A Cousin’s Gift

Apr
15

Post by community member:

Sometimes you just need to eat something rich and fattening. That’s all there is to it. Sometimes. Whatever your reason might be for craving some rich, sweet, delectable goody, I have the fix for that craving. And I’m giving it you. For free!

This is a family recipe that is no tellin’ how old. My mother’s cousin, Esther, made this cake. Mama loved this cake more than she loved her luggage. She would beg Esther to make it for her. Everybody needs to make this cake once in their lives. I’m serious. You need to plan a day to do this. But, there’s one requirement. A piece of this cake MUST be served with a glass of ice cold milk in a canning jar. If you break that rule, we all will know about it. Don’t embarrass yourself. Or me.

I have Esther’s handwritten recipe. She included some notes about some of the ingredients. I’m writing this recipe in Esther’s voice.

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How to make Chocolate Pound Cake with Chocolate Fudge Icing:

For cake:
1/2 pound butter or 3 sticks oleo–I use oleo
1/2 cup shortening–I use cooking oil
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup sweet milk
1 tablespoon vanilla

Cream together butter and shortening. Add sugar and eggs. Sift dry ingredients together and add vanilla. Add alternately with cream mixture. Bake in a large pound cake pan (tube pan) 9 to 10 inches. Put wax paper in bottom. Spray sides and bottoms. Cook 325 degrees for 80 minutes. My stove cooks it in 1 hour at 300 degrees. Don’t overcook it. It will be dry. Some stoves cook different.

For icing:
3/4 stick oleo
2 squares of chocolate
1 pound of confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream as needed

Melt butter and chocolate together. Add sugar and vanilla. Cream well and spread. It should be firm. And spread good not runny. I let it set a few minutes and run a knife around tube and it comes out good.
……….Esther

resized

Have a slice of Esther’s chocolate pound cake. Don’t forget about the milk in the canning jar.

Esther’s health is failing and she’s becoming frail. I wouldn’t take a million dollars for this handwritten recipe.

Get the handy print page and save this to your recipe box here:
Chocolate Pound Cake with Chocolate Fudge Icing.


Syrup and Biscuits blogs at Syrup and Biscuits.


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Comments

  1. GrannyTrace says:

    Did you hear me dreamling of chocolate cake lastnight? lol
    What perfect timing! Looks devine!!
    Thank you to you and cousin Esther for sharing.
    Yummo
    Granny Trace
    http://www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com

  2. Cathy Jones (catray44) says:

    This looks wonderful! Thank you Aunt Esther and thank you, Syrup and Biscuits!

  3. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    @Granny Trace: I hope you get the chance to bake this delicious, memory laden cake! <3

  4. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    Cathy Jones; you are most welcomed. I hope you enjoy the cake!

  5. CindyP says:

    Oh my, that is looking sinful 🙂 Next week is Mom’s birthday…and she loves chocolate almost as much as she loves her kids. I think making this for her would put me over the top as the favorite child 🙂

    Thank you Aunt Esther and you, Jackie for sharing it with us!

  6. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    CindyP: You are most welcomed! Good luck on achieving “favorite child” status! <3

  7. Linda Goble says:

    yum yum!!!!!!!!! is the sweet milk condense milk?

  8. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    Linda Goble, she was talking about sweet milk vs buttermilk. I just use regular milk when I make it.

  9. su says:

    That looks amazing. I think I have to nake it this weekend!
    My grandparents had an elderly naighbour lady named Irene, who made a cake that looked like that. I suddenly feel 4 again.

  10. SSain says:

    I haven’t had chocolate pound cake in years. I always make pound cake. Daddy loves chocolate pound cakes (good excuse)! I’m getting the ingredients out now! Darn I don’t have enough conf. sugar. Calling and bribing son #2 to pick up some. Awww sweet memories.

  11. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    Su, I hope you do make it! Your comment, “I suddenly feel four again” touched my heart. My wish is that tasting and smelling this cake will take your right back to your grandparent’s kitchen table where you enjoyed delicious slices of Irene’s cake. <3

  12. rileysmom says:

    Ohhhh, that cake looks so good! I HAVE to make it!! Thank you for sharing!

  13. Pete says:

    Someone at our house is having a birthday this weekend. Hmmm. Maybe we will try this. 😉

  14. Urbanite says:

    Thank you for the recipe and wonderful story. My brother’s birthday is next week and mine is the day after. We’ll be having this cake! I’m going out this evening to buy chocolate and eggs.

  15. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    SSain: I hope your son come through for you! Enjoy the memories.
    rileysmom: You are more than welcomed. Please let me know what you think about it if you make it.
    Pete: I hope it’s your birthday and you get to celebrate with HUGE slice of Esther’s cake!
    Urbanite: Happy Birthday! Let me know what you think of the cake!

  16. Rosina says:

    Hi

    Will 1/2 teaspoon baking powder be enough to make the 3 cups flour and cocoa mixture to rise???

    Where I am, there is no animal called “shortening” (joke) what do I use instead?

  17. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    @Rosina, the five eggs in this recipe are enough to make any batter rise! Yes, it makes a beautiful tall pound cake. Instead of shortening, I use cooking oil and my cakes have always come out just fine. Please write to me and let me know how your’s turns out.

  18. Rosina says:

    Thanks for that information.

    Can I also use butter/magarine instead of the shortening/cooking oil?

    What do I use in place of sweet milk? Is sweet milk a special type of milk or just milk with sweetener added to it (like that which is found in the shops)?

    Looking forward to making this cake, my 7 year old son is a choclate lover, hope to make it for him. Am sure after he eats it, I will be elevated to the level of extra super mom, hee hee hee

  19. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    @Rosina: I’ve never used butter as the fat in this recipe. However, I think if you used butter in the same amount as the recipe calls for shortening/oil, it shouldn’t present a problem. If you’re going to do that, I would stay away from margarine and use real unsalted butter. Esther was referring to sweet milk vs buttermilk. It’s just plain cow’s. They used to call it sweet milk. Please let me know how your cake turns out.

  20. Pete says:

    Well, I didn’t get to make this cake this past weekend after all, but we will be doing so in the near future. This just looks (and sounds) too amazing to put off for very long.

    “Sweet milk” is just milk. Back in the day, many regions of the country drank lots of buttermilk, so much so that it was often what folks meant when they asked for milk. That led to people calling the other milk “sweet milk.”

  21. Syrup and Biscuits says:

    @Pete: Oh, no Pete! I hope everything’s ok. Wasn’t it your birthday? I hope you get to make this cake, soon!

  22. Rosina says:

    I made the cake on Saturday. It tasted great!

    However it was too totally compacted in texture? Would have prefered a more airy/lighter cake. So I have decided to modify it by adding more baking powder and some bicarbonate of soda. Have decided to go with 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of soda. As well as 1/4 cup oil and 6 tablespoons chocolate to give it a more chocolaty flavour. Will let you know how it turns out.

    The recipe as per your method makes a biggish cake, which is great in a house where we have a 7 year old chocolate lover.

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