I Don't Know Why it Took Me 9 Years

When Jesse and I were still unofficially engaged, we were both in college in Rexburg, Idaho, attending what was, at that time, Rick's College, and is now BYU-Idaho. We had the opportunity to visit his Grandma Lewis a couple times, as she lives in Idaho Falls, only about 20-30 minutes away. Grandma Lewis cooks, a lot. (Remind me to tell you someday about Thanksgiving of '99!) And she cooks everything very well.

I still remember the first time I tasted it....

Neighbor Cake.

I instantly fell in love. It was so moist and filled with delicious spices, with crumbly brown sugar and wheat germ on top, and just the right amount of chocolate chips sprinkled all over it. Melt-in-your-mouth goodness. It's nearly impossible to keep yourself going back for more!

I had Neighbor Cake a couple other times over the past 9 years, but only when my mother-in-law Nedra made it for a special occasion. Each time, however, I kept going back for more until the last of it was finally gone and my face fell in disappointment.

I've had the recipe hand-written and stashed away in my highly unorganized stack of recipes for years. I've flipped past it many times in my meal planning process, each time remembering how much I absolutely loved eating Neighbor Cake. But I never actually made it.

Until yesterday. I finally got around to it. And I honestly don't know why it took me 9 years to get to that point. WHY?!!? I could have been enjoying neighbor cake on a weekly basis for all those years!!!!!

Jesse tells me the reason it's called neighbor cake is because it makes two 9x13 pans: One for yourself, and one to take to your neighbor. (I don't think anyone ever explained that to me, before. I think I always wondered why it had such a name....)

But it's super easy to make, and super delicious. The spices are just right for the holiday season, too! Try it for yourself, I think you'll love it!!

(Note: the only cooking directions I have are for mini muffins. I successfully made a bread-pan full, too, but I didn't make note of the cooking time. I just kept going back until it was firm and not jiggly. I think it would be hard to overcook it in whatever sort of pan you make it in... it was pretty thick in the bread pan.)

Neighbor Cake

Main ingredients:
1 quart (4 cups) applesauce
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
4 ½ cups flour

Topping:
brown sugar
wheat germ
semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all main ingredients and blend well. Butter mini muffin tins well, then spoon 1½ teaspoons of the batter into each tin. Sprinkle the tops generously with brown sugar and wheat germ. Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate chip (or three, if you love chocolate!) into the center top of each mufin. Let cool in pan about 2 minutes and remove carefully to cooling rack.