Mr. Miyagi bakes a cake

It's definitely a baking kinda weekend. Back to Pillsbury’s 15^th Grand National Bake-Off Cook Book, 1964. In it, Umejiro Kuritsubo, from Oakland, CA,  where he's--can you guess? Yes, a Japanese gardener--was one of 2 men in the contest. He submitted one recipe and walked away with the $1000 Best of Class Cake Award. Here it is.

Walnut Glory Cake

Combine:

¾ c flour

2 t cinnamon

1 t salt

Beat 9 egg whites (1 ¼ c) in large mixing bowl until soft mounds form. Gradually add ¾ c sugar. Continue beating until very stiff, straight peaks form. Do not underbeat.

Combine:

9 egg yolks

2 t vanilla

¾ c sugar

Beat until thick and lemon colored. Stir in dry ingredients.

Fold batter gently but thoroughly into egg whites using a wire whip or rubber spatula. Fold in 2 c chopped walnuts.

Turn into ungreased 10 inch tube pan.

Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes. Invert immediately. Cool completely before removing from pan. Frost with a vanilla glaze, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar or serve with whipped cream.

The back cover says he used the prize money to fund his first visit to Japan in  30 years. Congratulations, Mr.Kuritsubo, not only on winning the prize, but on having one of the least dorky photos in the book, even with the paper hat.

This is not what's in my oven right now. If I baked this, I would have no choice but to eat it. That's the problem with a baking craving, too many yummy things sitting around waiting to attach themselves to your butt.

This is what's in my oven, or was:

Chocolate Pillows

Sift together 2 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 t salt.

Cream:

 1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

Blend in 1 egg and 2 t vanilla.

Stir in the dry ingredients.

Press thru a cookie press, using saw tooth (spritz) plate, into strips onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cut 10 five-cent chocolate candy bars into 1 inch pieces. Place 1/4 inch apart on strip of dough. Press another strip over candy, covering completely. Mark bars between chocolate pieces.

Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes until light golden brown. Cut into pieces immediately. For extra fancy touch, sprinkle with chopped walnuts, colored sugar, or coconut before baking.

I didn't happen to have any 5 cent chocolate around, so I filled them with chocolate chips. And I guess I wasn't feeling fancy. The girls give them a thumbs up. I'll put some in their lunches and save some for band practice on Wednesday. That way they won't tempt me to eat them all. yeah yeah sure sure

Maybe I should have made the Chocolate Beau Catchers on that page as well. Then instead of filling the pillows with chocolate chips, I could fill my pillows with chocolate beaus. That idea has potential. Might burn off a few of those calories as well.