Chocolate Fudge Cake with Sticky Chocolate Frosting

 

This recipe is one of many found in The Electric Company Secrets of Successful Cake Baking pamphlet that Grandma Mo sent me. She estimates these recipes were published by The Electric Company in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

I’ve been dying to try one of these retro cake recipes for quite some time. My coworker’s birthday seemed to be the perfect occasion. I think recipes have evolved over the years. The directions in the pamphlet were somewhat vague, so I had to improvise.

I doubled the recipe in order to get three eight-by-eight cakes, and ended losing an entire cake pan in the process (due to severely under-cooking the first pan). Though the recipe is for “fudge cake” the batter wasn’t nearly as dark as I was expecting. Sis suggests the fudge cake gets its name from the fudgy frosting recipe (that accompanies the cake recipe).

cake ingredients.

• 1 c. butter, at room temperature
• 3 c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 5 T. white vinegar
• 3 1/2 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. milk
• 6 1-oz squares of unsweetened chocolate

directions.

1. Cream butter. Gradually add sugar.
2. Add unbeaten eggs, one at a time. Continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Add vinegar.
3. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals – about one and a half to two minutes.
5. Add to the mixing bowl alternately with the milk.
6. Stir in melted chocolate.
7. Pour into cake pans that have been greased and dusted with flour. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Cool the cakes in their pan for approximately 10 minutes before turning out of the pan and  letting cool on a wire rack.
9. Freeze the layers. Using a serrated bread knife, slice the dome top off the layers, then slice in half.

fudge filling ingredients.

• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 2 T. corn syrup
• 2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 T. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla

fudgy filling directions.

1. Place the sugar, heavy cream, syrup, chocolate and salt in a sauce pan. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
2. Cook over low heat until you achieve a low rolling boil.
3. Remove from the stove. Add butter and vanilla and allow to cool.
4. Use approximately three-fourths of the filling to spread between the layers of the cake.

sticky frosting ingredients.

• 1/4 batch of Fudgy Filling
• 3 or 4 T. whole milk
• 1 to 2 c. powdered sugar
• 3 T. cocoa powder

sticky frosting directions.