The occasion was the Mathews Historical Museum’s first Old Fashioned Father’s Day Cake Contest, open to all types of cakes, held in the organization’s site on June 19 on Main Street. Eighteen supportive and enthusiastic bakers entered. There were pound cakes, layer cakes, Bundt cakes and angel food cakes in various sizes and shapes. When the judges had tasted their last sample and added up the scores, a lemon pound cake had captured their taste buds. Baker Carolyn South’s cake earned the first-place award, a $50 certificate for dinner at the White Dog Bistro.

Carolyn is a native of Gloucester who grew up on a farm. “There were five in my family. My grandfather lived with us, and my mother was always cooking. When extra help came to help out on the farm she was doing even more cooking. I always enjoyed spending time in the kitchen with my mother; she was such a sweet and gentle person.” Carolyn became the cake maker when she joined in on the cooking, because her mother liked to make the pies. Carolyn still loves to bake cakes and says, “I also learned from my mother to clean up as you go along, and I still practice it.”

In making her cakes, Carolyn says, “I like for the flavor to be strong. If it’s chocolate, I want the chocolate flavor to be there and that applies to all of my cakes, especially lemon and vanilla. I like to make a new cake every time.” Carolyn is always altering the cake recipes she has used once or twice before. In fact, her winning lemon pound cake is a recipe she had once used, but for the contest she made a lot of adjustments.

Along with her career as a mental health counselor, Carolyn loves to have people in for lunch or dinner and makes cakes for friends and family, especially for her grandchildren as she did for her two children. Now residing with her daughter, who has a second job in the evening and is late arriving home, Carolyn always has her dinner awaiting. This is her philosophy for cooking and then sharing: “I love to cook. It makes the heart happy.”

This was the Mathews Historical Museum’s fourth cake contest. A Pound Cake Contest was part of the museum’s first May Faire, held in 2017, and this continued in 2018 and 2019 … all pound cakes. The heritage festival could not be held in 2020 or this year because of the COVID-19 epidemic, but museum members thought up the successful all-cake contest held in time for Father’s Day. Most of the cakes were donated and sold at the conclusion of the judging.

CAROLYN’S LEMON POUND CAKE

Carolyn South, first place
3 sticks butter, softened
5 eggs at room temperature
1 egg white
3 c. flour
21/4 c. sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. lemon extract
1 Tbs. lemon zest
Cream butter and sugar together. Beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each one. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture alternately with milk. Add vanilla, lemon extract and lemon zest. Beat batter until light and fluffy. Grease tube pan and flour it. Spoon batter into pan and bake in a 350°F. oven for 60 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and glaze with following.
1 c. confectioners’ sugar
2½ tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
Mix well. Garnish with thin lemon slices.

SAMOA BUNDT CAKE

Jo Schramm, second place
For the brown sugar bottom
1 stick butter, softened
1 c. dark brown sugar
2 eggs
¾ c. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. whole milk
For the chocolate batter
1 c. sugar
¼ c. oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. milk
¾ c. plus 2-Tbs. all-purpose flour
½ c. plus 2-Tbs. cocoa powder
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ c. boiling water

Frosting

1 can sweetened condensed milk or substitute canned dulce de leche
½ c. confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbs. vanilla extract
2 sticks butter, softened
½ tsp. salt
1 c. toasted coconut
For topping
1½ c. toasted coconut
½ c. chocolate chips, melted

If using the can of dulce de leche jump to the directions for the Brown Sugar Bottom, skipping the steps in the next paragraph.

Place the whole unopened can of condensed milk in your crock-pot and submerge in at least 3 inches of water. Cook on medium for 10 hours or on high for 7 hours. Alternatively: Boil the whole unopened can of milk on the stove FULLY SUBMERGED at all times for 4 hours. Let cool.

Brown sugar bottom

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternately add the flour mixture and whole milk to the butter mixture, one at a time, beginning with the flour and ending with the flour. Set batter aside.

Chocolate batter

Cream sugar and oil together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and milk. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture until well combined. Carefully stir in boiling water. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour well a Bundt pan. This is a marble cake so pour some of the brown sugar batter into the pan and top it with some of the chocolate batter. Continue until both batter bowls are empty. Tap Bundt pan on the counter a couple of times to remove bubbles. Bake approximately 1 hour or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes then remove from pan and let cool entirely.

Frosting

Heat oven to 350°F. Spread coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until desired color is reached, about 6 minutes. Beat cooled cooked condensed milk (or dulce de leche if using), butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and salt for 3 minutes. Add in 1 c. toasted coconut. Chill for 1 hour. Assemble the cake. Frost the cake. Toast remaining coconut and press into the sides and top of the frosted cake. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring frequently. Place melted chocolate in a pastry bag with a small tip or a zipper bag with a corner cut out about ¼ inch up from the corner and drizzle stripes on the cake.

CHOCOLATE ANGEL FOOD CAKE
Alex Hudgins

12 egg whites
1½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ tsp. salt
1½ c. sugar
1 c. sifted cake flour
¼ c. cocoa
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
Beat egg whites at room temperature until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt and beat until soft peaks form. Add sugar 2 Tbs. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Sift cocoa with flour. Sprinkle flour mixture over egg white mixture ¼ c. at a time. Fold in carefully. Fold in the vanilla. Pour batter into ungreased 10-inch tube pan spreading evenly. Bake at 375°F. for 30-35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched. Invert pan; cool 40 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan with knife and remove from pan. Let cool another 15 minutes.

CARROT LAYER CAKE
John McKeon

1½ c. unsalted butter, room temperature (plus more for pans)
2½ c. all-purpose flour (plus more for pans)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¾ tsp. coarse salt
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 c. packed light brown sugar
½ c. granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
½ c. water
1 lb. carrots (8 for medium) peeled and shredded on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor (about 2¾ c.)
1 c. toasted pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch pans, line with parchment rounds and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat 3 minutes. Add vanilla, water and carrots, beating until well combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and then pecans. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake, rotating halfway through until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean; about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen; turn cakes onto racks to completely cool. With a serrated knife trim tops of cake layers to level if desired. Place bottom layer on stand or plate and spread evenly with 1 c. frosting. Top with second layer, and spread another 1 c. frosting. Top with remaining layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Refrigerate 1 hour or up to one day covered.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 lb. (2 8-oz. bars) cream cheese, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 lb. confectioners’ sugar, sifted

With electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and vanilla until light and creamy about 2 minutes. Add butter, beating until incorporated. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until fluffy and smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature and beat on low speed before using.