Baking Memories

The Joy Of Generational Recipes

The smell of fresh baked bread, cookies, pies, and cakes fills the house with aromas that can’t be beat. More than just creating something to eat, baking passes cherished family recipes to the next generation. Whether it’s mama’s apple pie or your grandma’s famous chocolate cake, we all treasure these recipes to honor and remember those no longer with us.

Sharing family recipes also creates bonding opportunities with kids and grandkids, sparking conversations and family traditions. Last but not least: we relish these time-honored recipes because they’re delicious!

A Holiday Jewel

RALPH OLSEN - TRILOGY® AT THE VINEYARDS

As a youngster growing up in Buffalo, New York, I watched with anticipation every Christmas as my Norwegian grandmother, Pauline Halverson Olsen, straight out of Oslo, Norway, transformed our tiny kitchen into a Julekake factory. This ritual marked the grand opening of the Christmas holidays!

While baking, the aroma filled the house. Once finished, she brushed the tops with egg wash and allowed to cool before carefully wrapping each with white tissue paper as holiday gifts for friends and family.

The baking tradition continued with my mother and father, and then my wife picked up the tradition when our children were growing up. After several years, she passed the torch to me “Viking Ralph,” and I became lead baker. When the first batch comes out of the oven, we slice open a warm loaf and butter-up a few slices to “quality check!” Once cleared, we bag all the loaves, tie them with holiday bows, attach handmade tags, and share them with family, friends, and Trilogy neighbors.

Norwegian Julekake

DO THIS:

GET THIS:

2 cups butter

2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons bulk yeast

3 cups warm water

1 cup sugar

5 pounds King Arthur's bread flour

3-4 cups golden raisins

2 cups candied fruit (fruitcake mix)

4 teaspoons ground cardamom

4 large eggs (plus one for final egg wash)

Heat butter, milk, and salt just to scalding. Stir occasionally. Do not boil. Cool. Dissolve yeast in the warm water (90-110 degrees.) Stir sugar into yeast. Set yeast in a warm place to proof. In a very large bowl, mix the flour, raisins, candied fruit, and cardamom by hand.

In a large mixer bowl beat the eggs lightly, using a paddle attachment. Add liquid ingredients. Add most of the flour mixture until the dough is stiff. Dump the dough on a floured surface. Mix in the rest of the flour mixture and knead for ten minutes.

Clean the very large bowl and butter it. Set the dough in the buttered bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled – about 75 minutes.

Punch down the dough. Knead well. Form dough into eight balls. (Weigh the dough to create even-sized loaves.) Place each dough ball on a buttered metal pie pan. Cover with dish towels and let rise in a warm place until doubled – about 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes total. Place four loaves on each of two oven shelves. About halfway through baking time, shift pans from the top oven shelf onto the lower shelf and vice versa. Continue baking until loaves are golden brown. Remove pans and place loaves on cooling racks.

Beat egg with 2 tsp water and brush tops of loaves with egg wash to create shine. Cool and enjoy!

Sweet Southern Goodness

JANE

W. RANKIN - TRILOGY® LAKE NORMAN

A small-town, Southern girl growing up in Ramseur, North Carolina, my collection of adolescent memories includes many things but none stronger than family, friends, and the aromas wafting from our kitchen. Not only were our desserts devoured around the dining room table, the same held true at potluck church dinners, bridge clubs, and Saturday night dinner parties. All that remained of my mother’s pies were a few scattered crumbs in the aluminum Pet-Ritz pie pans.

Mimi’s coconut pie, Georgia pecan pie, and pumpkin pie were on the top of the list. For me, nothing said home like these pastries. Mother’s pecan pie recipe is printed in her handwriting on an index card, now sticky from Karo syrup. Each time I pull that weathered index card from my recipe box, I’m surrounded by fond memories. And once I start baking, I’m also surrounded by divine aromas, as each variety takes a spin through the oven.

As we continue to gather for special occasions, the joy of sharing food and fellowship is as strong as it ever was. Enjoy – life is short – you can go on a diet tomorrow!

MIMI’S COCONUT PIE The richest, melt-in-your-mouth pie ever!

GET THIS:

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut (I add a bit more)

1 1/3 cups sugar

7 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

2 unbaked regular pie shells

DO THIS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the eggs, then whisk in remaining ingredients. Pour into two unbaked regular pie shells.

Bake for 25 minutes or until filling does not adhere to a toothpick.

FEELING BAKEY?

Make your own pie crusts. A million recipes exist online for flaky, shortcrust, puff, choux, and filo styles of pastry. Some of our editorial team's favorites have been pulled together by the amazing team from The Great British Bake Off® – available on Netflix and other streaming platforms. The website is thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk.

MIMI’S GEORGIA PECAN PIE Look out hips! But man, oh man, is it good!

GET THIS:

1 cup dark Karo corn syrup

3 whole eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups pecan halves-per pie shell

2 unbaked regular pie shells

DO THIS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the filling ingredients except pecans. Line the bottom of each pie shell with nuts – don’t be stingy. Pour filling over pecans.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until pie filling does not adhere to a toothpick.

BUMPY CAKE In Three Parts

GET THIS:

PART ONE | CHOCOLATE CAKE

The cake portion is very simple. Prepare your favorite chocolate cake from scratch or from a cake mix – either option is perfectly acceptable.

PART TWO | BUTTERCREAM

2 cups butter or margarine

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

(NOT evaporated milk)

1/4 cup egg whites from two large eggs

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar

PART THREE | GLAZE

10 to 12 ounces, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

3-4 tablespoons butter

1/8-1/4 cup milk

Memories Of My Grandma

DEB HAMER - TRILOGY® ORLANDO

Growing up in Michigan, we looked forward to visiting our grandparents and cousins in Ohio. Picking fresh raspberries from the backyard; riding in open bed of my Grandpa’s pickup truck; and going to family picnics were all part of the fun. But the sweetest encounter was opening the metal cake carrier sitting on the kitchen counter. In addition to chocolate cake, it held grandma’s horns! Otherwise known as cinnamon rolls, grandma made them from scratch, forming tiny dough triangles filled with sugar, cinnamon, nuts, and raisins, before rolling them into crescents, and drizzling with glaze. Over the years, after learning to make them from my grandma, I finally wrote down the recipe to carry on the horn-making tradition for various family occasions. Now, with two grandchildren to “help,” we crack eggs, measure ingredients, and share fifth-generation family fun. I hope they, too, will one day have fond memories of baking with their grandma.

Originally known as "The Sanders Devil's Food Buttercream Cake,” Bumpy Cake was created by Sanders Confectionery of Detroit and is made of chocolate devil's food cake topped with rich buttercream bumps and draped in a chocolate ganache.

DO THIS:

PART ONE | CHOCOLATE CAKE

Bake the cake as a one-layer rectangle in an 8x8 or a round pan, but the square shape is more traditional.

PART TWO | BUTTERCREAM

Place butter in mixing bowl, add 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, and mix at low speed to obtain a smooth paste. Whip at a medium speed while adding the sweetened condensed milk slowly and gradually until light and fluffy. Using a very clean bowl and beater, whip the egg whites to a stiff snow while adding the 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar gradually. Mix the meringue slowly into the butter mixture. Add vanilla and remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

Note: Best results are obtained when butter and sugar are at room temperature (70 degrees) and egg whites and milk are cold (45 degrees).

Pipe the buttercream across the cooled cake's side in six, half-inch diameter strips, edge-to-edge across the cake. The lines should be one inch apart. Chill for at least 30 minutes to set the buttercream.

The frosting recipe makes enough to frost the entire cake and pipe large “tubes” of frosting on the top of the cake, but it is not necessary to frost the entire cake since the glaze makes it very rich.

PART THREE | GLAZE

Melt chocolate chips with the butter and milk in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each time. After everything is well blended, it goes from soupy-ish to fudgy smooth. The glaze needs to be thin enough to pour over the frosted cake smoothly. Add more butter or milk if the glaze is too thick.

To complete the cake, pour the chocolate glaze over the chilled cake and buttercream “bumps” and decorate as you please. Store this cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It will keep for up to one week, if covered and refrigerated.

THE STORY OF BILL’ S BRITTLE

BILL OWEN – TRILOGY® ORLANDO

As long as I can remember, making peanut brittle and gifting it to family and friends has been an Owen family holiday tradition. My parents, Jim and Delores, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, started it, with everybody pitching in, including dad as “quality controller.” Years later, my wife, Mindy, and I began upholding the tradition, and in 2018, when we moved to Trilogy® Orlando, the “Bill’s Brittle” holiday operation took off. In fact, Billie Wartenburg, Trilogy Orlando’s Fitness Director described it as “crack in a can!” It is gratifying to see people enjoy this special holiday treat. Here's how to whip up your own personal batch of "Bill's Brittle.”

BILL’S PEANUT BRITTLE Yields

GET THIS:

1 cup Karo light corn syrup (1/2 bottle)

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

16 ounces shelled raw peanuts (1 bag)

2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 1/2 to 3 pounds of peanut brittle

DO THIS:

Butter the baking sheets and forks using the 1/2 stick of butter. You will not need all of this. I've tried cooking spray, it doesn't work, and it tastes bad. I use two 11x17 baking sheets and one 9x12 baking sheet, per batch. In a sauce pot combine sugar, water, and corn syrup stirring occasionally. Heat on high until 240 degree or “softball” stage. Add raw peanuts.

1/4 pound slightly softened unsalted butter

2 teaspoons baking soda

TOOLS:

Candy thermometer

2-3 Baking sheets, 9 x 12 or larger

4 Table forks

3-4 Quart sauce pot

Wooden spoon or spatula

Decrease heat to medium high, continue stirring and heat until 300 degrees or “hard-crack” stage. Syrup should have a light brownish color, and you may smell the peanuts. Remove from heat. Add four tablespoons butter, salt, and vanilla. Stir until all ingredients are combined, returning to heat as needed to keep the mixture from setting.

Add the baking soda – stir rapidly – remove from heat. The mixture will foam up and begin to set. Pour immediately onto the buttered baking sheets – 1/2 to 1/3 of the mixture per sheet. With the greased forks, spread the brittle as thin as possible on the baking sheet before the candy cools and will no longer be pliable.

After 10-15 minutes, break the brittle into pieces and package. The easiest way to break the brittle is to slightly twist opposite corners of the baking sheet. The brittle may still be warm, but it should break, due to cooking to the hard-crack stage or 300 degrees.

Undercooked brittle will bend but not break easily and is ver y chewy. Overcooked brittle burns the peanuts. I place a dish towel under the baking sheets. This tends to slow down the cooling process, giving you a little more time to pull the brittle before it sets up.

Please enjoy our treat with your family and friends. n