Graham Cracker Cake

It was my dad's birthday last week and I wanted to try to make this recipe from the "Slovak American Cookbook." My sister made it last year but the dog ate it off the counter.

My grandmother said that her mother used to make this cake for my dad when he was younger, using half chocolate cake and half of this recipe. She also said that my great-grandmother didn't know how to write in English and she had someone else write "Happy Birthday" with a toothpick and she would trace over it in icing. Charming!

This recipe is enough for two 9 inch cakes. I also made a box chocolate cake so I ended up with two layer cakes.

Graham Cracker Cake
Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
2 1/4 c. sifted graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. cake flour
3 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped
3 egg whites

Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Add yolks one at a time and beat thoroughly after each addition.

2. Roll graham crackers into crumbs. I used a rolling pin and ziploc bags. This takes a while to get a something that you can actually put into the sifter. I wouldn't skip this step because it seems important.

3. Sift flour once, measure and re-sift with graham crackers, salt, and baking powder.

4. Add a small amount of flour mixture to butter/sugar, alternating with some milk.

5. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into cake mixture.

6. Pour batter into two greased, 9 inch cake pans. Bake at 350 for 30 mins.

Frost with buttercream frosting when cool (after 2 hours).

It didn't come out quite as fluffy or moist as I would have liked. I wasn't in my own kitchen and I was on a time crunch so I will blame those things. Also, I should have sifted the grahams twice and really given them a good crushing. I will also probably try this with shortening instead of butter next time.

It's my dad's favorite so it's worth it to try to get it right.