My kitchen cabinet is home to a large and bulky pan. It is sixty-five years old and nowhere near retirement. It is not shiny, nonstick, and useful for only one thing----making the world’s best pound cake. It has resided in twelve different kitchen cabinets and once in storage for a few months. This is a tube cake pan, and when the cake has cooled, it can easily be released intact. The crusty top is mouthwatering and so tempting to break off a taste while it is cooling. It is a dessert masterpiece to behold. The aroma perfumes your house.
This cake has become legendary in my family and carries a historic name. The recipe is quite simple, and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. Whenever I am designated to make a dessert, the request is “MAKE THE POUND CAKE. All have received the cherished recipe but know it will not be as delicious if not baked in “Mae Vann’s tube cake pan.”
How did this cake and the required pan become legendary? Mrs. Vann was a widow and possibly one of the wealthiest citizens of Swainsboro. She wore big picture hats and drove a big long Buick. Her heart was even bigger than her hat or car.
This lady has been mentioned many times in the life of my columns, but these stories are worthy of retelling. However, I do think this is the first praise of the tube cake pan.
Her first love was for the children. She knew young people were the future church, so she was the devoted teacher of the high school Sunday School Class, grades 8-12 for I don’t know how many years. Our classroom in the vestibule beside the church entrance was the size of a roomy coat closet.
We heard the passages Do Unto Others, The Least of These and To whom Much is Given Much is Asked. We opened our class by saying together, “You’re writing a Gospel a chapter each day by the things that you do and the things that you say. Men read what you write whether false or true, so what is this Gospel according to you”. This was the road map she gave us.
Often on pleasant Sunday morning, Mrs. Vann arrived carrying a covered cake on a tray. We knew we were in for our favorite treat. We sat outside on the Church steps, and everyone got a huge slice of the melt in your mouth pound cake.
A few days before my marriage to the boy from Arkansas. She came to my house with a large, wedding- wrapped package. I opened to find an exact duplicate of her tube cake pan along with the handwritten recipe and a note that brought tears.
Mrs. Vann impacted my life with that sacred road map. I think of her each time I use the pan. That was her intention. During the span of my high school years, I shared her with Rita Johnson, Maurice Vann, David Lamb, Roddy Rich, Bobby Gene Coleman, Betty Sisco, Joyce Smith, Deene Spivey, Donnie Kea, Roy Hayes, Patricia Anderson and many others that I cannot recall. I have asked class members if they remember the passage, we said together each Sunday. Yes, it is still in our hearts and memory. Mrs. Vann planted seeds of faith that have grown and prospered.
Write to Shirley at sptwiss@gmail.com
