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From: Sandra
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2015 2:08 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Subject: Quizzy Cake
I found your site and I am also looking for a recipe from the S.C. area.
I grew up in Warrenville, S. C. just over the railroad from Graniteville, you
have had several people looking for a recipe for Quizzy Cake, my grandmother
use to make this cake also, but we have not been able to get a recipe from
any of my family members. I was just wondering if Connie ever got back to
you with this recipe. Would really love to have it if you have it.
It is so funny that so many have been looking for this recipe. Any help you
can give will be appreciated.
Thank you,
Sandra
Hi Sandra,
I have not heard from the blogger, but I was able to look at a copy of her blog “Whiskful” from 2012
before the recipes were removed.
The recipe that was posted on her site was not called “Quizzy Cake.” It was for a 10 layer cake called
“Smith Island Cake.” The “Quizzy Cake” connection comes in because one of her readers posted that, with
the caramel frosting and the 10 layers, it was just like her grandmother’s Quizzy Cake and her grandmother
was from Graniteville, SC. This is the post:
“MAY 10, 2008 10:03 PM
Storeytwin A said...
I thank you so much for posting this recipe. My Grandmother that lived in
Graniteville, South Carolina, was famous for making what she called Quizzy
Cake (not sure of the spelling). I tried your recipe and it was just like it.
I appreciate this so much, because none of us knew how she made it.”
There does not appear, even today, to be any other mention of “Quizzy Cake” on the Internet.
Phaed
Smith Island 10-Layer Cake
2 cups sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup water
Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.
Mix into egg mixture one cup at a time. With mixer running, slowly pour in the
evaporated milk, then the vanilla and water.
Mix just until uniform.
Take 10 bowls (I use paper bowls) and divide the batter evenly between the 10
bowls...unless you have 10 9-inch cake pans ...then just use those. Lightly
grease the cake pans...I use Baker's Joy and have never had a layer stick.
Spread the batter from the bowls into the cake pan (1 bowl of batter per pan).
There will barely be enough batter to spread across the bottom of the pan.
Lightly tap the pan on the countertop to remove any bubbles and smooth the
surface of the batter. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes.
Pay close attention to the layers while they cook and as soon as they begin to
pull away from the sides of the pan they are done. You can cook multiple layers
at a time. Although, I've found that in a standard size oven two pans at time
works best.
Let the layers completely cool before you ice them. And I suggest you give the
cake a quarter turn before you add each layer. The layers are not always perfectly
level from one side to the other and if you are not careful you will end up with
the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Chocolate Icing for 10-Layer Cake
2 cups sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
5 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla
Put sugar and evaporated milk in a medium pan. Cook and stir over medium-low heat
until warm. Add chocolate and cook to melt. Add butter and melt. Cook over medium
heat at a slow boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add vanilla.
Icing will be thin, but thickens as it cools.
Caramel Icing for 10-Layer Cake
2 boxes light brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 pint cream
4 Tablespoons evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Combine sugar, butter, cream and milk. Cook on low heat to soft ball stage.
Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool and beat.
================================================================================
From: paul
Sent: Sunday, September 13, 2015 4:12 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Subject: Quizzy Cake
My family in Charleston South Carolina having been looking for this recipe.
If you could share it with us it would be greatly appreciated.
Ty,
Paul
Hello Paul,
All of the information that I have ever been able to find about “quizzy cake”, including the only
recipe that is claimed to be similar, is above.
Phaed
From: Victoria
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 7:26 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Subject: Golden Bird Chicken Fried Chicken Recipe?
Dear Phaedrus,
About 40 years ago in Los Angeles, California (8300 S. Western Ave),
there was a place called ‘Golden Bird Chicken’ that made the best
fried chicken... it tasted like it had a lot of garlic in it, & was
very crispy outside, but ran LOTS of juice when bitten into. They
also had a wonderful sweet potato pie. I ran a search & found that
they still exist... but their website is under construction, & I’m
not sure if the Western Ave. location exists anymore,
though there appears to be a South Central location according to LA's 5 Best Fried Chicken
they had this picture: (Not shown here) golden-bird-fried-chicken
I live now in Washington State, so a bit too far to travel! Would
you possibly be able to come up with the original (40 year old)
chicken recipe that they used? Your efforts are greatly appreciated!!
Kinds Regards,
Victoria
Hello Victoria,
There are about a dozen locations for Golden Bird Fried Chicken in Los Angeles, and about as many
statements that they are closed. Porky’s BBQ might be selling Golden Bird chicken. There appear to
have been multiple fried chicken shops called “Golden Bird”. The info about this place on the web
is somewhat muddled. If I found a recipe for “Golden Bird fried chicken”. it would be difficult
to tell which place with that name it was from. Even searching for one was tedious because half of
the Google links to “Golden Bird fried chicken” are to bogus sites, probably malware sites.
However, I did not find any Golden Bird fried chicken recipes at all. I did find lots of requests
for the recipe, some of which had been on the web for years, and none of which had been successful.
One poster said they thought Old Bay Seasoning was used in the crust, and another talked about
drying the battered chicken before frying, but no one had a recipe.
I’ll post this on my site in the hope that a reader can help.
Phaed
Subject: Golden Bird Chicken Recipe found!
From: Melony
Date: 2/7/2021, 9:35 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Re; 7-3-2015
Dear Uncle Phaedrus,
I know the original post was way back in 2015, but I wanted to forward
this to your HB Irregulars, especially Victoria. Because there are no
cold cases—just hungry detectives.
Pre-COVID, there’s only one Golden Bird left, and it’s near Watts, CA
on the corner of Alondra and 135th Street. There were up to 16 Golden Bird
locations in Los Angeles. In 1983, the Stennis’ family sold the interests
in the chain.
It seemed there were a lot of pivotal moments in our family that seem to
revolve around Golden Bird chicken. When my mother was pregnant with me,
she craved for Golden Bird chicken that my father would always bring to
her after work. I remember as a kid my father taking me to the original
Golden Bird, a corner hole-in-the-wall joint on the southeast corner of
Adams and Normandy, buying me a bottle of Squirt soda that was taller
than I could hold, chatting with Willie and Zelma (I found out later
they were the owners). When the Golden Bird had a grand opening of their
their first and largest sit-down restaurant in the Crenshaw Shopping Center,
my father decided to teach my mother to drive there (that was also the last
time my father tried to teach my mother to drive). When Pioneer Chicken
outlets started opening in Southern California, I held my own personal
boycott against them for years because they seemed to copy Golden Bird’s
taste.
I did a little sleuthing (with the help of the IT guys at my job who happen
to love to cook) and found this recipe recently. I haven’t tried it yet, but
one of my IT guys did and he said it tastes just like Golden Bird chicken
(minus the bread n’ butter pickles and rolls). It’s actually a video recipe,
but I transcribed it for people who prefer print.
Golden Bird copycat Fried Chicken
From It’s So Good
4.5 lbs of chicken (or you may leave them whole if you wish)
Coating (1 use)
1 cup all purpose flour mix with
1 tbs baking powder (or simply 1 cup of self-rising flour)
1.5 Tbs seasoning mixture (mixture ingredients below)
1+ 1/4 Cups cool water Cooking oil for deep frying (375 F)
Seasoning Mixture (10 uses, put remaining in a cool dry place):
2 Tbs paprika
5 Tbs salt (Add 6 tbs if you like a lil extra sauce)
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs onion powder
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
Clean chicken
Mix seasonings together
In a separate bowl, mix 1 c. AP Flour with 1T baking powder
Sprinkle 1.5T of seasoning. Mix into chicken well. Put
Add Coating mix, and 1 1/4 c cold water. Mix well until fully coated
Heat oil to 375 degrees
Deep fry for 8 minutes, 10 pieces at a time
The chicken will clump together (a good thing). Use a spoon to break
chicken the last 1-2 minutes before frying is done.
Stay well,
Melony
From: Sandra
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2015 1:01 AM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Subject: Looking For Recipes Birmingham, Alabama
I just found your site while looking for the recipe for the old
Catfish King's Fried Chicken. (Birmingham, Alabama)
I was hoping that the discussion was fairly recent and the search
was still ongoing for the recipe.
I would love to have the fried chicken recipe but would also love to
have the recipes for the Apple Fritters and the CK House Dressing too!
I am also searching for the old Marsh Bakery's Coconut Cake recipe.
Marsh Bakery used to be in the Five Points West area.
The last time I went to Marsh Bakery they were still located at the
old Frosty (or was it A&W) Root Beer Place (not far from the old
Fairgrounds) that they had moved to several years ago.
~Sandra
Bessemer, Alabama
Hi Sandra,
Sorry, still no luck with Catfish King recipes. The only exception may be this dressing recipe, except
that it doesn’t say which Catfish King it came from, the Birmingham ones or the chain based in Texas.
Still, it might be worth trying.
Community Stretcher:
This is a recipe for a salad dressing from a Cat Fish King seafood
restaurant which is now out of business.
(1 Cup Red Wine Vinegar, 1 Cup sugar, 1 Cup oil, 1 Cup Chili Sauce.
Combine all ing. in a tightly covered jar and shake very well, shake
again before using.)
This is a very good salad dressing but you may want to adjust the ing.
according to your taste. too much sugar for me.
As for Marsh Bakery, no success there, either. There’s a photo of the old building (not Five Points) here: Marsh Bakery Photo
There’s a Birmingham Facebook Page that might interest you here:
Ensley-Highlands
I expect that the only people who are going to have any recipes from either of these places are the
descendants of the owners or former employees.
Phaed
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