One Of The Basic Food Groups In Tamaqua Was Tastykakes

TANDY CAKES

Harry Note - Lulu's Daddy delivered Tastykakes in Tamaqua for 35 years. He would get up at 4 AM - load his truck and then seldom be home by 5 PM. He did that all the time and only took 2 sick days! It must have been the food.

Long before I knew I wanted to live in or near Philadelphia I spent a weekend in the area and when I left, I had a recipe for Tandy Cakes in my pocket.

If you’re familiar with Philadelphia you’ll have no problem connecting the dots between Tandy Cakes and Tastykakes best selling item, Kandy Kakes. (You have no idea how many times I rewrote this sentence. There’s just no easy way to spit it out!)

For those of you not from Philly, Tastykakes is a locally born baking company not unlike Hostess or Little Debbie, though I’m putting my life on the line by making that comparison.

Anyone who savors the combination of chocolate and peanut butter will appreciate Tandy Cakes. It’s an easy dessert, but it does require some planning as there is refrigeration time involved.

The base of this dessert is cake and yellow cake tastes the best. I’ve tried using white cake and it seemed too bold. The yellow jives better with the other layers, the second of which is peanut butter, as you can see above.

And the third layer is melted chocolate. Be still my heart.

I’ve always refrigerated Tandy Cakes; I love the hardened chocolate that cracks into the peanut butter with each bite.

When I went to the Tastykake website to grab their link I was surprised to find that they suggest eating their Kandy Kakes chilled! Who knew? Great minds, I tell ‘ya.

With a big glass of milk on the side, I say have a Tandy Cake for dessert or for breakfast. There’s lots of protein in peanut butter, you know…

Tandy Cakes

1 box of yellow cake mix 
(plus the ingredients the cake mix calls for)
1 (12 oz.) jar of smooth peanut butter
1 (12 oz.) bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick spray.
Prepare the cake mix according to package directions.
Pour the batter into a jelly roll pan and bake.
(Tricky, depending on which cake mix you use. I baked mine at 350 degrees for 16 minutes.)

As soon as the cake is done use a spoon to gently drop peanut butter on to the top of the cake.
DO NOT SPREAD the peanut butter yet as it will tear the cake.
Instead, put the pan back into the oven and let the residual heat melt the peanut butter.

When the peanut butter has melted enough to spread easily, distribute it evenly over the cake.
Allow to cool completely. 
(I usually wait about 15 minutes and then pop it in the fridge for a bit.) 

When the peanut butter has set and the cake has completely cooled…
Melt the chocolate chips and stir until smooth.
Spread the melted chocolate over the peanut butter.
Place the pan back into the fridge to let the chocolate harden.

Cut into squares and serve chilled or at room temperature. 

From the Rainy Day Baker