Em's Chocolate Cake
Contributed by Emily McLean

Ingredients:

1 cup Crisco shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups sifted flour
1/4 cup plus
2 tsp. cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 & lightly grease 2 round cake pans. In a large bowl sift the flour, cocoa & baking soda twice, then set aside. In a large bowl cream the shortening &  sugar with a spoon till fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time & the vanilla until smooth. Add the flour mixture alternating with the milk, beating well after each addition. The batter will be very light & fluffy.

Pour into pans & bake for 40 - 45 minutes till center is done. Cool 5 minutes then invert onto a plate. When completely cool frost cake with Chocolate Frosting (my easy frosting).

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

I rarely measure so you will have to use your judgment for ingredients.

In a bowl put 2 sticks softened butter or margarine.  Sift 2 cups or more Confectioner's sugar & 3 tsp. cocoa...(I use my strainer to sift the sugar & cocoa as it's faster & easier to use).

Mix well, then add about 1/4 cup of milk and mix till consistency for spreading. Spread frosting on first layer;add second layer and frost rest of cake.

THERE'S A HITCH.....YOU ALL HAVE TO MAKE THE CAKE AS I DID:

Directions:
When putting the batter into the pans you have to have one of the pans between the sink & the countertop. Then hold the large bowl with the batter in your right hand while swooshing the batter into the prepared pan. Watch carefully as your sleeve lightly brushes the cake pan. This makes for an interesting situation & an interesting question....Mainly...Do I grab the cake pan or do I hold on to the bowl with the batter. What the heck just let the cake pan hit the sink, bounce off the kitchen cabinet, slide onto the floor. Meanwhile there has to be batter all over the floor, the cabinet, in
the sink, in your hair and on your face. Better  yet there has to be a huge amount spread accordingly all over your legs, socks and sneakers, almost completely covering your jeans & it has to make a big brown (that's why you put so much chocolate just to get the right color and texture) pattern all over your (my hubbie's) white v-neck undershirt with a little left over to decorate your chain and cross. The chocolate on your brown topaz earring is not very noticed right away. Better yet the chocolate in your ear (both ears for that matter) isn't even found until much later when you get in the
shower, clothes & all.  At this time you discover that you have two amazingly stiffly starched eyebrows that must run right up into your hairline. The soap and water makes for your having a speckled look for a few minutes (your husband may find this funny and laugh, which is a good thing). If you have followed the above directions you should have a heck of a time. Oh yes, when you make the frosting make sure that the sifted sugar & cocoa get all over the stove, the floor & everything else in your work area.

In all honesty I think you'll love the cake...Gary & Bri said that even the batter I scooped up off the floor blended in nicely with the rest of the cake. WHO KNEW?????

CZBrats
April 22, 1999