Craving something sweet… I mean really sweet? After someone posted a picture of Holly Hobby on the internet this morning, I was feeling nostalgic. I can’t just sit still and feel nostalgic, I usually get some food memories going on at the same time, which means I get cooking / baking!

To keep the story short and sweet, my sister had the Holly Hobby Amy doll when we lived in Lakeview in Calgary. At the time I would have nothing to do with my little sister, so while she happily played with Amy, I would plot ways to torment her play with my friends, one of them being Sheelah Taylor who lived a few blocks away.  It was the Taylor’s who introduced me to Candy Cake. They also introduced me to the idea that men could knit (Sheelah’s dad was a great knitter), and that some churches take you to Sunday school by bus and while in said bus you had to memorize little bits of scripture typed on small pieces of paper in order to recite it once in “school”. That part of my life didn’t last long. 8 year old Cathy had a difficult time (still does) concentrating on anything during the weekend.

Candy cake. It’s got this going for it – it’s the easiest thing to bake. It’s oats, brown sugar, butter and vanilla. When it comes out of the oven, it’s a molten pan of sugary goodness. Once cooled, it slices up into delicious squares of teeth singing sweetness. Out of the respect for the Taylor’s, I continue the tradition of adding a layer of creamy butter cream icing as well (although today I skipped the blue food dye which was happily added back in the 1970’s).

Curious? Have a sweet tooth? Try this:

CANDY CAKE

1 cup brown sugar
2 cups oatmeal (large flake)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients and press into a 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into squares.

If you dare to go there, before cutting, top with butter cream icing. I don’t have a recipe. All I do is mix together about a 1/4 cup softened butter, a few drops of vanilla and milk, adding a little bit of icing sugar and mixing.  I keep adding drops of milk and bits of sugar until it looked like a butter cream.