Instructions:
It is the characteristic of baking soda to impart a reddish tint to a chocolate cake batter. To reinforce the red color, there was a popular recipe that circulated during the 1950s that called for a whole bottle of red food coloring. If you wish to try it, simply replace some of the water with the food coloring (pour a 1-ounce bottle of red food coloring into a measuring cup and add water to equal 11⁄3 cups).
- 2⁄3 cup vegetable shortening;
- 12⁄3 cups sugar;
- 3 eggs;
- 2⁄3 cup dark, unsweetened cocoa;
- 11⁄3 cups cold water;
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring;
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder;
- 11⁄4 teaspoons baking soda;
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt;
- 1 teaspoon vanilla;
- Seven-Minute Icing
or Fluffy Chocolate Frosting
.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 9-inch-round cake pans or one 9-by-13-inch oblong pan.
- In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the shortening and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs until mixture is fluffy.
- In a small bowl, blend the cocoa with the cold water. In another small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa-water mixture to the creamed mixture, blending until smooth. Add the vanilla.
- Pour batter into the prepared pans or pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for layers, or 35 to 45 minutes for the oblong pan, or until the cake tests done. Cool. Spread with Seven-Minute Icing
or with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting
MAKES ONE 2-LAYER 9-INCH CAKE, OR ONE 9-BY-13-INCH CAKE
