The Cookbook Experiment: Do Nothing Cake

 Tonight's dessert is another one from the Littles family. Mrs. Alverta Littles is one seriously amazing woman. I love her quiet faith and steady hand. She is definitely someone you can believe when she says she is praying for you, you know she is.

Do Nothing Cake by Alverta Littles

(2) cups flour
(2) cups sugar
(2) eggs
(1) teaspoon vanilla
(1) teaspoon soda
(1) teaspoon salt
(1) large can crushed pineapple
(1/3) cup Wesson oil

In a 9" x 13" baking pan mix all cake ingredients.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Topping

(1) stick margarine
(1) cup sugar
(1) 5 ounce can milk, evaporated
(1) cup chopped nuts
(1) cup coconut

To make cake topping cook margarine, sugar, milk for 5 minutes over medium heat. Do not burn. Add nuts and coconut, spread over hot cake. Then cool.

My take-a-ways for this recipe:

• The can of pineapple is 20 ounces.
• Any vegetable or corn oil is okay for the Wesson oil.
• Truthfully, I would not have mixed the cake right in the baking pan if I had realized just how much stirring was required. I was constantly in danger of flour/sugar going overboard with how much mixing was required.
• For the topping I used butter in lieu of margarine...because BUTTER is better in my opinion.
• Please be very, very careful with the topping. I cooked mine over medium low and timed the five minutes just as it began to boil. This mixture is prone to bubble up (or spit as I call it) on you and could cause a burn. I would not stop stirring once you set the five minute timer.
• The recipe says to cool.  That did not happen. I cut immediately and it was a little rough. You could tell it needed to cool first.
• I thought the topping tasted like sweetened condensed milk, a light version, with coconut added in.
• Thank you Alverta, this was a good dessert for tonight and everyone (except my non-coconut eating oldest child) loved it.

My favorite cornbread

My family loves cornbread. I know every family has their own version. This is the way that I like to make it.
I start with three boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix.

Next I add two tablespoons of granulated sugar. This recipe is definitely  not one for diabetics.

Three eggs go in next. Please, for the sake of all things, crack your eggs in a separate bowl! I know when you watch these fancy chefs on TV they crack their eggs right in the bowl they are mixing in, but they have the benefit of RE-TAKES! You, on the other hand, do not.  You might drop a piece of shell into the mix, or you might crack open a bloody egg. So you have to wash one extra dish? Just do it!!

Next add one cup of evaporated milk. You could use regular 2% milk. It does not have to be evaporated. It is just what I like to use.

Next drain one regular sized can of corn and add.

Give it a good stir. Now is NOT the time to break out the Kitchen Aid or the mixer. A good wooden spoon and some elbow grease are all that is needed.  Stir until the corn meal is mixed and set it aside.

Get a stick of butter and place in a 9" x 13" pan and put in your 400 degree oven to melt.

Carefully remove from the oven and pour the corn bread mixture over the top of the melted butter.

Place back into the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. You can stick a knife in the center and it comes out clean.

It is my favorite. I serve it quite often with the usual chili or pinto beans but sometimes I make it just for the simple pleasure of it. It is one of my "go-to" comfort foods that my family loves.