Retro Coffee and Cake

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My book club met the other night to discuss our latest read; Elizabeth Berg's "The Last Time I Saw You." The story centered around the character, Dorothy (what a "coinki-dink") who was preparing for her 40th and last class reunion.

I won't give anything away, but there's a part of the book which talks about Orange Cake. Well, that got me to thinking about the old Orange Supreme Cake Mix from Duncan Hines. Yes, I said that seven letter bad word "cake mix." Meaning, not from scratch. Don't tell Martha Stewart, please.

Anyway, I thought wouldn't it be fun to make an orange cake for our meeting? And since we're having retro cake, why not go all the way back and have instant coffee instead of gourmet? Guess what? Everyone loved it. It was a big hit!

Maxwell House Instant Coffee has come a long way. I get the feeling my mother is smiling down on me. Her motto was, "Why bother with scratch when there's cake mix?"

Have a great Sunday.

Dottie

Comments

  1. BrooklynMay 1, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa - It is so funny when sophisicated women think they're eating Dungeness crab cakes and rave about their palates for fancy gourmet faire, when in reality the host is serving salmon croquets. Nothing like a successful time-saving fix for an elegant event. Duncan Hines is hard to beat when it comes to cakes - some varieties are much tastier than "from scratch". I wonder how many addtional "this is absolutely devine" remarks you would have received had you told your book club members you had made the orange cake from a "Barefoot Contessa" mix:). "Brewing" Instant Maxwell House, now that's retro - for sure.

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