Rechner’s Bakery

Rechner’s Bakery, founded by August Rechner early in the 20th century, was known for its buttercake. The business closed in the 1980s.

Bob Cavanagh recounted Rechner’s history in an Illinois Times article published in 2004.

IT’s Julianne Glatz explored the mysteries of Rechner (and other) buttercake in 2010. Recipelink.com also has what purports to be an easy variation of the Rechner family’s buttercake recipe.schs logo (2)

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23 Responses to Rechner’s Bakery

  1. Ernest Mayberry says:

    Do you have any thing on the Butternut Bread bakery or any employees?

    • editor says:

      Mr. Mayberry: The Butternut bakery is on my list of to-dos, but it may be a while before I get to it. I don’t know yet what I’ll find out about employees when I do. If you have any info, photos, etc., I’d certainly be interested in seeing it. My direct email address is mkienzler@msn.com. And thanks for reading.

  2. Ernest Mayberry says:

    My family had over 150 years of service working for Butternut.

  3. Ernest Mayberry says:

    The only thing I have is a certificate of award from the Bakery and Confectionery workers union that was given to my dad on his retirement. He worked at Butternut from 1929 to July 31, 1971

  4. editor says:

    Mr. Mayberry: Thanks again. I’ve got several entries to clear up before I get back to Butternut, but I promise I will.

  5. Nicholas Albanese says:

    I want to let everyone visiting this site know that my family was very close to the Rechner’s family and when they closed shop the family gave my grandfather the recipe for their butter cake.

    • Terry Guy says:

      Hi Nick,
      Would you please share your copy of the recipe for the delicious Butter Cake from Rechner’s Bakery? There are many other addicts besides me who have been craving it for years!

      Thanks in advance.
      Terry Guy

  6. Bob Cavanagh says:

    Let’s have the recipe. Puh-leeeze. After I wrote that article a guy on the north side wrote me, named joe mudra. Said I got the recipe, let’s make a pot of coffee and I’ll make a butter cake. Of course I never called and now regret it. I never had a Rechner butter cake . Jeff magill is my brother in law. Said after first Friday mass in the 1950s they got rechner butter cake and the altar servers got first choice. He said nothing in life compares to the gooey center square of one of those cakes. Nothing. I want a time machine! If I can’t have that, I want rechner butter cake.

  7. Cathy Sowers says:

    I’ve got a copy from my grandmother and handed down from my aunt that would make this original butter cake. They would make the fresh bread dough and topped it with the butter topping that would be so GOOD and sweet. I’ll locate this recipe and yes I’ll share it with you. My aunt made this for my father before he died and he would hide it in pieces in the freezer to ravished it to the end.

    • Karen Winterrowd says:

      Please send me the Rechners Bakery Butter cake recipe. Everything that I am finding is a cake base and I remember the butter cake as a bread base.

    • Mary G. Ross says:

      I would so appreciate the original recipe as well.

    • Kathy Sudduth says:

      Can someone please send me the recipe for the butter cake! I was raised in Springfield and have lived here for 65 years! I remember how much we loved the butter cake and I would love to have the recipe. I’ve tried so many recipes, but nothing comes close to theirs. Thank you so much!

  8. Nancy Moore Ingerson says:

    I loved the Rechners Bakery butter cake. My friend Mary Ellen and I stopped by the bakery after grade school as often as we could. I would really love the recipe. The people there were always friendly and tolerant of we school girls.

  9. Nick Penning says:

    Bob,
    I second Jeff’s recollection. The very best things about First Fridays at Blessed Sacrament were those buttercakes. People have probably been pleading for those delectable pastries for decades; I know I sure have. Nothing since those days can come close to matching that product. Whatever Rechners made on buttercakes couldn’t be as much as they’re worth in the minds and stomachs of many generations of Springfieldians. (Please give Jeff my best.)

  10. William R. Dyer says:

    2 cups sugar , one cup butter 1/3 cup of kayro syrup,( bring to steady boil) add teaspoon of vanilla( let sit and cool without stiring) 3 eggs stir stir stir,pour onto your dough and bake until top is golden ( do t forget to poke holes in dough prior ) I use a hotroll mix for the crust ( and add a little sugar , when taking out it will not be completely set give it about 15 min and help yourself to a warm square ( how I cut mine) with a large glass of cold milk! Enjoy

  11. Tony White says:

    I tried Receipelink.com. After a great deal of time and efffort I discovered they DO NOT have the Rechner recipe. The ones I found may be similar, but they were all cake based, not bread based.

    Has anyone tried the William Dyer recipe? I’d like to know your results.

  12. Bob says:

    Okay I’m going to try a butter cake. Would like to use hot roll mix or puff pastry to avoid the yellow cake mix. Also don’t want to use cream cheese, so Mr dyer, do I use brown sugar or white sugar? And how to keep eggs from scrambling?

  13. Bob says:

    Okay I see to let the mixture cool. Got it thanks

  14. Bob says:

    FWIW: hot roll mix was good, puff pastry a total failure. used half brown sugar and half white. Some good farm eggs from Suttills over there on Groth street. Topping was excellent. It seems the bread body is the hard part. As I never had the original, I was not disappointed.

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