By Stephanie Williams Dean

Bless Your Spoon

Nancy Groom’s mother, Polly Seaford, didn’t need to go to culinary school to learn a simple baking lesson; if you want to be a first-rate baker and make delicious cakes that win first place and blue ribbons, you have to use premium ingredients.

And win, she did.

And so did Polly’s brother-in-law, Bill Seaford.

And that’s how I came to know about Polly and Bill’s award-winning cakes – when I entered my applesauce cake in the contest at this year’s Center Fair. Their cakes are still being talked about. Later, I tracked down Polly’s daughter, Nancy Grooms, to learn more about her well-known mother and uncle.

Uncle Bill was Nancy’s dad’s brother, and for a baking man, his cakes were prize winners, too. But, most of his recipes came from Polly – at least her cake recipes.

“My cakes will never be as good as your moms,” he would always say to Nancy.  Both Polly and Uncle Bill won many years of blue ribbons at the Center Fair.

“I have a box of ribbons that mom kept from winning cake contests over the years. We were always looking at those ribbons,” said Nancy.

As holiday season approaches, nostalgic memories of by-gone years are ever present. Nancy reminisced with great sentiment all the celebrations that revolved around good food and her family – especially her mother. Polly was admired in her community and had a solid reputation as an excellent cook and a from scratch baker.

“Everybody in Center community knew our house was the place to eat,” said Nancy.

Indeed they did.

I sat down to talk with Nancy about her mother’s cooking, and from our conversation, an image of the family matriarch emerged –  one of the great hospitality she fostered – through lovingly prepared food, a goodwill and generous spirit toward community, and a great love for her family. Nancy shared many of her own childhood memories of her mother.

“She fed everyone. She cooked for everybody who helped us prime tobacco.”

Priming tobacco was when the tobacco was taken off the stalk and put in the barn and the curing process began. Normally, tobacco was cured once a week. Her mom fed at least 25 of the workers for lunch while tobacco was being primed. It would take three tables to feed everyone in a day, and Polly would cook for several days to get ready. Nancy and her sister, Norma, had to help.

“My sister and I were our dad’s boys.”

Nancy’s grandmother, Grandma, was a cook, too. Back in her day, the women didn’t work. Grandma was from an era when ladies cooked and sewed. She couldn’t read, so she didn’t have recipes to follow and cooked everything from scratch. Nancy’s mother, Polly, did not work outside the home because she had a handicapped child. But, she farmed, cooked, baked, canned, and sewed.  Polly was always involved in her community and active in the church.   

Cooking was just one of the many ways Nancy’s mom demonstrated her love for family. Every Sunday, Polly cooked a hot lunch for the entire family until she could no longer do it. A normal Sunday’s lunch was fried chicken, a pot of green beans, deviled eggs, rolls, and two desserts. Her chicken pie pan was at least 15 inches by 12. Huge. Polly took her cooking seriously.

Nancy’s first memories were of her mom at the stove cooking. Before Nancy was born, when her mom and dad got married, they lived with his mother until they built their own house. Polly took over the cooking in her mother-in-law’s home. She had grown up cooking from the time she was 10 and was already accustomed to preparing food for a large group.

Nancy recalled when she and her two sisters, Norma and Gina, were young girls. Their dad farmed and worked second shift, so her mom would cook a really big meal at noon every day. They ate leftovers for their evening meal. Lunch was called dinner, and the evening meal was supper. The family was used to big dinners each day that consisted of a meat and several vegetables. Her mom packed her dad a big to-go box daily for him to take to work, so he’d have at least one good meal a day.  Nancy’s dad would come in from farming, and she’d have his dinner all ready.

“Whatever it was, whether it was just pinto beans and cornbread…it was always good,” recalled Nancy.

When they were growing up, her mom cooked eggs and ham for breakfast. They had cows and hogs on the farm, so they had their own meat. Breakfast was always a big meal, too – Polly cooked grits and lots of biscuits.   

Nancy’s sister, Norma, went into nursing school right after high school, and it was common for her to bring five or more girls home for supper. Polly’s home was one where she always had an abundance of food to serve her guests. Everyone knew there was an open table at their home anytime.

“She loved that. Knowing everyone enjoyed it and wanted to come to eat at her table. That’s where she got her joy,” Nancy said.

But times changed as the children grew older, and they all gravitated toward trying to eat a little lighter and healthier. Nancy laughed, “But, my dad lived to be 89, so it didn’t hurt him too much.”

Polly Seaford was raised in a family of six, and they were hard-working folks. Polly’s family was poor. Her father worked fields and tended the crops for others. She was born the youngest of 11 children, but several died, some at birth. Six children remained. Polly’s mother was tired by the time she was born. Each day, when everyone returned home from work, Polly prepared much of the food for the family’s meals. She learned how from her own mother. Times were harder, and kids didn’t get to be kids back then. They had chores and were required to work at something around the house.

Nancy talked about her mom’s challenges. In addition to being a cook, Nancy described her mother as being a caregiver, too.  Polly’s mother lived with them the last few years of her life when she got really sick. Nancy also had a little sister, Gina, for whom her mother provided care for 43 years. Her sister didn’t talk and needed a lot of help. Nancy and sister, Norma, helped to look after Gina. Nancy’s dad’s mom lived next door, and later, when Nancy was older, her parents built a room on their house and moved her in.

“Mom was taking care of someone else her whole life, but she took it in stride.”

When Nancy’s sister, Gina, passed away, her mother was tired and didn’t leave her house as much.

“I don’t think she realized just how strong a woman she was.”

The important things Polly Seaford did for her family left a legacy, not only in the minds of her loved ones but for those in her community and within her circle of friends, as well.

While listening to Nancy’s stories, I wondered if it had ever crossed Polly’s mind that her reputation would live on, and people would still be talking about her generous spirit and award-winning cakes?

To Polly, cooking meant love, fellowship, sharing, and generosity. There was more than enough good food and plenty to go around. She wouldn’t dream of letting anyone pay for food, either. Polly came from a true farm to table background, the only way of life she had known, and her family ate much of the food they grew on their own land. It wasn’t just a concept but was the norm – the way she was raised as a child and then, in turn, raised her own family.

The family had a huge garden, and Polly canned everything she could and cooked what they grew. Nancy’s dad killed a cow for meat whenever needed. In her younger years, and up until Nancy was in her 20s, her parents raised pigs. When Polly was younger, she took great pride in doing everything all by herself, but later in life, as she grew older, she would allow folks to bring a dish – sometimes.

“There were certain dishes she wanted to be cooked a certain way, so she almost always wanted to do it herself.”

Polly cooked everything from scratch and from memory except for some of her cakes for which she had recipes

When it came to cooking, she shared many tips with her girls, especially baking. Polly baked the way her mom taught her – she always used cake flour and always sifted the flour before using. Nancy hung on to what her mother taught her.

“Mom always said to never open the oven door while baking because it would cause your cake to fall,” Nancy said.

In the early days, the family churned their own butter, but when butter flavored Crisco came out, Polly liked it better because it made the cakes rise higher, and they were fluffier – in fact, she liked it much better than butter. Her preferred cake flour was Softasilk by Pillsbury, which can be found at WalMart. She sifted it twice to decrease the density. She sifted the flour first, then measured out the amount she needed, and then resifted the flour again.

Polly used premium brands for all her ingredients. She made sure any ingredient that came out of the refrigerator, except milk, was at room temperature before using it for baking. Her coconut layer cake recipe calls for a whipped margarine – there’s a Move Over Butter at Walmart that the family now uses when baking Polly’s cakes. Regular butter can’t be used in it – it changes the texture.

Nancy shared a funny story about her mom.  Once, when Polly was on her way to enter a cake at Center Fair, her cake slid off the plate, and it landed in the middle of the gravel driveway. Polly scooped up the top of the cake and carried it on down to the barbecue pit where the men were working so they could eat it.

A member of Center, Millard Anderson, said, “That was the best cake she ever made.”

She was 84 years old when she died.

“When she died, we took what reminded us most of her – the things her soul was in – what was the most sentimental.”

At the end of Polly Seaford’s life, what could also be said for Nancy’s mom was that she had raised a devoted family. Her family provided 24 hours of care for Polly during the final two years of her life. They were extremely close.

What made the difference?”

Not surprisingly, it was the dinner table.

“People don’t sit down at the dinner table the way our family did. The dinner table was the glue. Eating together, being a family keeps you together.”

Nancy considered Polly’s collection of aprons. She must have had at least eight or more over her many years of cooking. There were a few favorite ones she wore all the time. She sewed, but she didn’t make them herself even though she made all her children’s clothes.

Nancy’s mother was always at the stove – with a lot of baking going on – she was stirring or cooking something all the time. The family still feels their mother’s presence in the kitchen because that’s where she always was.

“I can still picture her standing there stirring – wearing her black polka dot apron.”

Following are some of Polly Seaford’s award- winning cake recipes.

RED VELVET CAKE

2 cups sugar

1 cup softened, salted butter

4 eggs

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1 Tbsp. cocoa

2 ¾ cup cake flour

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

2 oz. red food coloring

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs-beat until fluffy. Make a paste from cocoa and vinegar. Add to butter mixture. Sift baking soda and baking powder with flour. Add to mixture, alternating with buttermilk. Add vanilla and coloring. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Icing

Almost ½ cup all-purpose flour (not quite level)

1 ½ cup whole milk (Cook and stir until thick. Then cool completely)

1 ½ cup sugar

¾ stick margarine

¾ cup Crisco shortening

Beat sugar, margarine, and shortening until creamed and add flour mixture. Beat until smooth, and looks like whipped cream. Frost layers, top and sides. Cover with fresh coconut.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 pkg. (4 oz.) German sweet chocolate

½ cup boiling water

1 cup softened salted butter

2 cups sugar

4 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ½ cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

4 egg whites stiffly beaten

Melt chocolate in boiling water. Cool. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add yolks one at a time, beating well after each. Blend in vanilla and chocolate. Sift flour with soda and salt. Add alternating with buttermilk to chocolate mixture, beating after each addition until smooth. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 slightly beaten egg yolks

½ cup margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 cups coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Combine milk, sugar, yolks, margarine, and vanilla. Cook and stir over medium heat about 12 minutes or until thickened. Add coconut and pecans. Cool until thick enough to spread.

BLACK WALNUT POUND CAKE

1 cup softened, salted butter

¾ cup Crisco shortening

6 eggs

3 cups sugar

4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp. black walnut flavoring

1 cup black walnuts

Cream butter, Crisco, and sugar. Add one egg at a time, beating after each. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add flour mixture alternating with milk. Save a little of the flour to flour the walnuts before adding them. Add flavoring. Add a little flour to walnuts. Stir in walnuts.  Bake in a 325-degree oven for 1 hour 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 300-degrees, and bake for 30 minutes.

Icing

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 stick softened, salted butter

1 tsp. flour

Add enough milk to make this enough to spread.

CARROT CAKE SUPREME

4 beaten eggs

2 cups sugar

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

3 cups self-rising flour

1 tsp. soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups finely grated carrots

1 cups chopped pecans

Blend eggs, sugar, and oil. Sift flour with soda and cinnamon. Add to egg mixture. Fold in carrots and pecans. Pour in 3 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans, and bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Icing

1 box powdered sugar

1 8 oz. pkg. softened cream cheese

2 tsp. vanilla

Blend powdered sugar, cheese, and vanilla. Spread between layers, sides, and top. You can put pecans in cake or icing either one.

FRESH COCONUT LAYER CAKE

2 sticks whipped margarine (2/3 cup)

½ cup Crisco shortening

2 ¾ cups sugar

¾ tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups sifted cake flour

1 cup milk

5 eggs

½ tsp. baking powder

Cream margarine and shortening. Add sugar, salt, and vanilla. Cream well. Add ½ flour and ½ milk and beat at low speed. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating at high speed after each. Add rest of flour, milk, and baking powder. Beat at low speed. Pour in 3 greased and floured 9-inch pans. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

COCONUT FROSTING

Cook ½ cup flour and 1 ½ cup milk until thick. Cool completely and set aside. (Will have a glue-like texture)

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ stick margarine

¾ cup Crisco shortening

Bag of grated coconut

Combine sugar, margarine, and shortening. Beat until creamy. Add flour mixture. Beat until it looks like whipped cream. Ice cake between layers, sides, and cover cake. Put freshly grated coconut between layers and on outside of the cake.

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

1 stick softened, salted butter

½ cup Crisco shortening

2 cups sugar

5 eggs, separated

2 cups plus 4 Tbsp. cake flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. vanilla

6 oz. coconut

1 cup pecans

Beat egg whites first and set aside. Combine butter, Crisco, sugar, and beaten egg yolks .Sift flour and soda. Add flour to mixture alternating with milk. Fold in egg whites last. Fold in vanilla, coconut, and pecans.  Bake in a 325-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

SOUR CREAM OR CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE

1 cup softened salted butter or butter flavored Crisco

½ cup Crisco shortening

¼ tsp. almond flavoring

¼ tsp. lemon flavoring

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

3 cups plus 6 Tbsp. cake flour

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

¼ cup whole milk

Cream butter, Crisco and flavorings thoroughly. Gradually add sugar, taking time to cream together. Add eggs one at a time. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture alternating with sour cream and milk. Bake in a 300-degree oven for 1 ½ hour or until done. For Chocolate Pound Cake use 6 Tbsp. cocoa instead of 6 additional Tbsp. of flour.

CREAMY CHOCOLATE ICING

2 Tbsp. water

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 1/3 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar (1 box)

1 egg

½ cup Crisco shortening

1 tsp. vanilla

2 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate (or 3 Tbsp. cocoa)

Mix confectioner’s sugar and egg thoroughly. Bring water and granulated sugar to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Add to sugar and egg mixture. Blend well. Add Crisco, vanilla, and chocolate. Beat until creamy.

JOURNAL POUND CAKE

1 cup softened, salted butter (or butter flavor Crisco)

½ cup Crisco shortening

¼ tsp. almond extract

¼ tsp. lemon extract

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

3 cups plus 6 Tbsp. cake flour

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

¼ cup milk

Cream butter, Crisco, and flavorings thoroughly. Gradually add sugar, taking time to cream sugar into butter mixture. Add eggs one at a time. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with sour cream and milk only enough to get ingredients well blended. Bake in a 300-degree oven for 1 ½ hour or until done. Allow standing in pan about 15 minutes before turning out.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE

½ lb. softened, salted butter

½ cup Crisco shortening

3 cups sugar

1 pkg. (4oz.) German chocolate

5 eggs

3 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. lemon extract

¼ tsp. almond extract

1 cup chopped black walnuts

Cream butter and shortening. Add sugar, blending well. Mix in chocolate. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add flour and baking powder alternating with milk and flour. Fold in walnuts. Pour into tube pan. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done.

Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz. cream cheese

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Confectioner’s sugar

Milk

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz. cream cheese

4 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate

Confectioner’s sugar

Milk