Family Traditions

I'm southern. I believe they are extremely powerful. They are the making of memories and last night we continued one.

My Gammy passed away before she could meet Mini K, yet there are days when I know they have met by the words that come out of Mini K's mouth. I remember being a little girl in her kitchen and listening to her every word. I know many of you did the accent blog so this might sound familiar. EVERY soda in our family was coke. You would say: "I'll have a coke." and someone would respond "what kind?"

I can still see the apron she was wearing when she told me that Coca Cola was actually medicine. I couldn't believe it. She went on to tell me it could cure grumpiness and she would show me how. It was at that very moment when I made my first Coca Cola cake with her. While we were baking she told me that in our family, when there is nothing we can do for someone but pray, that you should make sure they never have to pray on an empty stomach. It sounded odd, but for as long as I can remember everytime we have known someone going through a difficult situation my mother has cooked for them. I guess I just followed in their footsteps.

My good friend K is going through a tough time. I wish I could say it was going to get better, but in reality the emotional struggle lies ahead. She is a strong woman, with two beautiful children and has already had to deal with more than her fair share of loss. So last night, I did what I watched my mother and Gammy before me do. I cooked, or really baked, but this time I had a helper: Mini K. Of course when she saw the bottle of Coke and jar of cocoa come out she insisted that we needed to make two, and so we did. I told her that her Mrs. S was having a rough week and sometimes a little dessert can make a bad day a little sweeter. So we made not one but two cakes and a casserole (stereotypical I know!) and I dropped them off today. I know they can't take away her troubles, but I just hope they tasted okay and allowed her to focus on her family for a few minutes!

I won't post a photo of my Gammy's recipe because it is sitting in a safe deposit box. I put it in there after 9-11. It was one of the few pieces of paper that has been in her hands, my mother's and mine and it will go to Mini K someday. It might just be paper, but to me it is so much more!

Coca Cola Cake

I will say I like to chill my piece, but Mini K LOVES hers at room temperature..

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a retangular pan

Dry Ingredients

2 cups of flour

2 cups of sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Put the following in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until it boils:

1 cup butter

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup Coca Cola (Gammy always said it tasted better if the Coke came from a bottle instead of a can)

1/2 cup buttermilk

Once it boils, pour it into the dry ingredients and whisk away. Then add 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Pour into the pan and bake for 30 minutes.

When you have about 10 minutes left in the oven make the glaze.

In a saucepan combine:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup Coca Cola

Once this boils remove it and add 4 cups of powdered sugar.

Take the cake out of the oven and pour the glaze on. Now the tough part: WAIT. In our house this usually lasted about 10 minutes until my grandfather snuck the first piece, always a corner!

You can eat it cold, chilled, room temperature, warm, but be warned...IT IS RICH.

Enjoy!