By Carolyn Hollis
Even though Jean Larkin Hollis passed away, she lives on through the recipes she created more than 70 years ago and passed to her children. Mrs. Hollis was a stay-at-home mother of four children in Fairfax Virginia. Relying solely on her husband’s income, Mrs. Hollis learned to pinch pennies.
To save money, Mrs. Hollis grew a selection of fruits and vegetables to use in her recipes. Her most popular dish was Blueberry Cake made from the freshly picked blueberries in her back yard. Blueberry Cake was used at bake sales and to celebrate birthdays and special occasions.
Neighbors asked for the recipe, and Mrs. Hollis smiled when she gave it to them. However, she would leave out an important secret that influenced the texture of the blueberries in the cake and how it rose. Neighbors admired Mrs. Hollis’s cooking skills because when they imitated the recipe, it never turned out quite the same due to the missing ingredient.
The only people that knew this secret were Hollis’s children, who were forbidden to disclose the information to anyone. The secret was never written down: flour the blueberries before they are added to the batter.
The missing ingredient was discovered six Christmases ago when the wife of Mrs. Hollis’s son was making the cake. As his wife was about to add the blueberries to the cake, Hollis’s son glanced at her and asked, “Where is the flour?” From then on, her cake turned out just as good as Jean Larkin Hollis’s.
Floured Blueberry Cake
From Jean Larkin Hollis
1 cup shortening (she used Crisco)
½ cup butter
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
6 tablespoons corn starch
3 cups cake flour
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 pint blueberries
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix shortening, butter, and sugar in large bowl until creamy.
Slowly add remaining ingredients, except the blueberries and cake flour, into the mixture.
Place blueberries in strainer, and spread flour over blueberries. Add to the cake mixture and stir.
Pour the batter into a greased bunt pan.
Bake for one hour and ten minutes at 325 degrees. For crispy crust turn the temperature up to 350 degrees for the last ten minutes.
