grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Yum Yum Cake – old southern recipe!

By

Keiser’s Kitchen Cookbook

Last week I decided I would begin making recipes from the Keiser’s Kitchen cookbook, a cookbook compiled in 1969 by the Keiser Elementary School PTA moms as a Halloween fundraiser. First up: the Yum Yum Cake, a recipe submitted by Cleo Woodard. 

Yum Yum Cake! vintage recipe

Mrs. Woodard was a friend of my Nana’s. They were both members of the Sunshine Club. Although I know zero about the Sunshine Club’s mission, I bet the ladies did selfless things for the area and took turns bringing amazing desserts (like the Yum Yum Cake) to eat while discussing issues of the day. I remember snippets about Mrs. Woodard mainly because my sister and I, along with several of our friends, took ballet lessons in her home from her daughter, Annelle.

ballet lessons back in the day

That’s me on the far right side wearing green. My sister is on the opposite side wearing the matching outfit in orange. We always matched. Always.

My best friend, Anita, is standing beside me with the perfectly pointed toe. There’s more I could say about this picture, but I should get on to the recipe. It’s a keeper.

Yum Yum Cake

(One thing to note about this and many of the dishes in the Keiser’s Kitchen cookbook…recipes call for margarine or oleo. I never buy margarine, and I’m not sure what oleo is. I substituted unsalted butter 1:1 with no problem.)

making the Yum Yum Cake

Yum Yum Cake

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups self-rising flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 cups crushed pineapple drained

Icing

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 stick margarine I used butter
  • 1 small can Pet milk 5 oz
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions
 

  • Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9x13" pan.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until it tests done in a 350 degree oven.
  • Ice while still warm.

Icing

  • Boil sugar, margarine and milk for two minutes (stir constantly).
  • Remove from heat. Add coconut, vanilla and pecans.
  • Pour over cake while still warm.

making Yum Yum icing

This cake lives up to its name. In fact, I think it should be called the Yum Yum Eat Em Up Cake. It tastes a bit like pineapple upside down cake. The icing makes it super moist and gooey. I’m pretty sure I said “yummmmmmmm” at least once while tasting it.

 

You will too.

Yum Yum Cake!!

 

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

 

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Comments

  1. what a fun reading to wake up to!! And the picture!! I had so much fun thinking about all you sweet children. It was a good summer!! Yes, the sunshine club was special. Good friends for life. Always helping each other and taking time to visit. Loved your sweet grandmother so much. And most of all so proud of your blog and your writings. You are so gifted. Lots of hugs!! Annelle

    • Thank you Annelle! I appreciate your comments. Yes, all the Nanas back home were so special.

  2. Each member of the Sunshine Club gave mother a spoon from their silver with their names engraved on them. It was for a birthday. These spoons hand on the wall in my dining room. Loved those women.

    • I thought those spoons might be from the Sunshine Club. Never noticed the names engraved though.

  3. We love your blogs with mention of family and friends. The first thing Tom noticed was how well you posed for the picture. You are so photogenic…then and now!

    • Haha I don’t know about the photogenic part. And that pose was supposed to be some sort of ballet move I think.

  4. Love all the little ballerinas. I took dance all though school. Pointing that toe is important! The cake looks yummy except, you know, I’d have to leave out the coconut. And, yes, you are photogenic.

    • I don’t know Dorothy, you didn’t notice the coconut in my Rice Pudding at AWBU:)

  5. This looks amazing and I love the story and the photo with it. I think oleo and margarine were the same thing. Not positive, but my mother in law always called margarine oleo.

  6. I’m just now looking at this post and pinning this delicious recipe. When I was growing up in Osceola there was a business in Osceola called Osceola Foods. We referred to it as the “oleo plant.” Kagome Incorporated now owns Creative Foods, which was founded in 1948 as Osceola Foods, the oldest surviving manufacturing company in Osceola. (I got that off of the internet because I couldn’t remember the details – lol). I’m assuming they must have supplied the local grocers with oleo. All I know is that my mom (Mary Anderson) didn’t use anything but oleo. And no one else did as far as I know. Any recipe I have ever gotten from anyone in that area always calls for oleo. In fact, I don’t even think I ever had real butter until I went to college! And it was hard to get used to — after having all that great oleo my whole life!

    • No, the recipe doesn’t call for it. This isn’t a dump cake, but you probably could poke holes if you wanted.

  8. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’m not a huge fan of coconut, but it will be disguised enough with the other yummy ingredients. I assume the soda is club soda? Does anyone use margarine these days????

  9. Oh my gosh! My mom used to bake this cake all the time. I had completely forgotten about it. AND…. I probably should — it’s such a diet buster:) Thanks for the memories:)

    • Pet milk is a brand name. Like carnation milk, they are brand names of evaporated milk, condensed milk is a thick sweetened milk. Not the same as evaporated milk.

  12. I just made the cake, I put 7 up, I didn’t realize you meant baking soda, also do you keep it out or out it in refrigerator after you bake it

    • Oops, sorry – I try to copy the ingredients as originally published and over time they come to mean different things! I leave it on my counter covered with foil or a cake pan cover.

  13. What does the baking soda do, I put it in the refrigerator over night. Thank you for responding

  15. My Grandma Athey down in DeQueen made this very same cake a lot when I was growing up in the 70s. She called it “Doodle Cake.” It sure was good. Thank you for sharing this and reminding me 🙂

    • Doddle Cake. How cute. I wonder why she called it that. Yes, it’s delicious! Our grandmas knew how to bake, didn’t they?

  16. I’m a bit surprised at you stating you don’t know what oleo is if you’ve been making this cake as long as you say. Oleo was long ago and still is an affordable alternative to butter aka, oleo is simply another name for margarine. which I should add, I also don’t quite understand you saying use butter only when a lot a home cooks trying to get by on low incomes or having to use food stamps or visit food banks because they live on or below the poverty line could not afford to buy butter so rely on margarine.

    No offence meant by the way, but I’m a firm believer in choice always being included when posting personal recipes you grew up with as the recipe contributor has no idea of how others live.

    • I am a firm believer in cooks having enough sense to substitute where necessary and leaving political dogma off cooking websites.

    • My mother made the cake when I was a kid but I never made it until a few years ago. So no, cooking with oleo is not something I’m familiar with. I did not mean to offend anyone by recommending butter.

  17. Tayla, I have enjoyed reading your articles and posts! I didn’t realize you knew my Nana/Cleo Woodard and my Aunt Annelle! Thank you for writing the sweet article!
    Thank you Lynn Terry for sharing!

    Merry Christmas!
    Brenda Woodard Alexander

  18. This looks sooooo good but I’m allergic to all nuts & coconut, is there anything you can suggest that I can use in place of these ingredients?

    • I’ve never tried this, but I wonder if you might substitute rolled oats or maybe raisins/cranberries for the coconut. I imagine oats or raisins would soak up the liquid in the same way the coconut would. Also, I would try crisped rice as a substitute for the nuts. Crisped rice might provide crunch that would be missing without nuts. If you try this, let me know if it works.

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