Dr. Pepper Cake

I don't have tons of memories of my Grandma Chalmers. She and I weren't especially close, but I never doubted that she loved me. And one of the ways that I knew she loved me was that she would make her Dr. Pepper cake for all major holidays when she knew I was going to be there.

So, when I needed to make something for a Student Econ Association event tomorrow afternoon and because I just got home from Texas and spent another Thanksgiving without a Dr. Pepper cake, I decided that it was a logical thing to make for tomorrow. The trick was converting a 9x13 cake into cupcakes since I didn't want to have to deal with forks, plates, etc. Turns out that 9x13 cake makes a LOT of cupcakes. I baked 12 cupcakes, plus 24 little mini-cupcakes, AND 12 madeleines (I was running out of pans!). But, they all turned out okay and I'm looking forward to sharing them tomorrow.

Cake:
Put 2c sugar, 2c flour, 1 1/2 small marshmallows in a bowl and set aside.
In a saucepan, bring 1/2c crisco, 1 stick oleo (butter), 3 Tb cocoa, 1c Dr. Pepper to a boil.
Pour it over the flour mixture and beat til marshmallows are melted.

Add 1/2c buttermilk, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla.
Bake in an oblong pan at 350 F for 40 minutes (or 325 F for 50 minutes)



Icing:
Bring 1 stick butter, 6 Tb milk, 4 Tb cocoa to a boil in a saucepan and then let cool.
Add 1 box powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla. Stir until well-mixed.
Top with chopped pecans if desired.


Oh, and I also made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and sugar cookies, too.

Thank goodness I'm foisting all this stuff onto people with faster metabolisms than I!