Going back to 1986 for this recipe

Apple cake is a seasonal favorite recipe

When I first made this apple cake, I was still a young bride learning how to cook. 

It was 1986, and I was the reporter in the lifestyle department at The Wilson Daily Times. One of my main jobs was reading through all of the press releases that came in the mail from food companies such as Pepperidge Farm, Pillsbury and Kraft. I read the releases and decided which ones our readers might enjoy seeing in the Wednesday edition of the newspaper.

I’m sure this one caught my eye because it sounded like something my family and I would enjoy. In fact, I remember making this cake in the little house Reggie and I lived in on Gold Street the first few years of our marriage. I remember it because of a specific ingredient: marshmallow creme. 

I imagine 1986 was the first time I had used marshmallow creme. I loved experimenting with new recipes even back then.

Every fall, when the new season’s apples start appearing in grocery stores and farmers markets, I start thinking of favorite baked apple recipes: apple pie, apple crisp, baked apples, apple cake with cream cheese frosting, apple cookies. And I always remember this apple cake made with marshmallow cream. I’ve made it a few times since 1986.

In one of my many recipe folders and notebooks, I have a copy of what Kraft called apple upside down cake. Rather than look for the recipe there, I instead relied on technology and found the recipe in a digital archive of newspaper pages. 

I made the cake Friday night, changing the recipe just a bit. I used butter instead of margarine; cut back on the sugar, using 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup; and I used 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of white whole wheat, rather than using 2 cups of all-purpose flour only. I also added a little more than 2 cups of apple, and I didn’t peel the apple. 

I cooked my cake in a glass baking dish instead of a tube pan. I’m not a fan of tube pans. The cooking time was also 15 minutes less — another plus.

Let me tell you, my house smelled so good while that apple cake baked. Honestly, the aroma of apples cooking in the oven is one of my favorite smells. 

When my granddaughter came home from a friend’s house that night, the first thing she mentioned was how good the cake smelled. 

We let the cake cool for a bit before cutting slices for the three of us. It was so good! The apples were moist, the nuts added some texture and taste, and the cinnamon made me think of fall. All good things. The cake remained moist and delicious for several days.

THINGS I LEARNED FROM THIS RECIPE

• The original recipe says to use a mixer to combine the marshmallow cream, lemon juice and cinnamon. I didn’t want to go to the trouble of washing the beaters of my stand mixer I had used to mix the cake batter (no, I haven’t purchased a backup beater or backup bowl for my prized KitchenAid), and I sure didn’t want to get out my hand mixer. Instead, I used a spoon to mix up those ingredients. Worked just fine.

• I used Granny Smith apples for this recipe, and I didn’t peel them first. Other apples would be fine. One large apple was almost enough for the 2 cups I needed, but I decided to use part of the second as well to have plenty of apples. I ended up using around 2 1/4 cups of diced apples.

• I didn’t make my cake as an upside down cake because I cooked it in a baking dish rather than a tube pan. I made a layer of cake batter spreading half the batter, followed by all of the apples, nuts and cinnamon marshmallow cream, all topped with the remaining half of the cake batter. 

Because this is a layered cake, the top of the cake separates a little from the cinnamon filling when you serve it. Be careful when you serve it because it might slide. I’m not sure if this would have been a problem if the cake had been baked in a tube pan. (But if I used a tube pan, the cake probably would have fallen to pieces when I removed it from the pan.)

• This cake is plenty sweet without the extra 1/4 cup sugar. Also, if you’re rather not use the white whole wheat flour, it’s fine to use the full 2 cups of all-purpose flour.

Lisa Boykin Batts has been writing a weekly food column for The Wilson Times since 2001. Her column includes recipes she and her family enjoy. You can reach her at lisa@wilsontimes.com. 

1986 Apple Cake

1 stick butter, softened (I used salted)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sour cream

1 7-ounce jar of marshmallow creme

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 to 2 1/4 cups diced apples (I used Granny Smith and did not peel)

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare tube pan or 13X9-inch pan with baking spray.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in vanilla. Add combined flour, baking powder and baking soda alternately with sour cream. Mix after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine marshmallow creme, lemon juice and cinnamon. Mix with a heavy spoon or a mixer to combine. 

If you are baking in a tube pan, layer half of apples, nuts and marshmallow mixture and distribute evenly, then half the batter, in a well-greased tube pan; repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Immediately loosen cake from rim of pan; invert onto serving plate.

If you are baking in a 13X9-inch baking pan, spread half the batter into prepared pan. Top with all of the apples, pecans and marshmallow cream mixture, distributed evenly. Top with remaining batter. Use the back of a spoon or a knife to spread batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Adapted from Kraft Kitchen

Yule log cake pretty and delicious

Starting my own Christmas tradition

By Lisa Boykin Batts Times Life Editor


We have a new Christmas tradition at my house. This will be the third year I’ve made a delicious yule log from Debbi Baker Covington’s cookbook "Celebrate Everything!” 

I like everything about this dessert. The spongy layer is light and tasty, the whipped cream is perfectly sweet and creamy, and the chocolate glaze is perfect. And it’s easy to make, really! 

I was unsure about trying the cake at first. I had never really made roll cakes. But Debbi assured me it was easy and worth the effort. 

I decided to cook my first yule log on Christmas morning two years ago. I know it sounds silly to make dessert on Christmas morning, but I wanted it perfectly fresh for the night’s special Christmas dinner. 

The layer, cooked in a large jelly roll pan, is very simple to make. If you follow the instructions for preparing the pan with aluminum foil and cooking spray, you should have no trouble removing the cake from the pan and rolling it in a tea towel to cool. 

While the cake is cooking or even cooling, you can prepare the whipped cream for the filling; it only takes a few minutes. Let it chill in the refrigerator until it’s time to use it. 

Once the cake is completely cool, unroll it and remove the tea towel. Spread the whipped cream on the cake layer and roll up again. I usually have some whipped cream left over. If you use too much, it runs out the end of the cake. 

Debbi’s recipe, which came from a French class at Fike High School, uses a different chocolate frosting or glaze. I use a favorite standby recipe that I also make for cakes and cupcakes at my house. It’s a very simple to make with ingredients I always have on hand: chocolate chips, butter, honey and vanilla extract. 

Once the cake is made, it’s very tempting to slice it immediately, but don’t. It needs to be refrigerated to completely cool. 

This cake is delicious just a few hours after it is made, but as it turns out, I didn’t have to make it the same day I wanted to serve it. We love it the next day and day after as well, if there’s any left! 

If you’d like to order a copy of Debbi’s book, visit www.cateringbydebbicovington.com or purchase through Amazon. 

New cookbook 

The Wilson Woman’s Club has a new cookbook, and I will be writing about it soon. But for now, you can purchase it at Fine Prints, Ross McDaniel Salon and Embellishments. You can also leave a message at the Wilson Woman’s Club, 243-3742 and someone will get back with you. 

lisa@wilsontimes.com | 265-7810 

Yule Log 

For the filling: 

1 cup heavy whipping cream 

1/4 cup powdered sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/4 cup chopped pecans (I omit the pecans) 

For the cake: 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup cocoa 

3 large eggs 

1 cup sugar 

1/3 cup water 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Powdered sugar 

For the thin chocolate icing: 

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

3 tablespoons butter 

1 tablespoon honey 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Chill a deep bowl. Place whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until stiff. Fold in nuts if using. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. Can also make whipped cream while cake cooks or cools. 

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a jelly roll pan (151/2 x 101/2 x 1-inch) and line bottom with greased aluminum foil. Blend flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa, set aside. Beat eggs in large mixing bowl until very thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Blend in water and vanilla on low speed. Slowly mix in dry ingredients just until batter is smooth. Pour into pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. 

Loosen edges and immediately turn upside down on a tea towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove foil. While hot, roll cake and towel from narrow end. Cool on wire rack. 

When completely cool, gently unroll cake and remove towel. Spread with whipped cream filling. Roll again and place on a serving platter, seam side down. 

For chocolate glaze, pour chocolate chips and butter into microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir until chips are blended. Mix in honey and vanilla. Pour over cake and use a spoon or knife to cover and smooth. 

Let cool in refrigerator before serving. 

Serves 8 to 10. 

Adapted from Debbi Covington’s "Celebrate Everything” 

Christmas candy tradition

CHRISTMAS CANDY TRADITION Mother and daughter make favorite holiday sweets By Lisa Boykin Batts Times Life Editor A cozy kitchen stocked with plenty of sugar, corn syrup, local pecans, butter and chocolate turned into a candy shop Monday morning with Brenda Bailey and her daughter, Candace Bailey, hard at work for several hours making fudge, crystal candy, divinity and butter crunch. It’s a tradition passed down from mother to daughter in its fourth generation now with Candace’s daughter, Emma Renfrow: candy making, the good kind, and just in time for Christmas. It’s been about a year since my high school friend Candace mentioned on Facebook that she had spent the day making candy with her mother. My first thought was that I had missed an opportunity to spend the morning with these fine ladies who could teach me a thing or two. My second thought? Tell Candace to invite me next year! Lucky me; we both remembered. The mother and daughter team started out making what they call "real fudge” — not the kind made with marshmallows, Candace said, although her mom loves that recipe as well! Brenda pulled out a small, worn cookbook and flipped through the pages to find the handwritten recipe passed down from her mother, Beatrice Dixon, also known as Mama Beat. She’s the inspiration for this yearly cooking binge. Mama Beat used to fill a bedroom with candy for Christmas, the women said, and they love carrying on her tradition. The fudge is made with cocoa, sugar, dark corn syrup, vanilla, butter and evaporated milk. Brenda came from a house with six children. When it came time to make candy, pies and even whipped cream, her mom didn’t want to sacrifice fresh milk on sweets and used canned milk instead. "Therefore, I do the same thing,” she said. As the fudge started simmering, the Bailey women kept a close eye on the candy thermometer. The enticing smell of dark chocolate filled the small kitchen. The anticipation of a pan filled with chocolate fudge made my mouth water! Once the fudge had cooked and was cooling, Candace started assembling ingredients for crystal candy — or hard candy. Over the weekend she had made a batch of peppermint candy, not too strong — the way her daddy, J.W., likes it. Candace’s son, Graham Renfrow, suggested she make it blue. On Monday, we made cinnamon, my favorite! This is the recipe I was most eager to learn, and I watched the process carefully. The Baileys have been making crystal candy since 1984 when they saw the recipe in Southern Living. They’ve made butterscotch, clove and spearmint flavors as well. Once again, the candy thermometer came out. The candy must reach the hard crack stage, 300 degrees, before it’s poured into a pan to cool. Candace and her mom, who lives in the Buckhorn community, have made this candy many times, so they know how to do it quickly. Once the bright red candy was poured into a glass dish and started to cool, Candace got to work scoring it over and over to make sure the marks stayed. She knew that would make it easier to break the candy once it was cool enough to handle. I loved helping with this process, taking off large chunks and breaking the candy along the lines Candace had cut. When I ate the candy, I noticed the smooth edges from the marks Candace had made. There’s plenty of experience behind the third candy of the morning as well: divinity or sea foam candy. "The best thing my mother made was sea foam,” Brenda said. Divinity is a favorite of many Southern families, but it is intimidating to many cooks. Brenda and Candace worked as a team, watching the bubbling mixture reach 259 degrees and making sure the egg whites were perfectly stiff. Mama Beat never used a candy thermometer when she made her sea foam. "My mom always made it spin a thread,” Brenda said, showing a string of the hot mixture extending from the spoon indicating it’s at the correct temperature. Once the egg whites and nuts were beat into the hot mixture, the real teamwork started. "We’ve got to do it fast,” Brenda said. The two grabbed spoons and quickly scooped up just the right amount and placed the fluffy white pieces onto wax paper before the mixture cooled and hardened. The three of us couldn’t resist sampling the delicious white candy filled with fresh pecans. What a sweet, Southern treat! Brenda’s main tip for making divinity is not to make it by yourself. "You need help getting it out,” she said. Also, when beating in the egg whites, beat only until the mixture just loses its gloss, she added. Pay attention to the weather as well. It’s not a good idea to make sea foam candy on a damp or humid day. "And if you don’t do it right the first time, try again,” she said. Before we ate our lunch of Brenda’s delicious homemade vegetable soup, there was one more recipe to make, butter crunch, or toffee. This is another of Mama Beat’s recipes that Brenda has adapted. Once again, a simmering pot of sweetness filled the kitchen, this time with the buttery smell of caramel or toffee. When the mixture had reached the correct temperature, it was poured onto a marble slab to cool. Pecans and chocolate chips were sprinkled on top, then the mixture cooled until it could be cut into pieces. When the four recipes were complete, it was time to divide them into tins for the holiday season.Brenda gives away candy to neighbors and family. She also serves it as dessert at a family spaghetti party. Candace, a professor at North Carolina Central University who also teaches music history at Duke University, often has a houseful of teenagers and young adults who love the candy. "Mine will be eaten,” she said. This candy making tradition is very important to both of them. "It’s just what mom and I do at Christmas,” Candace said. lisa@wilsontimes.com | 265-7810 Real Fudge  3/4 cup cocoa 3 cups sugar Dash of salt 11/2 cups evaporated milk (not diluted) 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped  Stir cocoa, sugar, salt, evaporated milk and syrup in heavy pot with candy thermometer attached. Bring to a boil and continue cooking until mixture reaches 235 degrees. Remove from heat. Add butter and let cool around 30 minutes or until cool enough to touch pot. Add vanilla and nuts. Beat fudge with electric mixer until it loses its gloss and firms up some. Pour into pan. Brenda Bailey Crystal Candy  4 cups sugar 1 cup water 1 cup light corn syrup 5 drops or more food coloring of choice 3/4 to 1 teaspoon oil of cinnamon, peppermint or spearmint  Combine water, sugar and syrup in saucepan or large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add coloring. Continue to cook without stirring until hard crack stage, 300 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in oil. Pour into well-greased 13X9-inch pan. As it begins to cool, score candy to make it easier to break into pieces once it cools. When cool enough to handle, turn out onto parchment paper or other surface. Break into pieces. This can be messy as candy pieces break off and fly. Adapted from Southern Living *Note: It’s best not to make this on a damp or humid day. The flavored oils are sold in tiny glass bottles in cooking supply sections of some stores (I purchased some at Hobby Lobby) as well as from pharmacies. Sea Foam  3 cups sugar 1/2 cup dark corn syrup 2/3 cup water 2 large or 3 medium egg whites 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped  Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside. Pour sugar, syrup and water into heavy saucepan with candy thermometer attached and bring to a boil. Do not stir. Let simmer until it reaches 259 degrees. Slowly pour mixture into mixer bowl with egg whites, with mixer running on medium; add vanilla and nuts and beat until mixture just loses its gloss. Do not overbeat. Quickly spoon candy (about a tablespoonful) onto wax paper using buttered spoons. It’s best to have two people doing this to finish before candy starts to harden. *Note: It’s best not to make this on a damp or humid day. Brenda Bailey Butter Crunch  1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon corn syrup (either light or dark) 3/4 cup pecans, chopped and toasted 6 ounces of chocolate chips  Butter marble slab or large cookie sheet, preferably one with a rim. Melt butter over low heat in a large saucepan. Add sugar; stirring constantly, add in water and syrup. Cook over medium heat until reaches 290 degrees. Remove from heat and pour onto prepared surface. Have a spoon or knife handy in case candy starts to run off edges of marble if that’s what you are using. Sprinkle nuts over surface of candy. Then add chocolate chips. As they melt, use a spoon to smooth evenly. When cool, cut into squares or break into serving-size pieces. Brenda Bailey