn't powdered nor confection sugar, which contains corn starch (I didn't know that.)  It can be made by putting sugar into a blender and pulsing a few times to make it the consistency of the powdered sugar.  I did this using 2 cups of regular sugar and then measured out the 7/8 cup of what was then castor sugar.  It worked perfectly but did leave me with a little left over which I'll use in place of powder sugar when needed.  The recipe called for a butter cake mould which I assumed was a lot like a deep pie pan.  I have a deep glass pie pan and it worked perfectly.  The one thing not called for in the recipe was the coconut.  When reading the original I couldn't help but Think With My Taste Buds and I could taste the butter and coconut together in this recipe.  It was a great addition.  All of my food testers loved it!  Especially while still warm.  For the grid I simply ran a fork across it in one direction, turned it and ran it across the other way making a crisscross grid.  This recipe is wonderful.  For the original recipe plus, visit Eva in the Kitchen.

Food Tester Carol's Comments:  Like so many traditional dishes, this Butter Cake is a very simple recipe - butter, flour, sugar, yet Martha has brought new life to it by adding coconut.  You can't just break off a corn to nibble on.  This dessert does not allow one nibble.  The flavors are so appealing, they call yo to cut another sliver, and another sliver and yet another.  We love the coconut addition to this cake that is just a step away from a shortbread, but I must admit that it was so good I was busy thinking of lots of new additions to give it a new taste sensation!

Peach-Almond Pound Cake

1 yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (3 oz.) peach gelatin
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
Peaches & Whipped Topping

Line the outside bottom of a 10" tube pan (2 part type) with foil.  Combine cake mix and gelatin.  Add water, oil, eggs, and almond extract.  Blend at low speed 3-4 minutes or until smooth.  Spray pan with non-stick spray.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a plate.  Serve with a whipped topping and peaches.  Serves 10.

Comments:  While at an Estate sale I ran across a cookbook that was missing its cover.  The pages were all lose and looked like they needed to be pitched.  But as I ran through some of the recipes I decided to there were some that looked worth saving.  Turns out that this book was copyright in the 1970's and is from Sumter, SC.  It's actually a collection of recipes from a family who lived there.  This recipe is one of the first recipes I decided had to be tried.   It is delicious!  I was a little unsure about it becoming a 'pound' cake since I was using a cake mix but I'm assuming the gelatin had something to do with the outcome of its texture.  It has the traditional pound cake crust on the outside but is a little softer on the inside, but this didn't take away from it's flavor.  And there are so many changes that could be made.  Just look around the jello section of the grocery store at all of the different flavors.  Then Think With Your Taste Buds and come up with your own favorite flavor of pound cake.

Pineapple Banana Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 p. salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (5-6)
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and cloves.  In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds.  Add bananas, undrained pineapple, eggs and vanilla.  Beat until combined.  Add flour mixture 1 cup at a time beating on low speed until all has been added and combined. Turn up to medium speed for 1 minute.  Fold in pecans.  Pour into a tube pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cook in pan for 10 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.

Comments:  I found this recipe in one of my old cookbooks and since I had bananas that were ripe and I didn't want to toss them so I decided to give it a try.   I did add a glaze to mine due to not having an 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple.   I'll explain. .. I had a large can of sliced pineapple.  I put about half of the juice and pineapple in my food processor and created my own crushed pineapple.  Now, what to do with the left over pineapple and juice.  I poured the rest of the juice, about 1/2 cup into a pot, brought it to a boil, removed it from the heat and added about 1 cup of powdered sugar.  Then I cut up the rest of the pineapple and added it to my glaze.  When finished I poked holes in my cake and drizzled this over my still hot cake.    Yummy!

Greek Walnut Cake

Greeks Call this KARIDOPITA.  It is a moist walnut cake with syrup poured over it instead of frosting.

2 cups bisquick
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup milk
1 cup corn oil
4 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp orange flavoring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put all ingredients in one bowl and mix well.  Batter will be loose.  Pour into a 9 x 13 x 2” pan.  Bake for 30 minutes. 

While cake is baking, prepare syrup to be poured over cake after baking.

Boil:  1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 1 tsp. orange flavoring until clear.  Cool and pour over hot cake.

Honey Bun Cake / Donut Cake

1 pkg. butter pecan cake mix
2 sticks of butter, softened
4 eggs
1 container (8 oz.) sour cream
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. evaporated milk, more if needed
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom only of a 13x9x2" pan or spray with non-stick.  Pour cake mix into a large bowl.  Remove 1/2 cup of dry cake and sit aside.  On med. speed, beat in butter, eggs and sour cream for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.  Spread half the batter in the bottom of the pan.  Stir together reserved dry cake mix, brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over batter in pan.  Carefully spread remaining batter over pecan mixture.  Bake 35-45 minutes or until deep golden brown and cake is done in the center.  In a bowl stir together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until think enough to drizzle (add more milk if needed).  Drizzle over HOT cake.  Poke with a fork several times to allow glaze to seep into cake.  Cool completely before slicing.

Comments:  This recipe came to me from an Author friend.  The original recipe called for a yellow cake mix.  I decided to change it to a butter pecan mix.  It also called for milk in the glaze which I changed to the evaporated milk giving it an even richer flavor.  I couldn't wait for the cake to cool completely so I sliced it while still warm.  The taste of this was like eating a nice hot donut!  All of my food testers made the same comment.  This is one cake that is hard to stop eating.  And there are so many possibilities!  You can change the cake mix to just about any flavor you want... chocolate, carrot, even strawberry or lemon.  For some of these I would eliminate the cinnamon (strawberry & lemon) but that would be up to you and your taste buds.  This is a fun cake to make and eat.

Cream Cheese Butter Pound Cake

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 sticks butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a Bundt pan with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.  Gradually add sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each.  Gradually add flour.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake 1 hr. and 20 minutes.

Comments:  This cake is RICH but the flavor is beyond belief.  It's great hot, cold and even toasted.  One piece of advice is to use a Bundt pan with smooth sides or use an angel food cake pan with the removable bottom.  If using this be sure to wrap the bottom with a piece of foil to catch possible drippings.  I used a Bundt pan that had a design and had trouble removing my cake form the pan.  I also used some of the batter to make a 1 lb. loaf size.  For it I found the cooking time to be about 1 hr. 10 minutes so you can divide these into loafs as well giving you 3-4 cakes.  This cake is simple and so good the only problem you'll have is making yourself stop eating it.

Banana Toffee Cake

1 yellow cake mix
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
3 med. bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 pkg toffee chips
cream cheese icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl beat together cake mix, water, oil, eggs and almond extract on low speed for about 30 seconds.  Continue to beat for another 2 minutes on med.  Beat in bananas until smooth.  Take out 1/4 cup of the toffee chips and set aside.  Stir remaining chips into batter.  Pour into 9 x 13 baking pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until cake springs back or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  After taking cake out of oven spoon 6-8 teaspoons of icing over cake.  Allow to sit for 3-4 minutes.  With a knife smooth over cake.  Sprinkle with remaining toffee chips.  Also, the bananas add just enough flavor that the cake doesn't end up tasting like a box cake.

Comments:  I had 3 bananas that needed to be used so I started thumbing through some of my older cookbooks. I found this recipe in a 1996 cookbooklet from Betty Crocker.  The only changes made was the addition of the cream cheese icing and sprinkling the toffee chips on the icing.  I also found that you can take a can of store bought icing, spoon a small amount onto a hot cake and give it a glaze.  If the cake has cooled off enough that it won't melt, put it into a still warm oven.  This makes the perfect glaze for any cake.