TORNADO TOUCHDOWN

In February, Margie Morris of Sebring was in search of a recipe for Texas Tornado Cake, her favorite from Homer's Cafeteria in Sebring.

"A friend tells me it's a brown sugar cake, but I've found nothing like it, especially with the sauce that is incorporated in it," Morris says.

Theda Blonshine of Seffner came through for Morris. "I hope this is the recipe she wanted," she wrote.

RED VELVET SAGA CONTINUES

In January, Sandra Pierce requested a Red Velvet cake recipe from Plant City's now-closed Branch Ranch Dining Room restaurant. We've had several volleys from two readers who say they had turns baking it, but neither would give up their recipes.

Now there's a new chapter, sort of.

"I don't have that recipe, but I do have the one that was introduced at the 'original' BuddyFreddy's restaurant in Plant City," wrote Brenda Hunter, a secretary in the Hillsborough school district's Migrant Services Center.

"My mother, Bertha Raburn, baked desserts (and other things too) for them for 14 years. She originated the Red Velvet cake at BuddyFreddy's, and trust me, they were not baked in a sheet cake like they are now. They were the gorgeous three-layer cakes that most people bake. Maybe this will be the same recipe that Ms. Pierce is looking for."

WANTS SCHOOL TOAST

One of the women tangled in the aforementioned Red Velvet saga, Tammy Greenlee of Riverview, now needs your help.

"When I was in kindergarten, the school served peanut butter toast for breakfast," she wrote. "It wasn't just toast with peanut butter smeared on it. But it was baked somehow, and the peanut butter was sweet and a little crispy."

The recipe would have to be remembered by someone who worked in the lunchroom of a school in 1974 or 1975, Greenlee said. "I don't recall ever having it served in school since then."

WANTS OATMEAL STUFFING

Johanna Tschantre of Spring Hill wants a recipe for stuffing made with old-fashioned oatmeal.

"My mom was from Glasgow, Scotland, and she made this stuffing for turkey, chicken, etc., through the years," Tschantre wrote. "I have forgotten the ingredients. Is there anyone who can help me?"

COFFEE ICE CREAM

Jan Pugliese of Tampa is looking for an ice cream recipe similar to Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream.

"Has to be a good, strong coffee flavor. Not mild," she writes. "Have you priced the Starbucks ice cream in the stores lately? Over $3.50 a pint. I don't usually ask for recipes, but that ice cream price is out of sight. We've got to find a substitute."

COOKIES AND CHICKEN

A Plant City reader named Gretchen recalled someone writing a while back about Kirby's Bakery in Plant City.

"I, too, am looking for a recipe for a cookie that I used to get there when I was a little girl," she wrote. "It was a shortbread type of cookie about the size of a half-dollar and they had a dollop of pastel-colored frosting on the cookie."

She's also looking for a recipe for the Paprika Chicken served at Piccadilly restaurant.

"It is coated in flour and baked in some type of sauce," Gretchen wrote. "It's not so much that I like paprika, but this chicken is literally so moist and tender, it falls off the bone."

TEXAS TORNADO CAKE

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 cups fruit cocktail, including syrup

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat flour may be used)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix white sugar, eggs, fruit cocktail, baking soda and flour until well blended.

Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan.

Combine brown sugar and pecans; sprinkle over batter.

Bake in preheated 325-degree Fahrenheit oven for 40 minutes.

For the icing:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup coconut

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Boil 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon over warm cake to allow cake to absorb most of the icing. Cool and cut into squares.

RED VELVET CAKE

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ounce bottle red food coloring

Mix all dry ingredients together, except flour. Add eggs, vanilla, oil and vinegar. Alternate buttermilk and flour; mix well. Add food coloring last. Bake in 325-degree Fahrenheit oven for 25-30 minutes in three 9-inch cake pans. Let cool.

Frosting:

1 box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick margarine, softened

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 cup chopped pecans

Cream together all frosting ingredients. Ice cake after it has cooled.