VIRGINIA PLAIN CAKE

3 sticks butter

2½ c. sugar

5 eggs

2¾ c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

¾ c. milk

3 tsp. flavoring

Have ingredients at room temperature. Line or grease and flour cake pans. Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs one at a time. Sift remaining dry ingredients together; add to butter/egg mixture alternately with milk; beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Add flavoring.

Tube/Bundt cake: 325°F, for 60-80 minutes

Sheet cake: 325°F, for 45 minutes

Layer cake: 325°F, for 20-25 minutes

DECORATOR ICING

2 lb. bag of powdered sugar

1 c. Crisco

½ c. cold water

2 tsp. flavoring

Mix sugar, Crisco, adding water, a little bit at a time, until it reaches a good consistency; easy to spread, holds peaks, not runny. Add flavoring. If you want a pure-white icing use a clear flavoring, lemon, almond, clear imitation vanilla, etc. Other flavorings will tint the icing to an off-white color.

To color icing, put a quantity in a smaller bowl, add small amounts of paste colors and mix thoroughly until you reach the desired color. Keep a damp paper towel over bowl of frosting to keep it from drying out. Icing will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer; store in an airtight container or zipper bag.