As I was packing up to move recently, I found room in the limited space of a suitcase for the entire recipe collection of my late grandmother, Marcella Gleyre. She was Nana to me. Friends would share recipes. Little handwritten cards, frequently stained from regular use, would have a friend’s name on the top of the card. The recipes shared by friends were little histories of families, their ethnic background, and the country they hailed from, or an important holiday tradition. They were more than just a recipe. 

Do you have any of your family recipe cards? 

Today we share recipes on the internet. But I would like to go back to when we shared our family recipes with friends on those little handwritten cards. So a little challenge to all who read today is finding a recipe from a friend and making it. You will think of them fondly, even if they have passed long ago. 

This Pound Cake with Icing recipe is from Florence Stauder, the mother of a friend who holds a special place in our hearts. And her Italian heritage shines through this family recipe. 

Pound Cake with Icing

1 Box of Confectioner’s Sugar
2 Sticks of Butter
4 Eggs
1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
2 ¾ cups Flour
½ teaspoon of Salt
½ teaspoon of Mace (Mace is best, but Nutmeg could also be used)
1 cup of Milk
1 ½ teaspoon of Vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Then add eggs one at a time, mixing well. Sift flour and then add salt, mace, and baking powder. Sift twice. Then add flour, a small amount at a time to the butter mixture alternatively with milk. Add Vanilla, place in pan, and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees. If you use a Bundt pan, bake for 52 minutes. 

Icing

1 cup of Confectioner’s Sugar
5 tablespoons Butter
3 tablespoons Shortening
2 tablespoons of Flour
2 tablespoons of Vanilla

Mix all ingredients well and ice the cooled Pound Cake.