Ken and I have been cooking for the winery harvest crew since the mid 1990’s. In our old winery in Carlton we had no kitchen and everything had to be prepared at home and eaten room temp, and the dishes brought back to the house to be washed. We were a lean crew then with dear friends and neighbors on the sorting line volunteering their time. When we built our new winery in time for harvest 2001, we knew we needed a kitchen so our hard working crew could get proper meals. Until last year Ken and I cooked every meal, often feeding 30 or more people at a time. Last year we hired a professional chef to cook 5 days a week, so Ken and I cut back to cooking on his 2 days off.

This year we have 8 interns from around the world, and 2 shifts each of 8 or so temporary employees on the sorting line helping our regular production crew of 5, and about 10 more “office people”. Over the years there have been favorite recipes that everyone likes. I have been requested to blog some of these.

My Kentucky Butter Cake recipe came to me 30 years ago from my sister-in-law, Suzie Evenstad. It is a buttery pound cake without frosting, and was the perfect cake to Fed Ex every year to our kids, Serene and Mark, for their birthdays when they were away at college. I would package it up with candles and unblown balloons and birthday banners with love and kisses. It travels well in its bundt pan and doesn’t get stale. – Written by Grace Evenstad. Photos by Megan Jones.

KENTUCKY BUTTER CAKE

3 Cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Combine these ingredients in small bowl and set aside

1 Cup room temp butter
2 Cups sugar
Cream together in large mixing bowl with electric beater

1 Cup buttermilk
2 tsp pure vanilla
Combine and set aside

To the butter and sugar mixture in the large bowl add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, add your set-aside dry ingredients, alternately with your buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and beating after each addition.

Pour into buttered bundt pan or 9x13 pan and bake in 325 degree oven for 60-65 minutes.
Run spatula along edge of pan. Prick cake several times with a fork, and pour sauce over the cake.

SAUCE

Heat in saucepan:

1 Cup sugar
½ Cup butter
¼ Cup water
When melted together and sugar is dissolved, add
1 T. vanilla
1 T. rum flavor

Pour sauce slowly over cake. It will all soak in.

For harvest, make 2 or 3 cakes