“…behind every Guide Michelin chef there was a woman, usually a four foot cataract-ridden old granny from whom he’d filched his best recipes.” 
― Karen Karbo, Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life

Hi there,

Betty Pieffer is my friends Chuck and Roe’s mother and mother-in-law. I have known Chuck and Roe ever since they adopted my dog. A story for another time. I came to know Betty and her pound cake because it was always a staple of a family party. And, believe me, it is good enough to use to pay the plumber or anyone else.

Betty taught in Catholic Schools for 40 years. She had a very deep and abiding faith particularly in the power of guardian angels. She always wore an angel pin on her jacket and kept extra ones in her pocket to give to someone in need of extra help from the angels. At a point in my life when I needed all the angels in heaven to help me, she came to visit me, gave me my own angel, and prayed for me and my son. Her kindness I have never forgotten.

Here is a picture of Betty with her angel pin firmly in place in her kitchen. The next picture is of her at one of the family gatherings with her granddaughter, Liza.

Betty’s Pay The Bills Pound Cake

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 3/4 lb of butter (3 sticks softened)
• 1 and1/4 cups of sugar
• 3 cups of flour (not cake flour)
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• 3/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon of mace

Directions:

1. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and mace in a bowl until smooth
2. Add eggs 2 at a time to mixture
3. After condensed milk and vanilla
4. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time. until completely blended
5. Pour into a large bundt or tube pan that has been prepared for baking
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. It may take longer. Cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Special Note: I served this pound cake with fresh strawberries and creme fresh.

Talk soon, ❤️💕 Bernadette