Daddy's Chocolate Cake

Did you ever have a recipe that you used to make all the time...and then for some reason you don't make it for years and years?  That happened to me recently with my recipe for Daddy's Chocolate Cake.  This is a recipe my mom used to make ALL the time when we were growing up - and it got nicknamed Daddy's Chocolate Cake because my mom first made when she and my dad were dating and he loved it.  Way back, in the 1930's, my mom had an after school job helping a woman who was a home economist from the college nearby.  I think her names was Mrs. Kushki.  Many of our family recipes are ones my mom learned while doing housework and helping Mrs. Kuski in the kitchen.  That is where this recipe comes from - my mom would make it with icing some days, sometimes I remember her just sprinkling walnuts on top before it baked...but it was a staple in our house.  My brother also loved this cake and we would joke that we could tell when he was coming home to visit because she would make this cake!  Last week I was going through my recipe box and found the card where I copied it from her when I was first married...and thought it was time to make it again.  

You can see that the card was well "loved"...all those stains from years of making it.   I remember how much I loved those recipe cards with the blue and white motif!

This is a very easy cake to make....

This cake uses baking cocoa which I always have on hand...

and one stick of margarine - or as my mom used to call it - "oleo"!  I am guessing you can use butter as well.

Into one cup of boiling water put 3/4 cup of cocoa and one stick of margarine.  Mix well.

Mix in 2 cups of sugar...

then add two eggs and mix well.

The recipe says to use sour milk....I am thinking that means buttermilk, but we NEVER used that.   Take 1/2 cup of regular milk ( and this day I had no milk so I used half and half) and add a teaspoon of lemon juice and stir in two teaspoons of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of vanilla...and mix it up till frothy.

Add this to the cocoa mixture alternating the milk mix with 2 cups of flour.  Mix well.

Spray a pan with nonstick spray - or as my mom did, use the wrapper from the oleo to grease the pan...

Pour in the batter and smooth it out...then bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees for a glass pan or 375 for a metal pan.  The house smells WONDERFUL while this is baking!

When finished baking, remove from oven and let cool.

I made a very simple icing ( or frosting) to top the cake.

I used about 3/4 cup of Smart Balance margarine - I find this works great for making icing and baking cookies, too.

I added a bit of vanilla and beat the mixture well...

adding powdered sugar to get it to the right consistency.  I forgot to measure how much, but you will know when it looks ( and tastes ) right!

Spread the icing all over the cake...and I topped it with chocolate sprinkles - or as we call them - jimmies for a fun touch.

We were so excited to eat a piece that I forgot to take a photo before I cut the cake!

  It is a big cake...good for a crowd or pot luck.   I shared pieces with several neighbors and then put the rest in the freezer to enjoy another day...because really, I could eat the whole thing.  Tasted like memories!  And, it freezes very well...we have enjoyed it since and it tastes just as good as the day it was baked.

Here is the recipe - I am not sure how to make it so you can print it, but hopefully this helps - 

Daddy's Chocolate Cake

1 cup boiling water

1 stick margarine

3/4 cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk - add teaspoon of lemon juice and 2 teaspoons baking soda, mix.

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

Melt the margarine and cocoa in boiling water.  Add sugar, mix.  Add eggs, mix.  Add flour and milk mixture alternately with flour...mix well.

Bake for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven for glass and a 375 degree oven for metal.

Cool and frost as desired.  ENJOY!

This is a very "homey" cake...not fancy, but oh, so good.

Do you have any recipes that you have "re-discovered" or have a family story that goes with them?  I would love to hear from you - please leave a comment below!  Thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista!

NYC Adventure Continued!

 NYC Adventure Continues!

Our NYC trip was a three night stay...on Saturday morning we visited the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.  I just loved that all over the city there were signs for Summer Reading.  In my years as a librarian I worked on so many Summer Reading programs and always enjoyed the fun.  

Even the library lions ( Patience and Fortitude) got into the spirit!

The walk from our hotel to the library is called "Library Way" and the sidewalk is full of great brass inserts with quotes about books and reading - 

So inspiring and so wonderful for everyone to see.

We always make time to visit the library when in the city...there is always a great display or exhibition  - and it is free.  This time we saw an exhibition called "Treasures' and it was a great display of all the artifacts that have been donated to the library over the years. Here is a link to the library and information about the free, timed tickets.

Treasures

 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is my favorite book...

so I was thrilled to see the handwritten manuscript!

And loved seeing the "real" Winnie The Pooh and friends !

There was so much more to see...as well as a small area where you could sit for bit and watch film clips from the library's collection - like a film of Isadora Duncan dancing, or Bob Fosse as a teenager dancing with his parents on the roof of his apartment.

We spent the rest of the day walking around and then got ready for a night out.  We tried to eat outside as much as possible as the television news was urging people to wear masks indoors and outdoors in crowded areas as the variant of Covid was spreading fast.  Our last night we ate at The Hourglass Bistro and we ate inside as the outside seating was in the sun and just too hot.  It was a great meal...first time we ate there but it is now on our list of favorites.  You can read about it here Hourglass Bistro

For our theater adventure that night we chose a non-musical and saw American Buffalo by David Mamet starring Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell. 

I would say it was a comedy/drama...and we really enjoyed it.

Walking back to The Library Hotel we enjoyed the city lights...the Chrysler Building and St. Bart's on Park Avenue looked beautiful.

The next morning we walked back to St. Bart's for Sunday Mass.   I loved that the steps were painted rainbow colors to make sure people knew EVERYONE was welcome.

We loved this welcome to the church and brought it home to share with our church committee.

Amazing mosaics and beautiful building.

St. Bart's has been featured in many movies...it's always fun to recognize it when watching a film.

After church we walked back to The Library Hotel and had brunch at the restaurant there, 

 Madison and Vine

Yummy French Toast with lots of berries...

mimosas, and a wonderful husband of 45.5 years to share it all with!

And then, it was time to say goodbye to one of my favorite places on earth, 

Library Hotel

Then it was time for a ride back through the Lincoln Tunnel and home to Lancaster, PA.  What a wonderful weekend - we can't wait to return.  

What getaways and adventures are you planning or have you done?  Any plans for the fall season? Please leave a comment and let me know - I love hearing from you !

Thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista!