My Second Favorite Chocolate Cake

I'm not a by-the-book kind of person. Never have been. Not a good thing, not a bad thing - just the way I am. It helps with some recipes, is necessary for some dishes, helps out a lot with ingredient flexibility, and screws some receipes completely up.

As baking involves precise science, it stands to reason that the recipes I screw up the most are those that involve baking. So when I was looking through Mom's Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 1953 Edition, and found this Feathery Fudge Cake with Chocolate Satin Frosting, I was determined to slow down, focus, and follow it to the letter, technique and all.

2/3 cup soft butter or margarine

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1 1/4 teaspoons soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups ice water

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cream together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla 'till fluffy (beat 5 minutes at high speed on mixer, scraping bowl occasionally to guide batter into beaters, or beat 5 minutes by hand.
• Blend in chocolate.
• Sift flour with soda and salt.
• Add to creamed mixture alternately with ice water, beating after each addition.
• Bake in 2 paper-lined 9x1 1/2 inch round pansin moderate oven (350 degrees) 30-35 minutes or until done.
• Cool completely, then frost.

3 1/2 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

4 1/2 Tablespoons hot water

1 egg

1/2 cup soft butter or margarine

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

• Melt chocolate in mixing bowl over hot water.
• Remove from heat.
• With electric mixer, blend in sugar and water.
• Beat in egg, then butter and vanilla.
• Frosting will be too thin at this point, so place bowl in ice water.
• Beat 'till of spreading consistency (I beat it for about 9 minutes).
• Frosts tops and sides of two 9-inch laters.

Usually the first time I bake a cake, I'll do only a half-recipe, or one layer. I'll cut the layer in half and make a half-cake. That way if it's screwed completely up, it's still only half screwed!

And in case you were wondering, my favorite chocolate cake by far is Mom's buttermilk chocolate cake with fudge icing.