birthday cake

It just seemed appropriate to celebrate my great grandma Vae's birthday by making a recipe that must've been destined to come into my hands -- Vanilla Wafer Cake. While she pulverized the cookies and made them into batter, I apparently used to climb into any cabinet to get into a box of my own and would scream bloody murder if denied. Four generations between us, but clearly we both love those cookies!

Executing this queer little recipe was a near-herculean task and a definite comedy of errors. Vae's instructions are beautiful, certainly, but pretty vague. I'd love to know how many ounces of Nilla Wafers were in that "25-cent box" she refers to, and I'd really love to know how the heck she ground up all those cookies without a food processor. Right now my favorite image involves her pouring them into a sack and pounding them to dust with a hammer on the sidewalk. Still wearing a skirt and heels.

How long did it take her to get the icing (a cooked icing, no less!) to the soft-ball stage?? Because it took me almost an hour. Then I spent another 45 minutes fiddling with a bowl of, let's face it, hot caramel and trying to whip it into something resembling icing. All this after spending a good half hour getting the cake together and fudging this and that to make it less a thick goop and more a pourable batter.

It was an interesting, and highly enjoyable, process, and you'll be glad to know I've simplified things for you quite a bit. Below you'll see the original recipe, because it just looks so darn cool, but scroll down a bit farther to find a fleshed-out recipe that'll guarantee a much less haphazard and prolonged time in the kitchen.

(Oh, and this cake is rich, decadent, and totally sinful. As all cakes should be...)



cake
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick of butter, softened
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 box Nilla Wafers
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut flakes
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time. Add the milk. Pulverize the cookies in a food processor till they are finely ground. Add the cookies to the batter, then fold in the pecans, coconut and baking powder. Grease and flour either two round 9-inch pans or a 9x13 pan. Spread the batter in the pans, then bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

icing
2 cups sugar
1 stick of butter
1 can of evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt

Put all ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low to maintain a rolling simmer. Allow to simmer for 45-50 minutes (haul out a good book), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and allow to cool for 30 minutes. If you're making a sheet cake, poke holes into the cake and pour the icing all over the cake. If you make a layer cake, allow the icing to cool completely, then beat at a high speed for 7-8 minutes or until spreadable. Ice the cake, and serve!