To help continue the celebration of the release of Paper Crafts's newest book, Paper Crafts Gourmet, I'm happy to share one of our family secrets - my grandfather's mother's recipe for her chocolate cake. She was known for her baking and my great grandfather ate up everything she made and stayed as skinny as always...my mother remembers spending weeks in the summer at their farm in Kansas and this chocolate cake was always one of the highlights. This is a photo of my great grandparents on their 50th Anniversary.
Great Grandmom's Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 Tb cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
Place butter, cocoa, and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk together sugar and flour in large bowl. Pour boiling mixture over sugar and flour and blend. Add buttermilk, baking soda, eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined. Bake in greased and floured 15" x 10 1/2" x 1" pan at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. (high altitude 425 degrees for 20 minutes)
The frosting is really what makes this cake so delicious - it's like pourable fudge. The nuts are optional, but we love it with chopped walnuts. Make the frosting right when the cake comes out of the oven and pour it over the cake while it is still warm.
Frosting
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
4 Tb cocoa powder
6 Tb milk
1 lb box powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
Bring butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil then add remaining ingredients. Pour over warm cake. Lick spoon :)
This cake is good any time, but it is really incredible when it is still warm served with a glass of ice cold milk. Please send some willpower my way today...it's just me and the leftover cake here spending the day together...
Enjoy everyone!
