Deanna, that was my recipe all right. Grandma made it when I was growing up and it was always one of my favorites. Soonergrandmom, I don't know about the nuts changing texture, I almost never add the nuts because I don't like nuts baked in things. Not in banana bread or in cookies or in that hot fudge pudding cake, not even in fudge. Odd, I suppose, since I like nuts by themselves. Hmmm..... OK, a cake recipe for that 8x8 pan. Oh yeah, gingerbread! I just love it, and I love maple too, so this was right up my alley.... OLD-FASHIONED GINGERBREAD WITH MAPLE WHIPPED CREAM Yields one 8x8 inch cake. If you like, dust the gingerbread with confectioners' sugar and present it on a platter. It's homey enough though to serve straight from the baking dish. 1-3/4 cups plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda 2-1/4 tsp. ground ginger 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground cloves Pinch salt 5 Tbs. butter, softened at room temperature 1/3 cup sugar 1 large egg 3/4 cup dark molasses 3/4 cup cold water 1 cup heavy cream (not ultra pasteurized, if possible) 1/4 cup maple syrup Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8x8 inch cake pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour in the molasses in a slow, steady stream, beating all the while. Add half of the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until well combined. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Slowly pour in the cold water and stir until well incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan about 1 hour before serving. Beat the cream until thickened. Slowly pour in the syrup and continue beating until the cream holds soft peaks. Cut the cake into squares; serve with the whipped cream. I also use a small pan like that 8x8 pan for fruit cobblers and crisps, since there are only Ashley and I here. Grandma's Blueberry Crisp would fit in nicely, can be adapted to use apples, peaches or cherries or whatever else you like and can get readily. I use frozen fruit all winter to make it too. Blueberry Crisp-Grandmas ================ 3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, unsweetened 2 tbls lemon juice 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup quick oats 1/3 cup butter, softened 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt . Heat oven to 375. Arrange berries in ungreased square baking dish (8 inch) and sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine remaining ingredients until crumbly. (I use a pastry blender, grandma used two knives). Crumble topping over berries and bake until topping is lightly browned and berries are hot, about 30 minutes. Makes 4-6 servings. Annie

I have never made a lamb out of this....but it's dense, white and made with butter. ICE CREAM CAKE 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup butter 2 cups sifted flour 3 tsp. baking powder 1 cup sifted cornstarch 1 cup milk 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp almond extract the whites of 5 eggs beaten to stiff peaks Cream sugar and butter together. Sift the flour, baking powder and cornstarch together.Add to creamed mixture alternatly with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until very smooth. Add vanilla and then fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake in 2 greased and floured 8" round cake pans for 25 to 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. You will have to bake longer I think for a lamb.....but test with a tooth pick and bake until done. Frost with 7 minute frosting....the one with boiled sugar and egg white. And you can use the egg yolks to make lemon curd and hollendaise for your Easter asparagus! LOL! That cake baked as layers and filled with lemon curd is wonderful! Linda C

You might try applying a coat of DAWN Platinum Erasing Dish Foam (foam plus a little water to make it spread farther and stay wetter) and let it sit on the problem areas of the pan long enough to soften the baked-on crud, then clean as normal. I have the 12-cup mini-Bundt pan similar to the one in your picture and use it all the time without the build-up problem. I spray my pans with Bakers & Chefs Cooking Spray making sure I carefully wipe off any over-spray that is on the flat surfaces before filling the pan. I've been using this cooking spray for around 20-years and don't have gunky pans, and I make all our baked goods all the time using somepans that are as much as 30-40 years old. I've also been cleaning my baking pans with the DAWN foam products since they came out on the market. -Grainlady

I made the cupcakes today. I didn't use a streusel filling/topping, just the sugar, cinnamon and walnut mix that the recipe called for. They came out ok. They look like mushrooms because I overfilled the cupcake tins. I tried to fill them half way, put in some of the sugar mix, and then fill the rest of the way and top with the sugar mix, and that ended up being kind of a waste of time and energy. They tend to come apart at the seams so if I ever make cupcakes out of this recipe again, I will just fill the cupcake tins 2/3 full and then top with the sugar mix. I got 14 cupcakes and I could have gotten 16-18. A little too sweet for my taste but that is probably due to my running out of sour cream and subbing half sweetened vanilla yogurt. I will make again, but probably just put in two round cake pans. That would have been fine.