Chocolate Cake with White Icing

Chocolate Cake
This recipe is from Mother Smith who was Paw Paw’s mother. Paw Paw was GrandMommie’s (Diane Southerland) Daddy. So this cake recipe is from Daddy’s great grandmother!

2 C of sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 C of flour
2 (heaping) TB cocoa
½ C of butter milk (or reg. milk & 1 tsp vinegar)
2 eggs, beat thoroughly
½ C butter, softened
1 C water, boiling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour 2 round pans. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients in bowl- set aside. Mix wet ingredients (except for boiling water) in bowl. Combine the two bowls together and blend. Add 1 cup of boiling water. Pour into pans. Bake around 30-40 min. or when you stick a toothpick in it and it comes out clean. Let cool and top with Snow Peak Icing.

Snow Peak Icing
This is Grandmommie’s (Diane Southerland) recipe. Daddy’s mommy!

1 ¼ C corn syrup
2 egg whites
Pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form when beater is raised. While eggs are beating, in a small saucepan, heat corn syrup over medium high heat until boiling. Add salt to egg whites. Slowly pour in syrup, continuing to beat until frosting is fluffy. Fold in vanilla. Frost cooled chocolate cake!

This is a Southerland Family favorite!  Daddy often requests this cake for his birthday and I know that Uncle Michael's family has this for birthdays frequently as well.  I just made this for Daddy's birthday and it looks and smells yummy!!!  GrandMommy used to make this for the children's birthdays.  Anytime it snowed in Texas Daddy used to say, "It looks like chocolate cake with white icing!"  (Only Texas snow looks like that!  Real snow is all white!  Not white with dirt showing through!)  :)
 
Love Always,
Mommy

P.S.  Daddy and Ezra shared this for their birthdays and Ezra LOVED it!  He was a big gooy mess and oh so cute!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy, happy birthday to my awesome Husby!  I hope you have a super day,  Honey.  I love you very much!


Love Always,
Wifey

Spearmint Tea

Sheryl Campbell

5-6 12"-18" twigs of spearmint leaves
generous 1/4 C. evaporated cane juice sugar
2 quarts of water

Cut the twigs of spearmint leaves. Pull leaves off stems and wash leaves. Put leaves in a glass 4 cup measuring cup and pour boiling water over leaves. Add evaporated cane juice sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar. Let steep for 20 minutes. Strain tea into a 2 quart pitcher. Fill pitcher up with water. Serve. Yummy!


The last time we went to Virgina (Nov. 2008) Rob & Sheryl Campbell graciously opened up there home to our family.  While we were there, Sheryl made this tea.  I have wanted to plant spearmint ever since!  :)  We just put our spearmint plants in the ground a couple of weeks ago and I just made our first pitcher of spearmint tea.  It is SO delicious!  Hannah and Daniel love it just as much as I do!  Really great stuff.  Yum!

Love Always,
Mommy

Barley Crackers

From: Wow! This is Allergy Free and Sugar Free by Deborah Steiner and Mary Yoder

2 ½ C. barley flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp sea salt
2 Tb. Evaporated cane juice sugar
¼ tsp cumin
¼ C. coconut oil, melted
½ C. pear juice

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in coconut oil. Add pear juice and mix well.

Roll out thinly on a cookie sheet. Cut into squares. Poke each square with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 min. Cool and eat.

Can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Mommy made these for Joshua for the first time today and all the children really liked them.  I'm not sure there will be any left at the end of the day.  These are "ack-shink" pretty good!  :)  (Ack-shink is a Team Southerland word for actually.  I believe it was Daniel who used to say it when he was little and the word ach-shink stuck around!)

Love Always,
Mommy