The Lost White Coconut Cake Recipe

Gramsy wrote two memoirs; one about her life and one of her husband's, Grandpa Ray Landon. On the first page of One Life to Remember she mentioned a "white coconut cake" that my great-grandma Laura Travis Landon was known for among other fine food she prepared.

This is an excerpt: Laura, my mother, born December 25, 1870, was the daughter of John and Mary Travis. She had two brothers, William and John. William was married, but never

had children. John was a renowned mathematics professor and never married. Laura was a popular, fun loving young lady and a fine seamstress and tailor. Many hired her to do sewing for them. She did not make money with her cooking,  but she well could have. Her white coconut cakes you might say played a big part in her fortune by helping to win a husband.

Her's was the most attractive and just about the largest of all the boxes that were piled on the table at the big Spring Box Social. Harry Landon had made up his mind to do his bidding on it, going above several others who had their eye on it, too.

The chicken sandwiches were mighty good, but that coconut cake was "out of this world." Not only did he enjoy the food, he found Laura's company very enjoyable.

I was so intrigued about this white cake and asked several relatives, but it seemed that with all of Harry and Laura's children gone, so was the recipe.

Fast forward about 122 years. I found a family White Coconut Cake recipe from my husband's Grandma Hickman and another from something his mother, Agnes Dye. typed up in 1976. At the bottom she added, "I only make this cake when we are having company, or to take someplace because it is so good. It is very moist and rich and has a delicious flavor. One piece is never enough, it's so good you always want another."

I would like to be known for making something so incredible. Maybe it will be this White Coconut Cake.

White Chocolate Cake
1 cup margarine, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla or almond
4 oz, milted white chocolate
1 tsp baking powder
2 ½ cups cake flour
1cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup flaked coconut

1. Beat egg white, set aside
2. Cream margarine & sugar until creamy. Beat in egg yolks.
3. Add vanilla and white chocolate, mix well
4. Add baking powder to flour. then add alternately with buttermilk.
5. Fold in beaten egg whites, pecans and coconut.
6. Pour into greased and floured 9 X 13 pan.
7. Bake 350 for 50 - 60 minutes. test with toothpick.

Icing
2 cups sugar
1 small can evaporated milk
1 ½ stick margarine
1 Tbsp white corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla or almond

Ada's Scalloped Apples

1 qt. Tart apples, peeled, sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 to 1 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup water or apple juice

Mix apples,sugar, raisins, corn starch, and nutmeg. Place in buttered baking dish. Pour liquid over apples. Add a few pats of butter on top of apples. Cover and bake slowly until apples are tender at 300-325 for 35 minutes. Uncover to brown slightly.

Vada's Pretzel Salad

I found this recipe in Vada's file box when we visited during Easter. But most of the Landon Family will remember this being a popular dessert made by our beloved Aunt Barbara.


2-2/3 cups of crushed, salted pretzels (9 oz bag)
1-1/2 sticks margarine, melted
4 Tbsp sugar
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup sugar
1 medium container Cool Whip
one - 6 oz and one 3 ounce pack of strawberry jello
4 cups boiling water
10 oz pack frozen strawberries, sliced


Combine crushed pretzels, melted margarine and sugar. Place in 9x13 pan, bake at 400 for 8 minutes. Let cool. 


Mix cream cheese ( softened) and sugar until smooth. Fold in container Cool whip. Spread over pretzels


Mix both packages of strawberry jello with 4 cups boiling water. Add one 10 oz package of frozen sliced strawberries. Let this cool until it begins to thicken. Spread on top of cream cheese layer. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Fritter Batter

1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1 tbsp Crisco, melted
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Apple fritters. Core and thinly slice apples. Dip in batter, fry in skillet of hot crisco.
Corn fritter. Use less milk. Add  can of creamed corn to batter. Fry in crisco.

Walnut Cake

1/3 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup black walnut
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs separated

Cream sugar and 1/2 of the sugar, beaten egg yolks. Add dry ingredients with milk. Add nuts. Add beaten egg whites, gradually with the remaining sugar. Bake in fluted pan at 350 for 30-40 minutes.


From Margaret Hickman

Danish Pastry

Margaret Hickman made this special dessert for
 Da-Daw every weekend

We spent this Easter weekend visiting Mamaw and Vada in Clarksburg. It was my mission to find the recipe to go with this photo from 2005 when Margaret showed me how to make this wonderful pastry. Of course, it was in the last recipe box I looked in!
Margaret is 96 years old and no longer spends time in the kitchen doing what she lovingly did for her family. I will try to make this Dutch Pastry before the week is out.


1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 tsp almond flavor
1 cup flour
3 eggs

Heat oven to 350. Measure first cup of flour into bowl. Cut in butter. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp water and mix with fork. Round into ball and cut in half. Pat dough with hands into 2 long strips 13 x 3. Make them 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.

Mix the second amount of butter and water. Bring to rolling boil. Add almond flavoring and remove from heat. Stir in flour immediately to keep from lumping. When smooth and thick add one egg at a time, beating until smooth. Divide in half and spread evenly on each piece of pastry. Bake 1 hour and 15 mins. Until crisp and nicely browned. Frost with a confectioners icing and sprinkle generously with finely chopped nuts. Check baking time at 1 hour.
Frosting, milk and powdered sugar and vanilla.

Vada also gave me three of Margaret's cookbooks which I will always cherish. One of the cookbooks was used by Margaret and her mother in the 1930's. I am looking forward to trying many of the recipes. Especially some of the old fashioned cakes!

Homemade Noodles

March is National Noodle Month so I thought this would be fine time to talk about Gramsy's Homemade Noodles. I vividly remember the time she let me cut the noodles when I was probably 5 or 6 years old. Gramsy cut the dough into about six sections then stacked them. She gave me this huge brown knife and instructed me  to slice  thin strips. Well, I proceeded to slice right across my thumb!  I yelped and she grabbed a towel. We went out to the sink in the back room and pumped cold water on my hand.

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

1/8 cup milk (2 TBSPs)

Put all ingredients in food processor. Pulse until in ball form. Rest 20 minutes, covered.  Roll into large thin piece. Cut into sections; stack them, cut noodles using lots of flour.  Let dry overnight. Cook in chicken or beef broth.

Gramsy made corrections to the recipe in my mom's cookbook