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CAKES

Banana Nut Cake

THE G.O.A.T.

INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS

3 cups sugar
1 cup shortening (Crisco)
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butter flavoring
1/2 tsp banana extract
4 whole eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 level tsp soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
6 small ripe bananas
1 cup chopped pecans

  1. Preheat oven to 325°

  2. Cream shortening, sugar and flavorings

  3. Add eggs 1 at a time

  4. Sift flour, soda, and salt together (I dissolve the soda in the buttermilk)

  5. Add alternately with buttermilk

  6. Mash bananas and add to the batter

  7. Stir in pecans

  8. Spoon batter into greased and floured 10" stem pan

  9. Bake for 90 minutes (or 70 minutes for 2 loaf pans)

  10. Ovens vary, so test for doneness

  11. Cool before removing

Banana Nut Cake

I found this recipe on the box of Adam’s Best Vanilla extract in 1962. We were married in January of that year and the entire Stevens family came to our home in Quitman, Texas, for Thanksgiving. I prepared this cake for our holiday dinner and have made hundreds of them since that day!! It is the #1 request from ALL my children for every holiday or family gathering. In the Stevens family, it is the Greatest Of All Time!

Apricot Nectar Cake

from Mary Lawrence, Quitman, Tx

INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS

1 yellow cake mix (Betty Crocker)
1 lemon Jello
3/4 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup apricot nectar
4 eggs
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
lemon juice (to taste)

  1. Preheat oven to 350°

  2. Mix all ingredients except eggs

  3. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each

  4. Pour in a greased tube pan and bake 40-60 minutes testing for doneness

  5. Glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

from Aunt Audrey Stevens

INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS

1  3/4 cups sugar 
1  3/4 cups margarine or butter, softened 
6 eggs 
2 cups powdered sugar 
2  1/4 cups Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour 
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar 
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 
4 to 6 tsp milk 

  1. Preheat oven to 350°

  2. Grease and flour a bundt pan

  3. Combine sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy

  4. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each

  5. Gradually add powdered sugar; blend well

  6. By hand, stir in flour, cocoa and nuts until well blended

  7. Spoon batter into greased and floured pan; spread evenly

  8. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from sides of pan. Test for doneness by observing dry, shiny brownie-type crust.

  9. Cool upright in pan 2 hours. Invert onto serving plate; cool at least 2 more hours.

Aunt Audrey did not serve this with a glaze. Pillsbury Kitchens had this as an option, so including it here. If you use, just drizzle over cake top allowing some to run down the sides.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

from Glenda Brooks

INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS

1 cup butter
2  3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/4 tsp soda
3 cups flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar 
2-3 Tbs lemon juice or to taste
3-4 Tbs hot water
   Measurements are approximate, mix glaze to taste

  1. Preheat oven to 350°

  2. Grease and flour a tube pan

  3. Mix all ingredients well

  4. Pour in pan and bake for one hour

  5. Cover top and sides of cake with glaze while cake is hot

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​This cake has been a favorite of grandson Sam Stevens for many years. He began requesting it for his birthday when he was a little boy.

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