Fruit/Cake

In my dad’s version of things, my mom has never followed a recipe all the way through in her life. Instead, she starts out along the directed route but veers off about halfway through. Her recipe rebellions are regularly successful but difficult to recreate. The trick is to begin with a simple recipe that happily entertains variations and additions. Here’s her standard point of departure:

Mom’s Cake

• 1/2 c. butter, room temperature, in chunks
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. baking powder

Mix the butter and sugar together until they are smooth and creamy. Add flour, eggs, and baking powder. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

The Variations

• little less sugar, add some honey
• little less flour, add some oats
• add fruit: frozen berries, fresh berries, peaches, plums, nectarines, etc.
• add spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.
• add yogurt if you like the texture
• just put in whatever you have kicking around, basically

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