Rosalynn Carter's strawberry cake recipe, plus an adorable food memory from her grandson
As the world celebrated the life of Rosalynn Carter at her memorial service on Tuesday, family, friends and loved ones shared stories of her legacy, honoring the former first lady in her home state of Georgia.
Jason Carter took the podium during the service at the Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University in Atlanta to memorialize his late grandmother, whom he fondly remembered as "so down to earth," sharing that "she was like everyone else's grandmother in a lot of ways."
"Almost all of her recipes call for mayonnaise, for example," he said to a roar of laughter from the crowd.
He recalled sitting on an airplane for a family trip when, shortly after takeoff, "we looked over and my grandmother took out this Tupperware of pimento cheese and this loaf of bread, and she just started making sandwiches."
"She gave it to all of us grandkids, and then she just started giving them to other people on the plane. And people were sitting there like, 'Rosalynn Carter just made me this sandwich.' They couldn't believe it. But she loved people and she was a cool grandma," he added.
Though "almost" all of Rosalynn Carter's recipes call for mayonnaise, according to Jason Carter, one of her most famed recipes was in fact a sweet treat, sans mayo.
The U.S. National Archives this week released the recipe for "one of her favorite recipes -- a classic strawberry cake" to further honor her legacy, which the agency said reflects "the sweetness she brought to so many."
Strawberry Cake
"A Carter family favorite from Rosalynn Carter"
Ingredients
1 package yellow or white cake mix
3-ounce package of strawberry Jell-O
3/4 cup cooking oil
1 cup chopped nuts
4 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
One 10-ounce package frozen strawberries or 1 pint fresh strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar
Directions
Mix all ingredients and beat well; pour into angel food cake pan and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes, or until done.
Serve plain or with whipped cream.
