Mom's General Conference Cake

I am a Mormon - a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As a church, we gather together every six months to hear the words of the prophets and apostles and general leadership of the church.  Those who can get tickets, gather in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The rest of us gather around televisions, internet feeds, radios, and a printed copy of the proceedings in the church magazine publications.  It is a time of learning, reflection, growing, and sometimes change.  It is also an event that covers six 2-hour long sessions that covers a full week!

Consequently every family has traditions that are passed on from generation to generation and friend to friend to help make the time more enjoyable.

When I was a kid, I lived in Phoenix, Arizona, where one TV channel would carry only one session.  Sunday morning, I'd drag my blanket & pillow off my bad and into the TV room, where we would watch the session from the afternoon before.  Sometimes we kids would fall asleep unless we had something to keep us awake - like food!  Thus my Mom came up with a "Conference Cake" that became our tradition.  It continues today!

Every six months, when Conference rolls around, our family begins to drool like Pavlov's dogs, knowing that sometime during the weekend, I will make Conference Cake!

Like any awesome recipe, it has evolved a bit over the years, but the essence of it has remained the same.  The recipe I received when we got married says to bake it in a regular cake pan, but since mine often comes out gooey in the middle, I have changed to a bunt pan.  Also, I have learned that I really like the gooey stuff in the middle more than the fully baked cake (weird, I know! but Oh, so good!!)

The recipe, then pictures.

Conference Morning Breakfast Cake

Batter:

½ C Butter

1 C Sugar

2 Eggs

2 C Four

1 t Baking Soda

1 t Baking Powder

½ t Salt

1 C Sour Cream

1 t Vanilla

Topping:

1/3 C Brown Sugar

¼ C Sugar

1 t Vanilla

1 C Finely Chopped Pecans or Mixed Nuts

  

Cream together Butter & Sugar & Eggs, one at a time.  Add dry ingredients alternately with Sour Cream, beating well after each.  Add Vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix all topping ingredients together.  Layer in a 9x9 pan or 9” round cake pan: batter, topping, batter, topping on top.  Bake for 40 minutes at 325*.  Serve warm with a dab of butter on top.

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Since the cake is pretty simple, I'll assume that you know how to find and use a mixer, then follow the directions to make the cake part.  It's the putting it together that is really different.

Be sure to start heating up your oven before you start stirring so it will be ready to bake!

When mixing the topping, I actually double the nuts - I use walnuts and pecans, using my chopper as a "measuring cup" - so I get one copper-ful of walnuts & one of pecans.  Add the sugars and vanilla & mix it together well.

Since my bunt pan is a stone pan, I grease it well with Crisco - this also helps the nuts to stick on the sides of the pan while I build the cake!

Sprinkle a little more than half of the nuts on the bottom and sides of the pan.

After you lick the mixer whisk clean (oh, I love cake dough!), ...

... plop some dabs of about 1/2 of the batter around the bottom of the pan.  This is pretty hard, actually, since the batter is so sticky!  If your fingers are clean, you can scrape the spoon to aid this process (& lick your fingers clean afterward!).

Sprinkle the rest of the nut mixture on top of the dough, then use your spoon to spread it out and flatten it!

Add the rest of the dough & smear it around as best you can.  As the nuts stick to the dough, the dough will no longer want to stick to the pan sides.  That's OK, just do your best.

 Bake for the appropriate time, and the top is slightly browned (this usually takes a little longer than the recipe calls for - just don't forget about it!)

Remove from the oven & loosen the sides of the cake from the pan - I used a chop stick, but you can use a butter knife, or any other thin, narrow item that will fit between the cake and the pan.  Set your serving plate upside down & on top of the baking pan, then (together) flip the whole thing over so the cake falls out of the pan and onto the plate in one quick movement.

Serve immediately with a dollop of real butter to melt all over it.

If you have leftovers, and want to have more, be sure to warm the cake before serving it!  It's the warm cake and cool butter melting all over it that is really good!!

Enjoy!  I hope you love it as much as we do!