Mae's Real Stories

November 11, 2006, is Adam's twentieth birthday. We have been celebrating with him all his life. The photo is from his birthday party here when he was six or seven years old.

This year, first we plan to have dinner, and then we'll celebrate with cake and ice cream. The chocolate cake recipe -- including the very very rich icing -- comes from Adam's great-grandmother. It's wonderful, so I am including the recipe, below.

I don't think we are going to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

"Mother's" Chocolate Cake
This is Adam's grandmother Honey's recipe, copied from a Xerox of her recipe that Carol has. Honey got it from her mother.

Cake should be baked at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Boil until thick, then cool to room temperature:
1/4 LB bitter chocolate
1 cup milk
[Note: I microwaved 5 minutes on medium-high, then stirred, then 2:30 on medium-high]

Cream the following:
3 yolks
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
Add 1 tsp. vanilla

Dry ingredients:
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Alternate dry ingredients and chocolate mixture, stirring into eggs.
Then beat till stiff:
3 egg whites

And fold in last.

This is the original, for an 8 by 10 inch pan. Double for 9 by 13 inch pan.

Frosting
Melt 2 squares bitter chocolate. [Microwave, 2 min. medium, covered]
Beat in 1/2 tsp. instant coffee and enough powdered sugar and milk to make enough icing of spreading consistency -- not gooey, but a little on the stiff side.