I made this recipe in memory of Mom who would have celebrated her 96th birthday recently.
As you can see from this photo, she looked good in the color.
I thought creating one of her recipes which she handwrote for my sisters and me (she had beautiful handwriting) in red would be appropriate. I remember her making this cake. It was always a presentation.
However, there was a problem. And that is to do with why I didn’t include my entire cake in the photo.
I had every intention of doing so. A friend gifted me recently with a beautiful fluted loaf pan (Thanks, Renee!).
I poured the batter into it after greasing it and held my breath in anticipation as it baked. It would look like a gem when it was turned out!
Alas, it was not to be.
Rather than a gem, the cake looked like a red splodge. I will practice getting a perfectly baked good out of that lovely pan.
Which leads me to a life lesson.
Life doesn’t always work out the way we want.
The sooner we learn to live with that, the sooner we can live with the results.
I’ve had many disappointments in life, but most especially in the last two years when my beloved husband’s health took a dive.
In May 2023 he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Prostate Cancer with metastasis into his bones. I felt like we had been smacked up side of the head. How did that happen? He had undergone radiation treatments in 2020 and had good PSA exam results every six months since.
But from one treatment to the next he went to Stage 4.
We didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t have happened.
We had been married 44 years and were completely happy. We had plans to do more traveling.
He entered various six-treatment periods for chemo, only to be told after the third treatment that his numbers were not going down as hoped, but going up.
“Very aggressive” were words we kept hearing about his cancer. Not something you want to hear about your loved one’s illness.
We even tried radioactive treatments with the same sad results.
By the time John passed away on October 16, 2024, we had tried everything. His poor body just couldn’t go any longer. We miss him terribly.
Even though disappointment after disappointment had followed us for two years with terribly sad results, our three kids and I are hopeful. As Christians, we are confident we’ll see him in Heaven someday (I CAN’T WAIT!)
We have all accepted Jesus as our Savior and are living for Him.
But while I’m here on Earth, I’m handling disappointments, stress, confusion, anger, sadness. The good thing is God is with me each step of the way –or I wouldn’t be here writing this.
When I put my baking failures in perspective with unexpected illness, job layoffs, relationship difficulties, and more, it can’t compare. Baking is important to me, but not as important as loving people and trying to make this world a better place with God as my leader.
Some people might consider this a preachy post. It’s just me trying to help others cope with life in any way I can.
That leads me back to the cake.
Faced with the acute disappointment of not having a beautiful cake to present, I cut off a few pieces, drizzled them with cream cheese icing and sprinkled gold edible shimmer powder on the plate – Mom was all about bling as you can see from one of her Sarah Coventry necklaces that I placed in the photo.
As well as being a teacher during the 1970s, Mom sold Sarah Coventry jewelry. My sisters and I wore pieces to school and we are still wearing it today. It was high quality jewelry and worth the cost.
Finally, it’s time for Mom’s recipe for Red Waldorf Astoria Cake. I wish you much success and delight.
**
Red Waldorf Astoria Cake
Cream:
½ c. Crisco (no substitute)
1.5 c. sugar
Add: 2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 ounces red food coloring (I only added one ounce and am very satisfied)
Sift:
2 c. flour
2 t. cocoa
1 t. salt
Add flour mix alternately with 1 c. buttermilk.
Combine:
1 t. vinegar
1 t. baking soda
Add these two ingredients to rest of batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes in two waxed, greased, floured round pans.
Icing:
Cook slowly until thick:
1 c. milk
¼ c. flour
Cool.
Add pinch of salt (1/8 t.).
Beat until fluffy:
1 c. sugar
1 c. Crisco
2 t. vanilla
Add all ingredients together.
Beat until fluffy.
Vintage Eats of Kayleen Reusser 
What a lovely posting! That picture of your Mom is wonderful. I had to look up Sarah Coventry. I love the creative names for their pieces. I hope the cake tasted of love.
Thanks, Nancy, for your comments. I had forgotten SC had names for their jewelry! I’ll have to remind my sisters of that fact. I hope the cake tasted of love as well. I just can’t imagine what it would have looked like with 2 oz of red food coloring, instead of just one which I used!