Cake:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. vanilla
4 heaping tablespoons cocoa
dash salt
1 cup cold water
1 cup Miracle Whip.

Combine dry ingredients, whisk together water and Miracle whip and stir by hand into the dry ingredients.

Bake at 350 degrees in 9x11 inch pan, approximately 25-28 minutes. I undercook it just a bit so it isn't dry.

Note: Don't make this in a 9x13 pan, cake will be too thin, you need to do it in a 8.5x11 or a 9x11.

Caramel Frosting

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar - you can use either light or dark brown, i prefer the dark brown as it gives it a richer flavor, but either light or dark work great.

Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes

Stir in 1/4 cup half and half, bring to boil.

Pour into KitchenAid bowl if you have a stand mixer, put in the whisk attachment, add 2 cups powdered sugar and whisk until it is lukewarm and smooth.

Frost the cooled cake.

It's better the next day - totally moist after it sits, covered overnight.

from Martha Stewart...

Ingredients

Makes 16

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa
• 1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

I recently had a to-die-for sweet potato salad at Maxine's a local lunch girl place in Heavensville. Their version had roasted sweet potatoes, walnuts, dried cranberries, in a sweet vinagrette, perhaps with honey and/or balsalmic vinegar. I couldn't find a similar recipe, but the chef's at Finer Kitchen's steered me on this one - it got great reviews. It's from Sara's Kitchen on Food TV.

Sweet Potato Salad:
4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup raw green pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped scallions (green and white)
1 cup julienned roasted red pepper

Dressing:
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup mango chutney
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil

Make the Salad: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a roasting pan, combine the potatoes, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, rosemary, salt, pepper, cumin and ginger. Stir to combine and bake until the potatoes are fork-tender and golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring, until toasted. Transfer the seeds to a plate and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the cranberries, scallions, and red pepper and set aside.

Make the Dressing: Prepare the dressing by combining all the ingredients (except for the olive oil) in a small saucepan and heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the olive oil.
Assemble salad by gently tossing the roasted potatoes with the red pepper mixture. Add enough of the dressing to coat and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve with extra dressing on the side.

4 irish potatoes, cut into quarters
1/2 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced
chopped green onion
1 c milk
4 T butter
salt & pepper

In a medium pot, boil the potatoes. Meanwhile, combine milk, cabbage, onion, half the butter, salt and pepper into a large pot and bring to a simmer. Cook until the cabbage is soft, about 15 minutes. When the potatoes are fork tender, drain well and add to the cabbage mixture. Mash with a potato masher, adding in remaining butter and more salt & pepper to taste.

This has been a family favorite for years. I like it with porkchops, but then I like anything with porkchops.

~ jan

Dear SOS: Whenever I get out to L.A., I have to stop at Auntie Em's Kitchen in Eagle Rock for a cupcake fix -- specifically, for a coconut cupcake with coconut cream cheese frosting. It's a miracle of a baked good. Do you think you could get the recipe for a Bostonite who's stuck on the East Coast dreaming of this confection?

-- Jenny Sawyer, Boston

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FOR THE RECORD:
Cupcake recipe: A recipe for Auntie Em's coconut cupcakes in Wednesday's Food section indicated that 1 3/4 cups shredded sweetened coconut should be divided. Instead, all of it should be used for the batter. —

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Dear Jenny: This billowy coconut cupcake is pretty irresistible. The cake has a hint of almond and a light buttermilk tang. There's tender, shredded coconut baked into the cake too. And the frosting -- it's a cream cheese frosting with butter mixed in, airy and creamy both, finished with a sprinkling of more shredded coconut on top. This one's for you, Bostonites.

Auntie Em's coconut cupcakes

Total time: 45 minutes, plus cooling time for the cupcakes

Servings: Makes 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes

Note: Adapted from Auntie Em's Kitchen in Eagle Rock.

2 1/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

2 teaspoons almond extract

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups shredded sweetened coconut, plus extra for decorating the frosted cupcakes

1/2 pound cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter, at room temperature

3 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Separately, in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the oil, buttermilk, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, the almond extract and sugar. Using a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, on low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until smooth, careful not to overmix. Gently fold in the coconut.

2. Place 18 paper muffin cups into muffin tins. Fill each cup with a generous one-fourth cup of batter, so that it comes three-fourths up the side of each cup. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes to a rack and allow to cool completely.

3. For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese on low speed until smooth; scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the butter and continue mixing on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the bowl again. Add the powdered sugar in three additions at low speed, mixing each addition until just combined. Scrape down the bowl again. Add the remaining teaspoon vanilla and mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Frost each cupcake with 3 tablespoons frosting and sprinkle with extra shredded coconut. The cupcakes will keep for 2 days.

Each serving: 475 calories; 4 grams protein; 55 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 27 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 66 mg. cholesterol; 288 mg. sodium.

Lemon-Poppyseed Pancakes

These pancakes are a nice change from the standard pancake. They are the perfect treat for a lazy Sunday morning.

Serves 4


1 cup buttermilk
4 eggs separated
1 cup flour
dash salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
zest and juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tablespoon poppyseeds

Beat together buttermilk and egg yolks until well-blended. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda into the milk-yolk mixture. Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, along with the lemon zest and juice, and the poppyseeds. The egg whites should be blended, but somewhat distinct from the rest of the batter.

On a nonstick griddle, or large pan, lightly greased with butter or oil if necessary and heated to medium, add the batter by 1/2 cup ladlefuls. Cook until lightly brown on the bottom, and bubbles begin to rise to the top, about 3 minutes. Turn over and cook until brown on the second side.

Pancakes can remain in a warm oven until ready to serve, but then should be eaten immediately. Sprinkle pancakes with additional poppyseeds if you like, and serve with pure maple syrup.

I've never eaten a Jicama, but Nisha is a big fan of them, and she was really interested in this recipe I saw Sandra Lee making on FoodTV.

I must admit, I'm really intrigued with it, also, so I'm going to give it a try. Mandarin oranges, mayo, sounds good to me -

If you, too, are unfamiliar with Jicama, it supposedly has a flavor similar to some varieties of apples.

~ jan

1 medium jicama, shredded on your box grater
2 cups (1 bag) prepackaged angel hair cole slaw
1 (11-ounce) can Mandarin orange segments, drained, 1/4 cup juice reserved
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 red onion, minced into small dice

Add cole slaw, onion and Mandarin orange segments to grated Jicama; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together reserved Mandarin juice, mayonnaise, vinegar, and salt and pepper.

Pour dressing over jicama mixture. Toss to mix thoroughly.

Serve immediately.