MOMS CARAMEL CAKE SMACKS OF GREATNESS

My mom, SaSa, has a passion for baking cakes, and she worked for years to get this recipe just right. “Taste this,” she’d say to me. “I want it to be as good as Mrs. Carroll’s caramel cake.” Mom patterned her caramel cake after a lady in the church who baked a variety of cakes for sale. Her caramel cake was always a crowd pleaser at any event. Instead of the sugary-sweet-“hard”-caramel icing of many caramel cakes, Mrs. Carroll’s cake smacked of greatness with a smooth, buttery, creamy caramel icing. Mom tested her version time and again. Finally, one day I said to Mom, “That’s it. You've mastered the icing. I can die happy now.” The forkful of caramel cake melted in my mouth. Like Mrs. Carroll’s cake, we loved it from our first taste.

Years later, we were able to get a copy of Mrs. Carroll's original recipe. So enjoy the old fashioned goodness of this time-tested, taste-tested caramel cake recipe. It's perfect for any holiday celebration or when you want to splurge. Yum!

Three cake layers:

3 c. flour (White Lily plain)

2 sticks margarine (Parkay)

½ c. butter Crisco

3 c. sugar

5 eggs

1 c. sweet milk (whole or canned)

1 t. vanilla (Mom uses pure vanilla, like Madagascar Vanilla, but it isn’t required)

Cream margarine, crisco and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Sift flour. Add a little flour and milk alternately into the mixture. Add vanilla. Grease the 3 pans and pour mixture into them. Bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly brown.

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Caramel Icing

4 ½ c. sugar (save 1/2 c. to brown)

3 sticks margarine

1 large can Pet Milk

1 t. Vanilla

Mix margarine, milk and 4 cups sugar. Heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Melt the ½ c. sugar in a small iron skillet, stirring constantly until brown. Add to the other mixture, stirring and cooking to soft "ball" stage. (Soft "ball" stage - Drop a drop of caramel into water to see if it forms a ball). Let cool. Add vanilla. Makes enough icing for 3 layers and the top of cake. Smooth on with knife. Enjoy!