The Hummingbird Cake is a Southern favorite. The tantalizing 3-layered cake with bananas and crushed pineapple is just as what my husband likes to say…”it’s lip smacking’ Betty Cracking” (that’s my Mr. Dixon for ya! 🤣)

The recipe for Hummingbird Cake was first submitted to Southern Living magazine in 1978 by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina and would become the magazine’s best selling cake. Ever. After making this delicious cake for years, I can understand why. Especially layered and topped with homemade cream-cheese icing? It doesn’t get much better than this.

This coming Monday (February 20th) is my friend Becca’s birthday. Hey, it’s also President’s Day FYI. But anyway…back to Becca. She is a friend. Also the dog walker aka “dog whisperer” to my two rambunctious 70 pound Australian Shepards, Waylon and Willie. She also loves Hummingbird Cake. So to show my appreciation of her – especially for dealing with my boys on a daily basis – I made her favorite cake…which just so happens to be a vintage one too!

Now onto everything for Hummingbird Cake…

Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely, about 1 hour.

Time to make the Cream Cheese Icing😋

Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Increase speed to medium-high, and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Top with second layer, and spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with third layer, and spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Arrange pecan halves on top of cake in a circular pattern.

Today in American history…Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

In honor of President Lincoln’s birthday, we made one of his favorite desserts: Mary Todd Lincoln’s White Cake. Read here to learn more about the history behind the cake and about family life in Springfield, Illinois.

Mary Todd Lincoln’s White Cake

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds, chopped in a food processor until they resemble a coarse flour
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
confectionary sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.

Cream butter and sugar. Sift flour and baking powder 3 times. Add to creamed butter and sugar, alternating with milk. Stir in almonds and beat well.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter. Stir in vanilla extract.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Turn out on a wire rack and cool. When cool, sift confectionary sugar over top

A basic white frosting sprinkled with almonds was also popular.

This morning as I was just researching historical recipes and looking for ingredients that I had readily available – I came across one that sounded delicious.

And easy.

Honey Cake. I love honey. I love cake. Yummy yummy!

Honey Cake was published in The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton in 1861.

Original Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 breakfast-cupful of sugar

1 breakfast-cupful of rich sour cream

2 breakfast-cupfuls of flour

1/2 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda

honey to taste

Directions

Mix the sugar and cream together.

Dredge in the flour, with as much honey as will flavour the mixture nicely. Stir it well, that all the ingredients may be thoroughly mixed.

Add the carbonate of soda.

Beat the cake well for another 5 minutes.

Put it into a buttered tin.

Bake it from 1/2 to 3/4 hour, and let it be eaten warm.

Modern Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 Cup of Sugar

1 Cup of Sour Cream

2 Cups of Flour

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon of Salt

1 Cup of Honey

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease (or use butter or cooking spray) a loaf pan.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the sugar and sour cream together.

Add the flour and honey. Stir thoroughly.

Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix thoroughly. Beat well for about 5 minutes.

Pour into greased pan.

Bake for 30-45 minutes. Keep checking until a toothpick comes out clean.

Today in American history…our 40th U.S. President, Ronald Wilson Reagan, was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois.

To honor President Reagan on his birthday we made some of his favorite foods in the kitchen tonight. One of them was Macaroni and Cheese (be still my heart!). While doing research for recipes, I was fortunate to come across Nancy Reagan’s personal recipe.

President Reagan also loved baked apples. Great comfort food! So we made baked apples tonight as well 🍎😋 We used the recipe from Baked with Love right here

And we couldn’t end the night without indulging in his ultimate favorite: jellybeans. President Reagan once said, “You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.”

What was President Franklin Roosevelt’s favorite food? According to Henrietta Nesbitt, the White House housekeeper during his administration, President Roosevelt had a very simple taste in foods. He liked food “he could dig into.” Among his favorite dishes were scrambled eggs, fish chowder, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, and fruitcake.

Instead of the traditional grilled cheese, we did it with a “twist” with bourbon caramelized onions and ALOT of cheese (of course!)

Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large red onion, halved, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp bourbon

1 1/2 tsp + 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

12 ounces (3 cups) of your favorite grated cheeses (we used cheddar blend and mozzarella

8 slices of crusty bread (we used Sara Lee’s Artesano Bakery Bread – because it’s my favorite!)

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until caramelized and very tender. Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper. Add bourbon, scraping up all brown bits in bottom of skillet. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon butter until melted; keep warm. (Makes about 1 cup.)

In a medium bowl, toss cheeses until well combined. Divide evenly into 4 portions; press each into a disk-like patty to fit the size of the bread slices.

Spread 1/4 cup of the onion mixture on each of 4 slices of bread. Top each with a cheese patty and another slice of bread. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoon of the butter on 1 side of each sandwich.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Place 2 sandwiches, butter side down, in skillet. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown. While first side is cooking, spread 1 1/2 teaspoon of the butter on other side of each sandwich. Turn sandwiches and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until second side is crispy and golden brown and cheese has melted. Repeat with remaining 2 sandwiches.

Today in American History…Nancy Hanks Lincoln was born on February 5, 1784 in Hampshire County, Virginia (present day Mineral County, West Virginia).

Not much is known of Nancy Hanks Lincoln except for the most important aspect: she was Abraham Lincoln’s mother. There aren’t any pictures of her – only a depiction (made into a painting by Lloyd Ostendorf, February 12, 1963. We do know that she was a warm, caring mother and that her son, Abraham Lincoln, loved her very much. He was only nine years old when his mother died of milk sickness on October 5, 1818.

Throughout his life, he recalled the love of his mother and once said, “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”

William Herndon, law partner and a close confidante of Abraham Lincoln, later wrote a book, Life of Lincoln, and described Nancy Hanks Lincoln most likely from Lincoln’s memories of his mother and those who knew her:

“…She was above the ordinary height in stature, weighed about 130 pounds, was slenderly built, and had much the appearance of one inclined to consumption. Her skin was dark; hair dark brown; eyes gray and small; forehead prominent; face sharp and angular, with a marked expression for melancholy which fixed itself in the memory of all who ever saw or knew her. Though her life was clouded by a spirit of sadness, she was in disposition amiable and generally cheerful…”

Many historians believe Carrot Cake originated in the Middle Ages when sugar and other sweeteners were scarce. (Carrots were used as a substitute.) The earliest known recipe for carrot cake can be found in a French cookbook published in 1827.

The popularity of carrot cake was revived in the United Kingdom because of rationing during World War II.

Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes then carefully turn the cake layers out into cooking racks. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely. If you find that a cake layer is sticking to the bottom of a pan, leave the cake pan upside down and allow gravity to do its thing.

Now onto the frosting…

I used my own traditional recipe for cream cheese frosting (although the recipe from Inspired Taste sounds amazing!)

Cream Cheese Frosting (for a 2 layered cake)

1 cup of butter (2 sticks) softened

2 blocks (not the spreadable kind) of Cream Cheese softened to room temperature

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

32 oz Confectioners Sugar

Today in American history…Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio.

His most famous movie role would be as Rhett Butler in the classic movie Gone with the Wind which premiered on December 15, 1939.

Not only was he a world famous movie star…he also signed up for the US Army under the Army Air Forces on August 12, 1942. During World War II, he flew several combat missions and was promoted to Major in 1944. He rseigned his commission with the US Army in 1947 and was awarded several military honors for his service:

The Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

After his military service, Clark Gable resumed his acting career until his death on November 16, 1960.

Today in American history…former President William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843 in Niles, Ohio to William McKinley Sr. and Nancy (Allison) McKinley. He was the seventh of nine children born into the family.

He was our 25th U.S. President from March 4, 1897 until his death on September 14, 1901.

Before he was elected as our 25th President, he was also:

On the battlefield at Antietam, as a member of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.

A Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio from 1877 to 1891.

Governor of Ohio from 1892 to 1896.

Some other interesting facts about President McKinley are:

The first President to ride in an automobile while in office.

The first President to use a telephone to campaign for votes.

During the Civil War, William McKinley’s commanding officer was Rutherford B. Hayes, who would go on to become the 19th President of the United States.

President McKinley’s portrait was featured on the $500 bill which last printed in 1934.

He had a parrot named “Washington Post” who could whistle to the tune of Yankee Doodle.

President McKinley’s inauguration on March 4, 1897 was the first presidential inauguration to be filmed.

President McKinley’s favorite flower was the carnation and he wore them as a good luck charm on his lapel. While attending the Pan-American Exposition on September 6, 1901, he greeted a line of well-wishers. He happened to pull his red carnation from his lapel and gave it to a little girl waiting in line and within seconds was shot. He passed away eight days later on September 14, 1901.

National Chocolate Cake Day was yesterday, January 27th, so to celebrate this wonderful occasion what better thing to do than to make a chocolate cake. Any excuses to eat cake! 😋

My “go-to” recipe for chocolate cake is always the classic Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake recipe. You just cannot fail with this deliciously moist chocolate cake – and it’s so easy to make!

I’m more of a standard buttercream or cream cheese icing kinda girl but my husband loves chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. So…gotta compromise haha – so peanut butter butter cream icing topped this yummy cake (recipe below)

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

2 Cups Sugar

1 3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour

3/4 Cup Hershey’s Cocoa

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

2 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Boiling Water

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Peanut Butter Butter Cream Icing

Ingredients

1 Cup softened (not melted!) Butter

2 Cups Confectioners Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Milk

Peanut Butter

Directions