Shirley Temple Cake

Looking through Pinterest recently, I found a recipe from Tastes of Lizzy T for a Shirley Temple Cake!  I loved this iconic drink when I was little.  Mother and Daddy would order me this mocktail to enjoy as they visited with their friends over dinner.  I always felt so special.  In fact, I dare you not to smile when you sip one!

A bartender may have invented the origin of the Shirley Temple drink at Chasen’s, a restaurant in Beverly Hills, to serve the then-child actress Shirley Temple. Temple herself was not a fan of the drink, as she told Scott Simon in an NPR interview in 1986: “The sugary sweet, icky drink? Yes, well, those were created in the probably middle 1930s by The Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood, and I had nothing to do with it. But, all over the world, I am served that. People think it’s funny. I hate them. Too sweet!” Adding an ounce and a half of vodka or rum produces a “Dirty Shirley.”  I wonder how Miss Temple would like that?

The cake is really yummy.  It’s very much like a pound cake base with a citrus finish from the added 7Up and lemon extract.  The maraschino cherries add a pretty touch.  Find the recipe from my Pinterest Cake Board here.

Since I have made it, I will make a few suggestions on how I would modify the recipe for next time.

1.  I would get a larger jar of cherries and chop them, so they are more evenly distributed through the cake instead of just putting in whole cherries.
2. The recipe calls for you to pour the reserved juice over the cake once it’s removed from the cake pan.  I would probably leave the cake in the pan, pour the juice over a hot cake, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto your cake plate.  I think this would allow the juice to absorb more into the cake.

Other than that, I think this is a winning recipe and would be perfect to have for dinner or take to a pot luck.  Add a dollop of whipped cream and a sprig of mint, and it makes for a pretty presentation.

I hope Shirley approves — I know I do!