Here’s a recipe that comes from my husband John’s paternal grandmother, the late Caryl Perry, who was from Muhlenberg County. In the family, she was known as “Mama Caryl.”
Several of her recipes were collected in a booklet by Danny Guffey, who is married to John’s first cousin, Anna Caryl Guffey. As Danny notes, most of the recipes that Mama Caryl wrote down did not have the benefit of instructions. Like many home cooks, she just jotted down the ingredients because she knew how to prepare the food.
I’m sharing a frosting recipe from Mama Caryl because it has two of my favorite ingredients — coconut and pecans. I think this frosting would be good on several different cake types, from vanilla to chocolate, and spice, banana or carrot.
Mama Caryl’s Coconut Pecan Frosting
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 pound margarine (or try butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine milk, sugar, egg yolks, margarine (or butter) and vanilla in a sauce pan.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently until mixture thickens (about 12 minutes).
- Add coconut and pecans.
- Remove from heat, and beat until cool and thick enough to spread.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
