Hershey® Bar Cake, made from Hershey® bars and Hershey’s® Syrup has been a mainstay of my family since I received the recipe from a high school friend in El Dorado, Arkansas.  Since then, the sometimes finicky recipe has yielded a moist, dense, deep chocolate cake (well, most of the time) that has been the star of many after-dinner desserts and birthday celebrations for more than 50 or so years.

I say finicky because sometimes the cake bakes beautifully, sometimes it doesn’t.  It may be the weather.  It may be the oven.  It just may be me.  But if you can get this cake to turn out the way we like it — slightly undercooked yet not gooey, firm enough to cut with a fork — then you’ve got a treat that almost anyone will love.  At home, we serve it with good quality vanilla ice cream topped with rich, warm chocolate sauce.

The recipe is so old that it originally called for two 20-cent cans of syrup (not available now) and seven nickel candy bars!!! I’ve made some substitutions and included them in the full recipe below.

Basic steps: 

Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Add 1 can Hershey Syrup.

Add flour mixture alternatively with buttermilk. Then add vanilla.

Add 5 melted Hershey bars.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour and 10-20 minutes.

Hershey® Bar Cake

2 sticks butter (1 cup)

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 can Hershey® Syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

5 Hershey® bars (1.55 ounces each)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Let 2 sticks of butter and eggs come to room temperature.  Grease and flour 10″ tube pan.

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.  Add syrup.  Sift dry ingredients.  Add to mixture alternatively with buttermilk.  Add vanilla. Melt Hershey© bars in microwavable measuring cup and add to mixture.

Bake at 325º for 1 hour and approximately 10 – 20 minutes more.  Test for doneness but do not let dry out completely.  You want this to be moist.  (I use a knife and look for it to come out with a little gooeyness clinging to it!)

For the bake sale at Holiday Helpings, we sold halves of the cake wrapped in plastic wrap and tied with burlap ribbon.  The tags were printed on cardstock and glued to scrapbooking paper.

Hope you enjoy making this cake.  Let us know if it works for you!  But even if it doesn’t, pull it out before it’s almost done and just eat it with a spoon.  Mmmm!

This post is #14 for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) 2013.

As fresh as it gets — seafood right from the boats!

My husband and I have spent the last days of summer at Pawleys Island for so many years, we’ve lost count.  But even though we know the routine of renting, the journey down highways and byways from Knoxville to South Carolina, and that great feeling when we see the ocean, we’ve found that the whole act of “getting there” just adds to the joy of travel.

And thus it was that we stumbled upon what has become our favorite shrimp dock — just by reading a sign along Highway 17 that runs through Georgetown.

Independent Seafood is just past the Harbor House Bed and Breakfast in Georgetown’s historic district.

We turn down a tree-lined street into the historic district where stately Southern homes make it a habit to turn heads of those driving by. Sometimes I think it’s almost as if they’re watching as tourists like us read aloud the dates in the oval markers and consider how porches, iron fences, and windows of wavy glass have maintained their character for so long.

Pretty soon, we see the place where we stop to fill our empty cooler: Independent Seafood.  It’s become a ritual, of sorts — leave home, stop at Columbia’s Farmers’ Market, then Cooper’s Country Store  in Salters, and take one last stop at Independent Seafood to get the goods for a first-night shrimp boil at the beach.

Independent Seafood Market Shrimp Dock

Independent Seafood’s a humble place really.  Right at water’s edge.  Plain concrete building with a back door opening to shrimp boats and workers and sometimes a stray cat or two who wander in, but not unexpectedly.

We move in for the kill, peering in at each bucket marked by shrimp size, thinking not only what we’ll need for that night, but maybe another night or two, mid-week.

Large shrimp in one bucket.

Medium shrimp for gumbo in another!

Trevor cracks jokes and tells us we’re not buying enough.  Heck, you need some shrimp boil or lump crabmeat —  croaker, too! (They’ve got it all.)

Trevor cuts up with the customers!

Lots more fish, seasonings, and frozen delights await.

Croaker on ice!

The house seasonings — hot or regular (which is hot to some folks)!

Crabcakes and assorted sea creature parts!

We buy mediums for gumbo and large ones for peel ‘n eat — packed in separate bags. Then we splurge and get the crabmeat, tossing all into the cooler.  One of the guys with a shovel big enough for circus scooper duty, scoops out crushed ice and layers it on top.  Then he totes it to our car for us! (Bert loves that!)

Baggin’ the shrimp!

On the way out, we turn down a different side street through the district just so we can ogle more gorgeous houses and lovely sit-a-spell porches before the home stretch to Pawleys.

Our dream: Low Country Boil (recipe below) with little more than some French bread and dessert from the Kudzu Bakery  on our own screened-in porch by the sea!

So, if you’re headed to one of the South Carolina beaches, and you pass through Georgetown, put Independent Seafood on your list of must-see places.  But, don’t forget your cooler.  You’ll want shrimp for supper, too!

Low Country Boil

Crab Boil (2 teaspoons per quart of water)

12 small red new potatoes

Six 4-inch pieces good smoked link sausage

6 ears fresh corn

3 pounds fresh shrimp (26 to 30 count per pound), unpeeled

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover all ingredients.  Add crab boil and heat until boiling.  Adjust crab boil to suit your taste. (I use Slap Ya Mama!) When boiling, add potatoes and sausage.  Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add corn and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Add shrimp and cook for no more than 3 minutes (do not overcook). Drain and serve with piping-hot bread and ice-cold beer.

from The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook

by Paula H. Deen

Independent Seafood Market Shrimp Dock

1 Cannon Street

Georgetown, SC 29440

843.546.6642

Filed under: Bed & Breakfast Inns, Destination, Food, Recipe, South Carolina, Travel Tagged: beach, Bed & Breakfast Inns, crab boil, fish, Lady & Sons, Low Country Boil, recipe, shrimp, South Carolina, Southern food, travel ]]> https://ohtheplaceswesee.com/2012/09/12/better-bring-a-cooler-independent-seafood-georgetown-sc/feed/ 9 rushasams 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 003 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 015 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 004 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 009 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 008 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 011 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 010 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 013 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 012 2012.7.IndependentSeafoodKudzu 005 https://ohtheplaceswesee.com/2012/08/12/even-better-than-i-remembered-chattanoogas-mayors-mansion-inn/ https://ohtheplaceswesee.com/2012/08/12/even-better-than-i-remembered-chattanoogas-mayors-mansion-inn/#comments Mon, 13 Aug 2012 01:52:17 +0000 http://ohtheplaceswesee.com/?p=1322 Continue reading →]]> Years ago, my husband and I dabbled in antiques, and I wrote a column for the Busy Bee Trader featuring shops, restaurants, B&Bs — just about anything that the Busy Bee readers would want to visit in their publication area.  And that’s how I came upon a lovely Victorian Romanesque home-turned-inn at the cornerstone of the Fort Wood Historic District in Chattanooga. It was then known as the Adams Hilborne Mansion Inn, and, fortunately, this stately, beautifully preserved home remains an elegant accommodation for travelers and guests.  Now, however, it’s known as the Mayor’s Mansion Inn.

The current owners, Mark and Cindi Ladd , shared a bit of history with us when we stayed there recently.  Edmond G. Watkins in 1889 completed this home using some of the finest construction techniques and even some of the stones from the Union Army redoubt during the Civil War in Chattanooga.  Watkins, president of the Lookout Mountain Land Company and the Chattanooga and Mountain Railway Company, was elected mayor; thus, his home became the Mayor’s Mansion.  This 14,000-square-foot property was renovated in 1995 and opened as a B&B in 1996.  McLadd Hospitality purchased the inn in 2008 and established a standard for elegant accommodations that has earned them a place in the Select Registry.

As I mentioned earlier, about 10 years ago — in preparation for writing an article about it — I toured the inn, marveling at the 11 guest rooms with private baths, the tasteful updates bringing the mansion into the 20th century, and the details that had been preserved by people who obviously cared for exacting period renovation.

Fortunately, the elegant setting that I observed this time has not only endured — it may have improved.  I like the furnishings even better this second time around.  They seem (how shall I put it?) even more comfortable, yet fitting for the time period. Relaxing in the spacious rooms is not only possible — it’s encouraged!

As you can see in the picture below, hand-painted walls (Soooo much better than plain ol’ wallpaper!) form an interesting — and lovely — backdrop.

Details such as the coffered ceilings and intricate parquet floors are a testament to the craftmanship and creativity that are often missing in many of America’s “updated” B&Bs.

Bedrooms were a bit formal — yet easy to enjoy with sink-into beds (We love down comforters!) and modern baths.

Although we choose to stay in B&Bs periodically for a taste of the past, we have another reason to select old homes-turned-hotels: It’s the people.  For example, on this stay, we met David and Margaret, former owners of a macadamia farm in  Africa, but now residents in Ringgold, Georgia.  They, too, loved the inn and the elegant breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, the Mayor’s Mansion Inn serves it each morning in three courses — and they do it up right! Katie, our server, led us into the Tiffany Dining Room where stemmed crystal held a fruit medley.  Pretty china and silver set the tone for elegant entrees yet to come.

Katie pauses for a picture between servings of hot pancackes and bacon

Main course — beautifully presented!

We dined on Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Compote*, and the owners graciously shared the recipe so I could post it for my readers!  (Be sure to check it out at the end!)

After a restful night’s sleep and a breakfast the likes of which we definitely don’t have at home, we felt the need to walk the neighborhood sidewalks and get a glimpse of other Fort Wood homes. Lined with centuries-old trees, Vine Street shows off some of Chattanooga’s grand ol’ dames —  homes that have been well-loved by their owners, sometimes several of them.  Here are just three of the houses for you  to enjoy — and you don’t even have to walk to see them!

I guess you’re smiling by now, because you can imagine what came next for us — and maybe what befalls everyone who comes to the Mayor’s Mansion Inn:  a leisurely time on the porch where we just “sat a spell” and got a feel for how the residents in 1899 might have enjoyed the morning air after a sightseeing walk!  It’s enough to make us want to come back just so we can do this again at twilight!

The Mayor’s Mansion Inn hosts weddings, receptions, even business meetings.  A large room in the back can seat 64 people, and all food, table settings, etc., can be arranged with their staff.  On our way out, we met Josh who said he does a little of everything around the mansion from arranging this display to helping with all manner of events and special occasions!

If you’re planning a trip to Chattanooga and you like staying in B&Bs, consider the Mayor’s Mansion Inn.  We enjoyed our overnight in this historic property — modern comforts, beautifully prepared food, and friendly servers and guests. Perhaps this t-shirt has the right idea!

The Mayor’s Mansion Inn

801 Vine Street

Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403

423.265.5000

email: info@mayorsmansioninn.com

http://www.mayorsmansioninn.com

*Recipe: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Compote

Blueberry Compote: In small saucepan, blend 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/4 cup water.  Cook over medium heat until clear and slightly thickened, stirring constantly.  Add blueberries and heat until warmed.

Lemon Riccota Pancakes: Make pancakes according to mix directions and add 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese.  Batter will be slightly thicker than normal.  Pre-make three round mini pancakes per person and rest on baking sheet in warmed oven. When ready to serve, place a thin layer of lemon pudding between pancakes, top with blueberry compote, and garnish with decorative butter pat and lemon thyme leaf.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Serve warm maple syrup on the side.

Would love to hear from any of you if you’ve stayed at the Mayor’s Mansion Inn!  Leave me a comment!

Click here to read about another Select Registry Bed and Breakfast Inn, the Black Walnut Inn in Asheville, North Carolina.