One of the most influential people in my life was my grandmother - Mary Catherine Klinkhoff. Not only was she my grandmother, but also one of my best friends. My love of things baked and cooked comes from her. I spent many a day and night at her side in the kitchen (both at home and at work). So here for your perusal are two of her favorite recipes. Chocolate Cake and Banana Cake. Please note they are scans of her ancient and crumbling cook book. (which I inherited after her death.) These take a while to load, but I didn't want to "reduce" them too much.
This is my favorite. I bake it fairly often and know this one in my head. However, here is the mystery I discovered and never really considered it.
I gave this recipe to a friend of mine and they called and wanted to know what a 1/4 butter meant. Now, I have made this with her and watched her make it so I know it means a 1/4 lb of butter or one stick. Since the recipe does not really say how would others know? This is one of those things that gets handed down and eventually gets lost in translation.
This recipe just goes to show it is sometimes delivery. I have made this cake on occasion and it is not my favorite cake, however it is passable as a banana cake. One of the women I used to work with used to bring an awesome banana cake to work occasionally. I finally said I needed the recipe because hers was better than mine. When I got the recipe from her it is the same recipe?? Mine still isn't a good as hers. . .HMMMMMMMM
