Sally Heagany’s Chocolate Caramel Nut Cake
1 (18.5 oz.) pkg. devil’s food cake mix with pudding (Note: The boxes that say Super Moist or Supreme Moist have the pudding already included - a few actually say it on the cover. If you have a regular devil’s food cake mix, simply add a 5.9 oz. package of instant chocolate pudding mix to it.) 1 (14 oz.) bag of caramels 1/2 cup of butter 1/2 cup of milk 1 cup chopped, dry roasted peanuts 3/4 cup milk chocolate morsels
Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Spoon half of the batter into a greased and floured 13x9 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (cake will not test done). While the cake cools for 10 minutes, mix caramels, butter and milk in a saucepan and stir continuously until caramels are melted. Spread over first half of baked cake. Sprinkle with peanuts and chocolate. Spread remaining batter evenly over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Cut into squares and serve.
I have been on a weight loss journey this year so I haven’t been eating these types of things. This was ooey gooey goodness. I am taking the pan into the Castle Crew so I hope they will post their thoughts in the comments of this Facebook post.
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A Cake for Special Occasions
“Recently elected officers of Saginaw Junior League were installed, directors and committee chairmen for 1961-62 announced and new provisional members introduced at the League’s annual meeting Saturday noon at the Bancroft.”
“New officials installed include: President, Mrs. R. Joseph Heagany . . .”
~ “200 Junior Leaguers Attend Annual Meeting.” The Saginaw News. April 23, 1961
Sally (Waters) Heagany was born in Saginaw. Her parents were Clarence and Ethelyn (Lawrence) Waters and her father was a salesman for Morley Brothers during the 1930s. After graduating from Arthur Hill High School, she attended Michigan State College [University].
She married Raymond Joseph Heagany at 4:00 p.m. October 11, 1946 at First Congregational Church in Saginaw. A wedding photograph is included in this post and the suit she was wearing was described in the Saginaw News:
“For her wedding the bride chose a dressmaker suit of hunter’s green charmeen gabardine with brown suede accessories and a cahammianna orchid.”
Mr. Heagany worked for - and eventually purchased - McCorkle Oil in Bridgeport, Both Sally and Joe were active in the community. Her community involvement in Saginaw included: President of the Junior League, President of Community Concerts, YWCA Board, Saginaw Zoo Board and Saginaw Art Museum Board. She enjoyed volunteering, tennis, sailing and cooking. Friends and family note that she was a wonderful cook. And this brings us to the focus of this post – the Chocolate Caramel Cake. Sally baked it for special occasions and for her husband Joe.
She and her husband moved to Sarasota, Florida in the 1970s where they owned and operated The Mole Hole gift shop on St. Armand’s Circle. They have moved a couple of more times since then and now live with their daughter in Lincoln, Michigan - they had three children.
Sally and Joe have been married for 74 years and today their favorite desert is salted caramel ice cream.