Vintage Recipes

This recipe has been handed down in my family since the early 1930's and perhaps from before as my grandparents were married just after the first world war and my grandmother brought along great grandmother's recipe box to her new home. Some of the recipes are clearly Irish, this one though might be American...Or, then again, maybe not.

This is as it was written on the card by my great aunt, Celia Burchall, I'll expand slightly later.

Mama K's Chocolate Cake

1½ Cup Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Soda
3 TBS Cocoa (heep)
⅛ tsp Salt

Sift together and add ½ Cup Butter and Lard melted and add Unbeaten Egg to the mixture.
Take ½ Cup Sour Milk and fill it to the top with boiling Water.
Beat until mixture is between thick and thin.
Bake about 325° for about 40 minutes.

My Mother remarks on the card, "Note that there is no vanilla. Toss some in (½ tsp?)"

Translation

Preheat oven to 325° NOTE! Recipe must be doubled if a two layer cake is wanted but I would seriously suggest making the recipe over twice rather than doubling it. I would suggest that for most cooking, actually.

1½ Cup all purpose flour
1 Cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3 (heaping)TBS plain powdered cocoa
⅛ tsp Salt

Sift all dry ingredients together twice.

Melt 1 Cup Butter OR ½ Cup Butter with ½ Cup Lard OR ½ Crisco and allow to cool slightly. Mix into dry ingredients. What cannot be done is all Lard or all Crisco as the cake turns to an oily mess.

Add one Egg to the mixture.

Add a dash of vanilla extract.

Pour ½ Cup Sour Milk in a full cup measure and fill it to the top with boiling Water. Or, take the easy way out and just buy some buttermilk and add a cup of that. Beat until all ingredients incorporated. Pour into a prepared cake pan (two, if you have doubled the recipe) and bake about 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

That's it. It's dark, moist, not very sweet and tends to peak and crack if anything is even slightly wrong, which there is always. Good recipe nevertheless.