Several years ago, Brandon and I were at a local antique mall and happened upon an old, wooden box, stuffed with recipes that dated back into the early 1970s.

There were those lovingly typed onto recipes cards, some written in scrolling cursive onto looseleaf, while others were neatly trimmed out of the newspaper or shared from a friend’s kitchen. The box is literally filled with the history of a kitchen past. I haven’t come upon the owner’s name as of yet, but I feel like she was probably a Patricia or Barbara, respectively. Seems fitting, right? Whether Pat or Barb, I’m for sure she spent a lot of time checking timers and peering into gas-lit ovens back in her day.

Brandon and I decided to try out one of her recipes this past week – a Roman Apple Cake shared by Evangeline Kohler, who I can only assume was one of her closest church friends or maybe even her sister-in-law. With fall just arriving, it seemed like the perfect way to spend an afternoon in September.

Naturally, the kiddos were all too eager to step in and offer their help…and their expert taste-tester abilities. Benny truly immerses himself in baking. Clearly.

Let me just tell you that this recipe is for sure a new fall favorite. It was quick and easy to prepare and the taste was perfect, largely due to the fact that there’s a cup each of butter, white sugar, brown sugar and buttermilk included. GOODNESS, it was tasty. It was also that word that none of us like to use to describe, well, anything. Hint: rhymes with foist.

Evangeline was right to share this was Patricia Barbara and I’m 99% sure they shared a slice or two during a fall round of bunko with their gal pals. Truth be told, our entire dish was gone by 11am the next morning and I have no regrets.

This would be a great recipe to prepare for dessert, served warm from the oven and paired with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream. From experience, I can also tell you it’s equally as yummy the next morning with a cup of coffee.

Here’s the recipe, straight from the recipe box of our friend, Barb – or Pat – with credit to sweet Evangeline Kohler. (PS. We set our oven to 375 degrees and it took a little over 40 minutes to cook completely through. Be sure to keep an eye on yours since dishes and ovens are all different!)

Happy baking!

PS. If you’re looking for another family favorite, here’s THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe!