Milky Way Cake

How can you hate a recipe that starts off like this? This is one of my mother's recipes. I have no idea where she got it, but my aunt and uncle specifically requested the recipe a couple of weeks ago after my Mom's memorial service, so here it is!

Milky Way Cake

6 Milky Way bars
1/4 lb. butter
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine candy, butter and nuts in a saucepan. Place over low heat until melted. Set aside.
Cream sugar and shortening well. Add eggs, one at a time. Combine milk and vanilla and add alternately with dry ingredients. Fold in the candy mixture. Pour into a greased and floured Bundt pan and bake for an hour and a half. (Note, this pan is too full. It either makes too much batter or my pan is too small.)

Allow the cake to cool before removing from the pan. This is what happens when you are impatient and try to unmold the cake when it's still hot. It looks terrible, but it still tastes fantastic.

Chocolate Brandy Balls

This is a recipe that my mom used to make for Christmas. I have no idea where she got this one, but we loved to sneak these out of the refrigerator when we were kids. We thought we were being so bad. We had no idea how little alcohol is really in them, but after a week or so in a sealed container in the refrigerator, the fumes when you opened it would just knock you over.


Chocolate Brandy Balls
1 6 oz package of semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. vanilla wafer crumbs
3/4 c. finely chopped walnuts, plus 1 c. finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. melted butter
1 T. brandy or rum

Melt the chocolate chips and stir in vanilla wafer crumbs, 3/4 c. walnuts, sour cream, sugar, butter and liquor. Chill for several hours. Roll into balls the size of a marble (I use the large end of a melon baller, then roll in my hand). Drop into 1 c. of walnuts and roll until lightly coated. Store covered in the refrigerator.