Mama Reed’s Vanilla Wafer Cake
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Sometimes I post things and it actually worries me that you might live your life without trying a particular recipe. Like my Chicken Stew, Apple Dapple Cake, or Banana Pudding. Well today I’m adding Vanilla Wafer Cake to that list. This cake is the kissing cousin of my Apple Dapple Cake. They come from a different branch of the family but chances are if you have the good sense to like one of them, you’ll like the other as well.
My mother got this recipe from her grandmother, Mama Reed. Mama Reed had an expansive array of recipes but this cake was my mother’s favorite by far. When she married my father, this was the first recipe she asked for to use in her own kitchen.
Mama Reed was known for her cakes and her large scale baking. Of course back then they didn’t think of it that way, she had ten kids so small scale baking was certainly out of the question. During the winter when family was expected to visit, Mama Reed would start baking cakes a few days ahead of time and due to space constraints in the house, she’d set them out on tables on the screened in porch covered in towels to keep for the few days until company arrived. This cake is sturdy but very moist and would no doubt have been carefully set out along with the best of them. My mother says this is a great cake to take places as it is more stable than others so it travels very well. It can also sit under a cake dome for a week and still be moist. Trust me, the only way we know this is from the times Mama made more than one!
My parents have a large house on the Tennessee river with one of the best views you’ve ever seen. They often have friends come to visit for the weekend and this is the cake she makes every time. Its great to have on hand as a dessert, quick coffee treat, or filling snack. I love desserts that are filling and not too sweet but sweet enough.
Okay so basically, I am assigning this cake as homework because I just know you’re are going to love it. Now y’all know I have a teaching degree (Home Ec) that I’ve never got to put to good use so I’m gonna get my fork ready and my red pen out and wait on your to turn in your assignments!
You’ll need: eggs, coconut, milk, vanilla wafers, sugar, and nuts (we use pecans -pronounced puh-kahns)
Place vanilla wafers in a large sealable bag and crush them with the rolling pin or any other stress relieving device.
We think this rolling pin was the one which belonged to my great grandmother, Lela. There is a funny story about that.
You see, Lela had this rolling pin (perhaps the one above) which she had used for years, as long as my mother and her sister could remember. After Lela passed away, both my mother and my aunt asked my grandmother about possibly having “Granny’s” rolling pin. My Grandmother is uniquely practical (sometimes in rather humorous ways) and not wanting to disappoint, she went to an antique store and bought another one just like it, thereby having a rolling pin to give to each daughter.
They didn’t realize this until years later when Mama mentioned something about having Granny’s rolling pin and her sister looked quite confused as she said that she was the one who actually had Granny’s rolling pin. Upon talking to my Grandmama she said “Weeeeellllll now, I hated for one of you to have it and not the other so I just bought an extry”.
Gotta love my family…
Crush your vanilla wafers like this.
Beat up your eggs well and coarsely chop your pecans, then toss all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until well blended, about two minutes should be more than enough.
Until it looks like this.
Now if y’all don’t dip a spoon in that and take a bite then something is wrong with you!
Pour into a greased and floured tube pan.
(I just dip a paper towel into some shortening and smear it all over the insides of my pan, then put a few tablespoons of flour in and turn my pan while patting it a bit until the flour has coated the inside. Then I hold it over the trash can upside down and pat it until the excess falls out)
Bake at 350 for one hour.
Oh my goodness gracious, don’t we all just love Mama Reed now?
Serve to happy people! (If they weren’t happy before, they will be now!)
This is AWESOME with coffee….or a Diet Dr Pepper…or a glass of tea…..or water…..or…well, you get my point.
Vanilla Wafer Cake
6 whole eggs
3.5 oz can of coconut (if you use bagged sweetened flaked coconut, just use 1 cup – don’t use frozen)
1/2 cup milk
12 ounce box vanilla wafers
(Mama says don’t use generic ~eyeroll~ I’ll do a “no comment” on that one coz y’all know what I do…)
1 C chopped nuts (we use pecans)
Beat eggs well. Crush vanilla wafers. Mix wafers and all other ingredients into eggs. Pour into greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
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For more stories about Mama Reed, please visit some of her other recipes below
(views of the Tennessee from my mother’s house can be seen on the Rice Pudding post)
Mama Reed’s Southern Style Rice Pudding
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Dear friends,
Thank you all so much for your congratulations and comments yesterday!
I always hope to respond to every comment but as you know, sometimes get called away with the kiddies. Okay, I get called away every five minutes but that is another post entirely. I do read every single comment you leave though and if anyone ever asks a question or has an important problem, I usually just email them directly to make sure they get the information they need as soon as possible.
Comments are everything to me when it comes to Southern Plate, absolutely everything. For each of you who take the time to read Southern Plate, thank you so very much. For each of you who take the time to comment, that thanks goes double!! I just love y’all, I really do!
Gratefully,
Christy 
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Feb 20 2009. Filed under Cake, Southern Classics.
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I saw this recipe, showed it to my mom, and she practically threatened me, saying that if I didn’t make this cake for her, she’d kick my butt.
So I guess you’ll see this recipe on my blog soon, with credits to you and Mama Reed, of course.
Oh my, this looks wonderful!
Definitely going to try soon….Like run to walmart and try now…
I made this cake and it was AWESOME!!!! I do HAVE to get me a rolling pin though, I thought it would be easy to bust up those vanilla wafers so I didn’t bother with the food processor but WOW, a rolling pin would have been SO much help!! Luckily my coworker and I travel around the state with our jobs and he is an antique person so I told him to keep an eye out for one. Last month I asked him to look for a milk can and he came back with one the VERY NEXT DAY!!!
You could also use a glass to crush the wafers. That’s what I do and it works out great!
Wow, you know this is a winner when your hubby wakes you up asking for ingredients so HE can run to the store and get the stuff to make this cake. He told everyone about it last time I made it and carried this buddies at work a piece.
I have made a cake very similar to this, actually it is the identical recipe with the exception that it has 2 sticks of butter in it and the eggs and butter must be creamed together first. It is a great tasting cake, but yours has no butter or oil and if I can have great taste and less calories, I will go for your recipe! I searched the internet and found Vanilla Wafer Cake several times, but always with butter. Does you recipe really not have butter or oil?
Thanks!
My Mississippi mother has been making this cake for my entire life. I am so tickled to see it here! It is one of my favorites. I could eat the entire thing.
yes yes the cake I’m sure is wonderful but what I want to know is ..Is that a “McCOY” pottery piece sitting beside the cake? I love that little kitty
I collect McCoy cookie jars.,
Thanks
Merry Christmas
Marian
My husbands family are from the southern part of Virginia, right on the Tennessee and North Carolina border. They are still very “old school” about certain things. His Greatgrandma still cooks ALL her meals on a wood burning stove! Even on the hottest day in July! We used to get this cake sent to us from another relative from down there every Christmas, except this one so I decided to make it myself. Oh, here in West Virginia we pronounce it pee-CONS! LOL
Dear, Dear, Christy! I sing your praises wherever I go! Love your blog and family. I have loved this Nilla Wafer Cake for all the years I have been making it and it is still just as good today!! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us all again and to the newcomers you will love this cake as it is rich, satisfying and delicious! Enjoying in Texas!
Oh, Just made another Double Batch of Mama Reed’s Tea Cakes for my husband’s and our granddaughter’s birthdays this week. Cut out the letters of their names and decorated them the Mama Reed way and also their ages 6-0 and 1-0. It’s a good recipe. Love it for special occasions: recitals, parties, holidays, birthdays, etc. Yum!! Thanks.
saw several variations of this recipe on another site. their recipes call for butter or shortening. yours does not. is that accurate or was something left out? this is my first visit to your site and i must say i love it!! you have a talent for writing. am looking forward to the publication of your cookbook. thank you for the splenda recipes. my husband being recently diagnosed with diabetes and all.. have subscribe d to your site!! thank you again.
I love receiving your e-mails and all the recipes. The Vanilla Wafer Cake is a favorite – both to eat and the memories it elicits.
This was one of my mother’s (now deceased 16 years) specialties back in the 60s and 70s before she became ill. I can taste it now!
We lived in a little town in AR and she worked for the post office for 30 years, so she knew everyone and everything about them.
She felt a homemade cake could cure anything!
Thanks for the recipe and for sharing. No one around here has ever heard of it, so I guess I’m just going to have to make one!
I am a huge fan of your recipes! Thank you!
I was wondering if i could substitute the coconut for something else?…I’m not a coconut person.
Thanks again!
Hello! I just came across this recipe and would love to make it for my family. But, my kids and husband don’t like pecans (no matter how you say it!). Can I leave those out? Will the cake still hold up?
By the way, I made your chicken planks the other day and they were so good! I will never make fried chicken another way! I love your site!
Just made this for my Sunday School tomorrow. I have a convection oven, so it only took about 40 minutes. A little tiny piece stuck to my pan so I had to taste it, you know it is my duty, can’t give something bad to the Sunday School. Oh my goodness this cake is pure delight. Sweet to the max, no frosting needed or wanted. Yummy. Hope they like it as much as I did my tiny bite, why couldn’t a bigger piece have stuck? Keep the recipes coming.
Did you forget about the buht-tuh?
I can not believe I have lived my whole without trying this cake before now. Who needs butter or oil? This cake (or sweet bread?) was soooo good and so moist. Please tell your mama that I went to two different stores so that I wouldn’t have to buy generic wafers. The taste was definitely worth the travel. Thanks so much! Tomorrow I’m making the pintos beans recipe. Thanks!
I just baked this cake and had to have a slice (hunk) even before it cooled. It is delicious and so easy to make. We also love your Apple Dapple Cake. Honestly, every thing I’ve made from your recipes has turned out great. Thanks Christy.