I have a family baking story for you today. I’ve been really excited to share this recipe and story with you. However, as soon as I started writing this post, I realized that this story may make my grandma Ida look like a cheat and a fraud. I know, I know, keep reading…I promise she isn’t!
I have heard this story told countless times by both my father and grandfather. And without fail, it is told with the utmost affection and delight. Having never met my grandmother, this story has been a treasure of mine. One that I have kept stored in my heart to help me feel connected to her. But now that I am sitting down and putting this story to paper (to computer?), I can see how easily the story could be misinterpreted!
Sometimes the facts of a story, what is written in black and white, so completely miss the essence and true meaning of the story. Do you ever find that? I guess this is what is at the bottom of the popular phrase “you had to be there.” Anyway, getting back to my cheating grandmother (just kidding…haha). I guarantee if you heard my father or grandfather tell this story, you would be completely enamored by who my grandmother was; her sweetness and her warmth would translate through their voices. Should I stop rambling and tell you the story? Yes? Okay…here goes.
My grandmother was renowned in our family as a frustrated, extremely nervous, and reluctant cook. She hated cooking. So much so that when my grandfather retired, he told her that she could retire too. He took her out to eat every night. They used their oven as an extra pantry cabinet! (They ate at IHOP and Wendy’s far too many times, but the sentiment was still the sweetest thing.) There are countless grandma cooking fiasco stories, but this story is about a baking contest. And about how a girl convinced that she had no talents in the kitchen won first prize.
As the story goes, my grandmother’s eighth grade home economics class held a bake-off. Each student was given their own baking station and an hour to bake a cake from scratch. To my grandmother, this was like saying fly to the moon. She looked around and saw all of the other girls diligently measuring out their ingredients. I always picture a kitchen classroom, filled with teenage girls, rushing around, feverishly preparing their cakes. And then I see my grandmother, chatting with any girl that happened to pass her station. She didn’t even crack open a bag of flour! So thoroughly convinced of her ineptitude, she decided to participate in the contest Ida-style.
As the minutes ticked by and the deadline approached, she realized all of her giggling and chatting had not produced a cake. Thinking on her feet, she took her empty bowl to the girl nearest her. Hushed whispers are exchanged and the girl drops a scoop of her batter into my grandmother’s bowl. My grandmother bounces from station to station quietly asking each girl for a scoop of their batter. After a couple of raised eyebrows and several uncontrollable giggles, my grandmother returns to her station with a bowl full of batter.
Fast forward to a room full of sweet smelling cake. The judges walk from station to station tasting and measuring the rise and size of each cake. They arrive at my grandmother’s station and find a cake nearly double the size of all of the other cakes. They slide their forks through the delicate crumb and savor the light and sweet taste of this extraordinarily large cake.
After a short huddle, the judges are ready to announce the winner. My grandma’s cake wins first prize! My father still has the medal she won! I’m not sure who was more shocked, my grandmother or all of the girls who had given up scoops of their batter. Winning this contest was so far from my grandmother’s imagination. Her objective was to have a cake at her station so that she wouldn’t be tossed out of the class. And now she had won first prize! I’ve always wondered what went through her mind as they handed her the medal. Did she feel guilty? Was she afraid the other girls would be mad at her? Was she happy to have won?
THE most prominent of my grandmother’s traits, in the countless stories I have been told, was her warmth and her friendly and caring nature. When my grandfather retired and they moved to Florida, he joked that it would take them an hour to walk from their door to the condo pool. Every person they passed stopped them to talk to my grandma Ida. I understand this well because it is exactly how my father is. She was always so well-loved. And this is precisely why the girls all willingly gave her their batter. She accepted her award and was seemingly really proud of it, given how long she kept it. She knew she didn’t make the cake, but I think she was so pleased to have been triumphant in the kitchen that she wanted to hang onto that experience. It was one of her favorite stories to tell. Always sharing it with a giggle.
So, that’s the story. I hope you don’t think my grandma is a cheat. And if she is, can we agree she is THE most lovable cheat? I bet some of those girls were annoyed at her, but I imagine it was the kind of annoyance you have at someone you adore, where you have to bite your tongue to not laugh right alongside them and the circumstances. Lesson learned: If you can’t cook, be smart, irresistibly charming, and the kind of person people want to connect and share with.
These little cakes are a tribute to my grandmother and her first-prize medal. I took little bits of recipes from around the web to create these little spice cakes in honor of her. Of course I added my own flair because I simply can’t resist. I hope these little cakes make her proud.
Here’s where I got my bits of batter from: I tip my hat to Sarah at My New Roots for teaching me how to make the best vegan cake (best cake period…I have a recipe for this cake posted here), to Green Kitchen Stories for inspiring me to create a filling for my cake after I saw their delicious applesauce muffins, to Tieghan (Half Baked Harvest) and Kathryn (London Bakes) for inspiring me to bake with buckwheat flour, and to every blog I have ever landed on and thought, that’s a good idea!
And a bit more about these spice cakes, I am in love with the spicy flavor of the batter. The allspice and ginger are so warmingly spicy and bounce around on your tongue long after you are through eating. I had originally incorporated the squash into the batter, but the maple syrup and coconut oil overpowered the squash flavor. To get around this, after seeing this post, I decided to concentrate the buttercup squash in the center of the cake. This way each bite would have the spicy cake flavor and the rich delicious squash flavor. It worked!
- 1½ Cup whole spelt flour
- ½ Cup buckwheat flour
- ¾ Teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ Teaspoon baking powder
- ½ Teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ½ Teaspoon salt (I added a touch more, but I like salt)
- 1 Teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ Teaspoon freshly ground allspice
- 4½ Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- ½ Cup maple syrup
- 1½ Cup almond milk (or rice milk)
- 2 Teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1½ Cups roasted buttercup squash
- ¼ Teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ - ¼ Cup almond milk or rice milk
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice your buttercup squash in half CAREFULLY.
- Scoop out all of the seeds and sprinkle the inside with a bit of salt. Place each half, cut side down on the baking sheet; rub some olive oil on the rind.
- Bake for 30 minutes or up to an hour (or more), depending on the size of your squash. It is done when the flesh yields easily to an inserted fork.
- Using a handheld mixer, blend the filling ingredients together until creamy and smooth. Some squashes will be creamy and soft without adding much almond milk. Add only as much almond milk as you need to achieve a nice creamy, scoopable texture.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Spray your pan and set aside. This recipe will work in a regular muffin pan as well.
- Sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix your wet ingredients (except for the apple cider vinegar).
- Slowly pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, whisking continuously.
- Whisk in the apple cider vinegar.
- Pour your batter into your prepared pan, filling only ½ way.
- Using a cookie dough scoop or a spoon, place your buttercup filling in the center of each cake. Roughly 2 tablespoons of filling per cake.
- Pour your remaining batter over the top of the cakes. If you are using a regular muffin pan there will be a bit of extra batter that you can use to make a mini loaf.
- Bake for 35 - 40 minutes (or 25 - 30 minutes for a muffin pan) or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Oh my goodness I love this story so so much!! What a hilarious thing–who would’ve known that the batter of multiple cakes could come together and make something worthy of first prize? Your grandmother seemed like a very fun person! I love stories like these and when food becomes more than just cooking/baking but about a memory connected to it : )
Hi Madeline,
I know, it is my favorite story! The people and experiences that food connects us to is what it is all about for me. Thanks for stopping by!
What a fun story! I love how you used it as inspiration for your recipe. Your grandmother sounds like a wonderful, well thought-of person with real spunk. And I love that you showed us pictures of her award! So cool! Gorgeous spice cakes, Kathryn! Love the creativity!
xx Sydney
Thanks, Sydney! It is such a fun story to tell. I love that my father kept the award all of these years! xoxo
How special that your dad still has the medal your grandmother won! Also? I don’t think she’s a cheat.. I think she’s savvy and brilliant. 😉 Oh, and I’ll take all the mini cakes, please.
Me too! I completely fell in love with her when I first heard this story. The “cheating” aspect didn’t occur to me until I started writing this post! Mini cakes on their way over 😉
What a fun story! I really wish I could have been friends with your grandma, now — she sounds like the kind of person you just want to always be around. 🙂
So glad we connected in this little corner of the interwebs! Your recipes (these cakes included, obvi) are incredible! xo
Hi Stephanie — I wish I had known her too! Luckily my father is just like her, so I get to know her through him. He is the kind of person you just want to be around, so I imagine she was too. I’m so happy we connected too! xoxo
Ha! I love this story! Your grandmother seemed like a great woman. How awesome that her story inspired those beautiful mini cakes. They look and sound delicious (love the squash filling!!).
We all treasure the story in my family. The squash filling is such an unexpected surprise. xo Sophie!
Your granny was definitely not a cheat – she was improvising and quick on her feet to think of that! Love these mini-cakes, Kathryn. I’ve never made a cake with squash filling – I usually just mix it in – definitely giving this a try. Thanks!
Haha thanks Geraldine! I don’t think so either! I tried mixing it in first but I thought the flavor was too muted. I wanted it to taste like SQUASH! I think the flavors work really well together. Thanks for stopping by!
Your story was absolutely adorable! I’m so glad you shared that today 🙂 And these cakes— they are just stunning! Love the blend of spelt and buckwheat flours. I’ve never tried that before but I think I’ll need to soon…
Spelt + Buckwheat is really great. I think you’ll love it. Thanks for reading my story! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Your story is priceless, your grandmother sounds wonderful. Love these little cakes~!
Thanks, Cheri! It is my favorite story 🙂
I love this story, I love buttercup squash, baking with squash and buckwheat flour and the look and sound of these mini cakes. Your grandma sounds like a resourceful woman, not a cheat in the least. The objective was achieved, bake a cake from scratch and that she did! Also love the medal and that you still have it. In summary, lots of love for this post.
I am glad the consensus seems to be that she wasn’t a cheat 🙂 haha! I never thought she was, but on paper, without knowing her spirit, it could have been construed that way…Thanks, Nissrine!
Ok I”m officially obsessed with your grandmother and this recipe idea! Seriously can’t wait to try this!
Haha! Me too! There are so many great stories. I hope I can find ways to link them to food and share them here. I hope you love these little cakes <3
That’s a hilarious story! And I love that your dad still has the medal!
I know! I just love it! Thanks for stopping by Cathleen.
I just made these muffins/mini-cakes and they are REALLY delicious. I love the squash filling, and the cake is so moist and flavorful. Have you ever frozen them? Your recipe was really easy to follow – thank you. So many recipes don’t truly take you step by step, and yours always do. I appreciate that about them. And I too, wish I had known Ida! xoxo
I’ve never frozen them, but I think they would hold up just fine. The buttercup filling might not be as creamy once thawed. Let me know how they turn out if your freeze them. Thanks for the notes on my recipes. It is always so helpful to hear. XOXO
Kathryn, what a beautiful story! I can feel your love for your grandmother radiating through every word. And I love that this recipe is an homage to that spirit of give-and-take that your story tells, and that so many of us live as we browse through each other’s recipes online. These little cakelets look absolutely divine, and are just what I’m craving now that the weather’s getting cool. Thank you so much for sharing them. 🙂
Sharing this story has been so wonderful. I love that her story and who she was continues to live on. My father and I have been giggling, enjoying imagining what my grandmother’s reaction would be to know her story was being shared so many years later. <3
So in love with this story!! And how wonderful that you used it as an inspiration for this post <3
Hehe! Thanks! xoxo
Such a great story to remember your grandmother by! You tell it so warmly and sweetly. These are such festive fall little cakes and I love how you filled with with squash. I learn so much reading blogs too- I feel inspired everyday. Thanks for sharing, Kathryn. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
What a sweet note Emily. Thank you! Enjoy your weekend. I just had one these little cakes for breakfast, so my Sunday is going great so far 🙂
Oh wow these look incredible! I will really have to try to make these one Sunday afternoon – what a great little sweet and hearty cold weather treat! The bake-off story was also so sweet – thank you for sharing it!
Rae | Love from Berlin
Thanks so much, Rae. They are the perfect Sunday afternoon project.
I loved reading the story about your grandmother!! She sounds so cheeky and clever and I could totally picture the scene too! 😀
Hehe! Thanks, Sarah.
These are absolutely DARLING! I love that pan – I need one for myself!
Best pan! It is made by USA pan.
Aw, these cakes look great and your grandma is awesome! I’d share a similar story or two, but not wanting to come across as a cheat, I’m keeping them all to myself 😉
Hehe!! Thanks, Audrey I agree!
Aww, that is such a cute story about your grandma. It certainly doesn’t make her a cheat – just clever 🙂 Those little cakes are adorable too!
Thanks, Meghan!
Such a cute story! These little cakes are GORGEOUS. I’m both excited and nervous to try this recipe; excited at how delicious they will be, nervous that I will eat the entire batch in one sitting 😉 Love your website!
Thanks so much Tamar. Your nervousness is warranted…we came close to eating the whole batch in one sitting!! Thanks for stopping by.