If the crumbs are any example...
Today is my friend, gothkytten , birthday. Since she is staying with us for a little while I thought it would be nice to surprise her with a birthday cake that wasnt St Patrick's day themed. Only one problem... no cake mix in the house. Ok. Cake mixes are a relatively new invention, for generations our mothers and grandmothers made wonderful cakes, and in truth I used to too until I got so busy in what is Casa Chaos. I dusted off my culinary skills and rolled up my sleeves. Then the dilemma of what TYPE to bake... chocolate of course! In fact in a moment of nostalgia I started an internet hunt to see if I could locate, or at least a close second, a chocolate cake my Nanny used to make when I was growing up. She called it "Old Joe" (why I have no idea). Guess what... there really IS a cake called "Old joe"! I couldnt find the exact recipe my Nanny used but this came pretty darn close, at least by the taste of the crumbs. I seem to remember Nanny using sour cream or butter milk in her recipe but I was not brave enought this morning to try any subitutions on that cake. And frosting? Nanny used one of two "standbys", one was a vanilla egg white based frosting and the other was a chocolate fudge. Yep. I made the chocolate fudge one. Hopefully gothkytten will like the cake as much as I remember liking it when I was a kid!
Old Joe Chocolate Cake:
3c all purpose flour
2c granulated white sugar
2tsp baking soda
6tbl unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1c vegetable oil
2tbl white vinegar
2c Water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan (or 2 round pans). In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa. Measure and combine water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into flour mixture and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool
Fudge Frosting:
1c Granulated white sugar
1/2c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4c milk (not skimmed milk!)
1/4c unsalted butter (margarine wont work) melted
1tsp vanilla
In Saucepan combine all the ingredients. Stirring constantly bring to a rolling boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
You can do one of 2 things: You can now beat the fudge into a light frosting (about 3 minutes with electric mixer); or you can drizzle the fudge over the cake. I prefer to drizzle the frosting since it is VERY rich tasting.
Old Joe Chocolate Cake:
3c all purpose flour
2c granulated white sugar
2tsp baking soda
6tbl unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1c vegetable oil
2tbl white vinegar
2c Water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan (or 2 round pans). In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa. Measure and combine water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into flour mixture and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool
Fudge Frosting:
1c Granulated white sugar
1/2c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4c milk (not skimmed milk!)
1/4c unsalted butter (margarine wont work) melted
1tsp vanilla
In Saucepan combine all the ingredients. Stirring constantly bring to a rolling boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
You can do one of 2 things: You can now beat the fudge into a light frosting (about 3 minutes with electric mixer); or you can drizzle the fudge over the cake. I prefer to drizzle the frosting since it is VERY rich tasting.