• (mini) Smith Island Cake

    “Effective October 1, 2008, the Smith Island Cake became the State Dessert of Maryland (Chapters 164 & 165, Acts of 2008; Code General Provisions Article, sec. 7-313). Traditionally, the cake consists of eight to ten layers of yellow cake with chocolate frosting between each layer and slathered over the whole. However, many variations have evolved,…

  • Lillian Lottier’s Tropicaroma Cake

    Before the internet and magazines boasted millions of novel (and disposable) recipes, newspapers were a valuable source for recipes that could become staples in a household. With that in mind, I’m hoping to source more entries from newspaper recipes. This one was shared in 1939 in the Afro-American by Lillian Lottier, prominent Baltimorean, teacher, activist,…

  • Vanilla Butternut (Pound) Cake

    Mid-century food has been a running fascination/source of mockery since the early days of the internet. Even before the widespread popularization of organic, homegrown ingredients, people had largely turned away from the technicolor kitchen adventurism found in old recipe cards. A few weeks ago there was a New York Times article addressing what I have…

  • White Hayman Sweet Potato Pie

    I know that we made much ado about tomatoes a few weeks back, but I actually did take a moment between tomato sandwiches to look forward to fall vegetables. They may not have the same glamour and prestige, but fall crops are comforting, dependable, and versatile. The rainbow of cauliflowers are irresistible. I never seem…

  • PawPaw Cream Pie

    Update: Go to this post for a better recipe or Pawpaw Pretzel Pie I made this pie twice this year. Once with very ripe fruit and once with the ripebut firm and white flesh seen above. I strongly recommend the latter. If you are lucky enough to find some farmed paw-paws then this pie will…