Chocolate Cake with Comfort Icing
From a vintage recipe box found at an estate sale
As written on the card
[top line cut off] Chocolate Cake
FOR SUCCESS . . . DO THESE FIRST:
1. Have all ingredients room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 350° (moderate).
3. Grease generously and dust with flour one oblong pan, 9x13x2-in.
4. Measure level for accuracy with standard measuring cups and spoons.
5. Sift GOLD MEDAL “Kitchen-tested” Flour, then spoon lightly into cup and level off. Do not pack.
If you live at an altitude over 3,000 ft., write Betty Crocker [mailing address omitted here], for recipe adjustments. Specify recipes wanted.
Just before starting to mix cake, pour ⅓ (?) cup boiling water into 3 sq. melted unsweetened chocolate (3 oz.). Stir until a paste is formed.
Sift together into bowl: 1¾ cups sifted GOLD MEDAL “Kitchen-tested” Enriched Flour, 1⅓ cups sugar, 1 tsp. soda, 1 tsp. salt
Add: ⅓ cup high grade vegetable shortening, ¾ cup milk, 1 tsp. vanilla
Beat vigorously with spoon for 2 minutes by clock (about 150 strokes per minute). You may rest a moment when beating by hand; just count actual beating time or strokes. Or mix with electric mixer on slow to medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl frequently.
Add: ⅓ to ½ cup unbeaten eggs (2 medium)
Continue beating 1 more minute, scraping bowl frequently.
Add: the warm chocolate paste
Beat 1 more minute. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes in moderate oven (350°). When cake is cool, frost top with Comfort Icing (recipe below).
Comfort Icing
Mix: 1 cup sugar, ⅛ tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. white corn syrup, ¼ cup water
Boil slowly without stirring until mixture spins a 6 to 8-in. thread or 238° to 242°. (Keep pan covered first 3 minutes.)
Beat meanwhile, until stiff enough to hold a point: 1 egg white
Pour hot syrup very slowly into stiffly beaten egg white . . . beating constantly with rotary beater until the mixture is too stiff to beat.
Add: ½ tsp. vanilla
Continue beating with a spoon until mixture is very fluffy and will hold its shape. (If icing does not set so that it will stay on cake, add 2 to 3 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar—a tbsp. at time, until mixture is stiff enough.)
Makes icing for top of 9x13x2-in. cake.
Chocolate Cake with Comfort Icing
A printed Gold Medal Flour (Betty Crocker) recipe sheet, punched for a three-ring binder
Chocolate Paste
- 3 squares (3 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, melted
- ⅓ cup boiling water
Cake
- 1¾ cups sifted flour
- 1⅓ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable shortening
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 medium eggs (⅓ to ½ cup)
Comfort Icing
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
- ¼ cup water
- 1 egg white
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Method
- Get ready: Have everything at room temperature. Heat the oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9x13x2-inch pan.
- Make the paste: Just before mixing, stir the boiling water into the melted chocolate until it forms a paste.
- First beating: Sift the flour, sugar, soda and salt into a bowl. Add the shortening, milk and vanilla and beat 2 minutes (by hand, about 150 strokes a minute, or with a mixer on slow to medium).
- Eggs and chocolate: Add the eggs and beat 1 minute more, then add the warm chocolate paste and beat 1 more minute.
- Bake: Pour into the pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool.
- Icing: Boil the sugar, salt, corn syrup and water slowly without stirring (covered for the first 3 minutes) to 238 to 242°F. Meanwhile beat the egg white stiff. Pour the hot syrup very slowly into the egg white, beating constantly, until too stiff to beat. Add the vanilla and beat with a spoon until fluffy. Frost the top of the cake.
As written: The top of the sheet, with the first word of the title, is cut off in the photo. The amount of boiling water for the chocolate is faint; it looks like ⅓ cup. The sheet also gives Betty Crocker’s 1950s mailing address for high-altitude help, which we’ve left out of the transcription.
Remember this recipe? We’d love to hear about it.