Recipe: Cashew Nut Cake and Butternut Squash Nut Cake for Gwendolyn

Cashew Nut Cake
by Dorothy Phillips
This recipe is a forever special occasion favorite among Arubans. There are still cashew trees growing on the island.
Yield: 6 servings

Cake:

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups ground cashews

Frosting:
2 egg whites
1 cup confectionary sugar
1/3 cup margarine
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup ground cashews

Cake:
Cream margarine and sugar until smooth. Add egg whites and mix well. Add the rest of the cake ingredients and mix well. Grease a 9" round cake pan and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. Let cool.

Frosting:
Beat egg whites with sugar until stiff. Add margarine, salt, almond extract and beat well. Spread on top and sides of cake. Traditional decorations are maraschino cherries and lime confetti, small pieces of shredded lime peel.

Butternut Squash Nut Cake
Yield: 16 Servings

CAKE
3 c Flour
2 ts Baking powder
3/4 ts Baking soda
1 1/2 ts Cinnamon
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 ts Ground nutmeg
1/4 ts Ground cloves
1 c Butter; softenend
1 3/4 c Sugar
3 Eggs
1 1/3 c Pureed winter squash
1/2 c Milk
3/4 c Chopped pecans

BROWN SUGAR FROSTING
1 c Dark brown sugar; packed
1/2 c Butter
1/3 c Heavy cream
1 ts Vanilla
1 1/4 c Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease & flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cake:

Combine dry ingredients. Cream butter & sugar; beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk. Pour batter into pan; bake until cake tests done, about 1 hour. Cool in pan 45 minutes; remove to rack to finish cooling.

Frosting:

Bring brown sugar, butter and cream to a boil. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Transfer to a bowl; let cool until lukewarm. Beat in powdered sugar until of spreading consistency.
Makes 16 to 18 servings.