Ottilie Giesecke Franklin in her kitchen on a ranch near Llano on Easter Sunday 1980, four months before her 90th birthday. The photo was taken by her son, Frank Franklin of Marble Falls. Courtesy photo
A cake filled with pecans and candied fruit baked by his mother for over 50 years of holidays is a favorite Christmas memory for Frank Franklin, 97, of Marble Falls. Ottilie Pauline Giesecke Franklin (1890-1981) adapted the recipe from the Packsaddle Home Demonstration Club, of which she was a member, and an old family recipe.
“The cake was brown in color and looked like and would keep like a piece of wood, but it tasted like a piece of heaven,” Franklin said. “In the family, the cake was always referred to as the ‘old standby.’ We enjoyed it all year long.”
Ottilie (pronounced O-teel-ya) grew up in Marble Falls, the daughter of Ulrike Carla Matern and Walter Christian Giesecke. She married Percival William Palmer Franklin Jr. of Llano in 1911 in Burnet. The couple had three sons, including Franklin, the youngest, and one daughter. Ottilie Franklin died in 1981 and is buried in Round Mountain.
Her memory lives on, but not just in her fruitcake. Frank recalls that she was a crack shot with her .22-caliber rifle, often striking armadillos right in the eye when she caught them tearing up her yard. He also treasures her valuable advice on how to live a good life, such as “always make your word your bond.”
“When I first heard her say this, I didn’t know what in the world she was talking about,” Frank said. “I soon learned. Another one was, ‘Aren’t you glad that we are all different? Think how boring and awful life would be if we were all the same. We need all these different people, and we’ve got ’em.’”
She told her children and grandchildren that she had contracted PMA.
“(She) had it lifelong with no chance of a cure,” Frank said. “Thank goodness there is none, nor is one sought.”
PMA stands for Positive Mental Attitude, he added. With that and a tasty fruitcake, you can’t help but have a Merry Christmas!
Frank Franklin remembers his mother making enough to last the family all year long. Fruitcakes have a long shelf life, especially if you soak them in rum or brandy. Ottilie froze hers, so no liquor was necessary! You can also use cranberry or apple juice. Staff photo by Jennifer Greenwell
Packsaddle Home Demonstration Club Fruitcake Recipe
(with some Franklin family tradition thrown in)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 cups raisins
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. nutmeg
Candied fruit and pecans as desired
Before mixing, gather your ingredients. Greenwell used margarine and low-fat buttermilk. The fruit was candied cherries, both red and green, but other mixes are available. You can even buy the fruit individually and make your own mix of favorites. Staff photos by Jennifer Greenwell
The Picayune Magazine writer and photographer Jennifer Greenwell recently turned her kitchen into a Christmas wonderland of fruitcake baking. The recipe from Frank Franklin’s mother, Ottilie, created enough batter for one large and three small loaves. Baking instructions in the original recipe called for slow and low, referring to a wood-burning stove. Greenwell baked her loaves at 250 degrees for about 1½ hours.
We don’t know where Ottilie Franklin got her candied fruits during the 50 years she baked this well-remembered family tradition, but we now have H-E-B. Greenwell chose Paradise Holiday Fruit Kings Ring Mix (a fruit-only mix, not a fruitcake mix), which did not include orange peel. A Paradise Extra Fancy Fruit Cake Mix includes other fruits, such as orange peel.
“I don’t really like orange peel, so I went with the simple mix of fruits,” she said. “But pick what makes you happy. It IS Christmas!”
suzanne@thepicayune.com
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