Recipes Of Our Mothers - A Tale of Two Cakes

This delightful newspaper clipping sent from my friend Bill is a wonderful article about his mother who also moonlighted as an elegant party hostess at her own home in Pennsylvania. When word got out, she was featured in the Cook of the Week column back in 1971, as seen here.

Thank you so much for sharing, Bill and love to your sweet mother who I have the privilege to know, Mrs. Richard Conklin! What a treat!

"Mom's crab cake recipe has been in the family for many years. Mom originally got the recipe from an dear family friend. The claim to fame of the recipe is that my brother's restaurant actually adopted this recipe for their crab cakes. The cake is 99.9% Jumbo Lumb crab meat!!! The black walnut cake recipe has been in the family for at least four generations. This cake is know for its interesting complement of textures and flavors. The cake is dense, a bit sweet that is nicely contrasted by the walnuts. Make sure you use BLACK walnuts. This recipe was written up in the local newspaper in 1971. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we have."

Crab Cakes
Ingredients
1lb jumbo lump crab meat - sprinkled with lemon
1/4 C cracker meal
1/4 C mayo1 large egg - well beaten
1T minced onion
1/4 t Worcester sauce
1/4 t dry mustard
1/2 C butter mixed with oil to fry
1/2 C bread crumbs to coat cakes

Method
Mix ingredients together and form into 4 generous cakes. Fry about 5 min a side or till brown.

Black Walnut Cake
Ingredients
3/4 C Crisco
2 C sugar
3 eggs
1 C milk
3 C sifted flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 C floured
BLACK walnuts

Method
Preheat oven to 350. Cream the shortening and sugar together with an electric beater at medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the shortening and sugar mixture. At low speed, beat in alternately the dry ingredients and milk, making sure some of the milk is added last. Flour the nuts slightly and add to the batter. Bake in a greased and floured tubular pan at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.