By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, October 13, 1999

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Carla prefers bundt cakes because they are easy to
transport and dense, fruity recipes hold the shape well.

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Rum cake
you can’t resist

CARLA is a remarkable baker who seeks no glory. She doesn't even want her last name known.

She's been baking for 20 years, "ever since my mom let me use the oven." It was a great bonding activity for the mother-daughter relationship that evolved into a passionate hobby for Carla in adulthood.

She loved to experiment, but doesn't much care for sweets, so she'd test her cakes out on friends at work. "I don't like to keep recipes the same, I always change them around."

Her co-workers relished the role of guinea pigs, and started ordering her cakes. Carla's specialty is bundts, which she likes because they are easy to transport and work well with dense, fruity recipes. You never have to worry about the middle sinking or not cooking through, she says. "I know that shape will work."

One of her specialties is a deeply flavored rum cake. The recipe follows for Corinne Yogi, who wants to give her new bundt pan a workout with a proven rum cake recipe.

This one's guaranteed.

Carla offers these bundt-baking tips: Grease AND flour the pan, even if it's nonstick. Check the cake after 30 minutes. Use a jiggle test and a toothpick test to check for doneness (it shouldn't jiggle at all). Cool on a rack, then turn over (she never has problems de-panning a cake this way).

Carla's cakes, which also include chocolate, carrot and banana flavors, are available by the slice at the Daily Scoop, upstairs in the News Building, 605 Kapiolani Blvd. Call 525-8641.

CARLA'S RUM CAKE

2-1/4 cups bread flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-3/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons real vanilla
3/4 cup instant vanilla pudding
1/4 cup dry milk
1/2 cup each cold water, good rum and vegetable oil
4 large eggs

Glaze:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup good rum

Combine dry ingredients, add liquid ingredients and mix until well-blended. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool about 15 minutes, then invert.

To make glaze, bring butter, sugar and water to a boil and cook 5 minutes, then add rum. Brush cake with glaze.

Optional decorations: Pipe icing over cake and/or top with cocoa powder or walnuts.

This request came via postcard from Arlene Santiago of Torrance, Calif., who remembers fondly the Graham Cracker Pudding served at Kalihi-Waena Elementary in the 1950s -- "when my sisters and I attended. We often reminisce."

Everyone should be allowed their nostalgic impulses, so here is a recipe from a 1984 publication, "S.N.A.C.K.S.: Speedy, Nutritious and Cheap Kids' Snacks" by Jan Brink and Melinda Ramm (Signet), which just happens to be in the cookbook collection of my buddy Marilyn, who occupies the desk to my right. Everything should be this easy.

GRAHAM CRACKER PUDDING

3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup honey
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Add honey, cracker crumbs and baking powder; mix thoroughly. Stir in vanilla.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into crumb mixture. Pour into a buttered 1-1/2-quart baking dish. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Finally, Hawaii expatriot Noelani Aguon of Garden Grove, Calif., was hungry for a cheesecake with a mango-gelatin topping.

Four people came through with the recipe, including Beverly Nagel, who has personally tested this version from an old Hawaiian Electric Co. bill insert. Thanks also to Cori Omura, Robert L. and one anonymous benefactor who sent in similar recipes.

LAYERED MANGO DESSERT

Crust
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups butter or margarine

Filling
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
8 ounces whipped topping
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1 cup water
1 cup boiling water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 cups diced mango

To make crust: Combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter. Press into a 13-by-9-by-2-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

To make filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar; fold in whipped topping and vanilla. Spread over cooled crust and chill until firm.

To make topping: Soften gelatin in water. Add boiling water and sugar; stir until dissolved. Stir in lemon juice and mango. Spoon over cream cheese layer; chill again until firm.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.