Gramma Rose’s Chocolate Cake

From: egolden@lucia.HQ.ileaf.com (V. Ellen Golden)

Date: Thu, 4 Jul 96 01:11:33 EDT
I doubt it’s me, but I will take this opportunity to submit what has to be
one of the most sublime chocolate cakes of all time. The recipe is from my
former mother-in-law, now of blessed memory, my son’s Gramma Rose. I call
it “Gramma Rose’s Chocolate Cake” and ask only that you retain that name,
in her memory.

NOTE: for years I remembered WHICH teaspoon she used when she made it for
me in my kitchen, teaching me how to make it, and used the SAME one
religiously… now I can gauge it myself.

1. Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) together into a
small bowl.

2. Cream together (high speed on electric mixer) the Crisco and sugar.

3. Add enough hot water to the cocoa to make a loose squishy paste hint:
if you measure the “half cup” into a cup measure, you’ll be able to make
the paste in the cup easily.

4. Add the vanilla and eggs to the electric mixer. Lower speed to medium.
Add the cocoa mixture carefully.

5. Add about .25 cups of buttermilk to the mixer and let it “get
acquainted” (beat a bit).

6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients, immediately turning the mixer
down to low. Add another .25 cup of buttermilk, then a third of the flour
and so on until it is all mixed in.

7. Turn the mixer up to medium and beat until it is well blended (or 100
hand beatings).

8. Spread batter in a 9 inch by 9 inch pan, greased (with Crisco or
whatever shortening you are using, with a piece of wax paper covering the
bottom… don’t ask me why, that’s what she did…).

9. Bang the pan once sharply on the counter to get out any air bubbles.

10. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree (F) oven for 50 minutes or until done.
Oven temperatures vary, even though thermostats don’t, so check it visually
after 30 minutes, and again at 45 minutes. “Gramma Rose” used to make a
chocolate cake as an “add on” to when she was making a pie that had a
custard filling (she’d bake the crust, then make the custard, but since
she’d already “made the oven”, she’d use it to bake a cake until the filled
pie was ready to cook… in her kitchen this was anywhere between 35 and 50
minutes, depending on the pie… in my oven, it seems to take 50 minutes,
but then I’m not making a pie at the same time…:-).

Cake is done when a straw or cake tester inserted in the center comes out
clean. This cake is very chocolaty, and usually the top will crack and
pull away from the sides of the pan before the center is cooked. No icing
is needed, but friends who have tried it decided to ice it and found it in
no way diminished. A dusting of confectioner’s sugar may also be used, but
I had the distinct impression, when I tried this, that the cake
disapproved! Gramma Rose NEVER did that!

JEWISH-FOOD digest 229