5 Books that will have you thinking of Summers Past & a Mississippi Mud Cake
If you’re anything like me, you’re not quite ready to let summer go. There’s something about the season that makes everything feel a little slower, a little sweeter, a little more nostalgic. So before we officially hand things over to fall, I wanted to share five books that capture that exact feeling. The kind that make you want to curl up with something cold to drink and just remember.
And because a good book always deserves a good pairing, I’m sharing the recipe that takes me right back to my own childhood summers: my mom’s Mississippi mud cake.
1. 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand
This one follows a couple who meet over Labor Day weekend, and then, true to the title, the story unfolds across 28 summers that follow. Their lives move in different directions, but every year, at the same time, they find their way back to each other on Nantucket. If you’ve ever held onto a summer love, even just in memory, this book will pull you right back into it.
2. The Ghost Writer by Julie Clark
A ghostwriter is hired to write a memoir for a horror writer, except no one knows she’s actually his daughter. The two have been estranged because of things from his past, that he is ready to come to terms with. The story moves back in time to his childhood and a tragedy involving his siblings, and the atmosphere of it all had me thinking about my own childhood in the ’80s. Not the plot itself, but that feeling. Running through the neighborhood with total freedom, and then ducking into the bushes the second a car drove by because of that classic “stranger danger” instinct we all grew up with. If you’re nostalgic for ’80s childhood, this one will take you there.
3. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
This is a family saga in every sense. A mother passes away and leaves behind an inheritance unlike any other. A voice recording and a recipe for Caribbean black cake. Through both, her children slowly piece together who she really was and why she left the islands, and her family, behind. There’s mystery, there’s history, there’s heartbreak. If you’re the kind of person who feels most connected to your mother or grandmother while standing in the kitchen together, this one will hit close to home.
4. Mornings with Rosemary by Libby Page
Told through the eyes of an elderly woman, this story centers around the Lido. The community pool she grew up around, and the community itself. Her husband has passed, the neighborhood is changing, and now the Lido is set to be torn down for something more “recreational.” A young journalist comes to town to learn what the pool has meant to the people there and ends up uncovering just how much of Rosemary’s own life, and love story, is tied up in that water. If a community pool was ever part of your growing up, this one will make you tear up a little.
5. Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler
An 80-year-old woman needs to travel to Cincinnati for a funeral, but with no family or close friends left, she turns to the one person she trusts: her hairdresser, who she asks to come along on the road trip. What follows is a story about friendship, love, heartbreak, and connection across generations. It’s heartwarming and tragic in equal measure, and if road trips and unlikely friendships are your thing, you’ll fall for this one completely.
The Nosh Pairing: Mississippi Mud Cake
Every summer growing up, my family spent our days at the beach, and every birthday, my mom made me a Mississippi mud cake. It’s one of those recipes that instantly brings me back; not just to a specific day, but to an entire season of my life.
I made a few small changes to my mom’s original: I cut the recipe in half, and instead of buying marshmallow cream, I made my own so I could stick to natural ingredients. You can find the Marshmallow Cream recipe here.
Mississippi Mud Cake
An over the top cake that consists of chocolate cake, marshmallow creme, and a delectable fudgy topping.
Ingredients
- Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp cocoa
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 sticks butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Marshmallow Creme
- Frosting
- 1 stick butter
- 4 Tbsp cocoa
- 1 box confectioners sugar
- 6 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Sift sugar, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Melt butter, cocoa, and water in a saucepan over medium heat to a boil.
- Add the butter/cocoa mixture into the flour mixture and mix well.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs then add buttermilk, baking soda, and vanilla.
- Add the egg mixture into the mixing bowl with the flour and cocoa mixture and mix them all together.
- Pour into a 9 x 13 pan.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, press center, if it springs back it's done.
Make the Frosting
1. Melt butter and cocoa together in a saucepan.
2. Once combined add milk and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Remove from heat, add vanilla.
4. Pour the box of confectioner sugar into the saucepan and stir well.
5. Pour the marshmallow creme onto the cake and spread out evenly.
6. Then cover with the fudgy frosting.
7. Allow to cool completely, then enjoy!
