Boarding House Cake

 

My Mom worked in DC during the war. She was a secretary in a pool of gals who all knew the value of both good shorthand and a great chocolate cake. Like so many young women who served here in the states during WW2, Mom stayed in a boarding house run by a woman who "took no-nonsense" into her home. "Only nice girls", she would tell anyone looking for a place to live.

    Mom boarded with several girls. They came from different backgrounds but they all had one thing in common: their love of chocolate. And there was a cake they used to make whenever they could slip into the kitchen and that was Boarding House Cake.

    This chocolatey concoction was a favorite and was often the winning sale at bake sales. Mom hid this recipe away for many years but one day, after I was married and raising my own children, she and I were going through a box, and there, sandwiched between two old magazines, was a hand-written recipe: the Boarding House Cake. 

    "It isn't your handwriting," I said. Mom got a kind of far-off look on her face. She was remembering someone, or sometime in her past. I let her sit with it for a bit. Everyone has a right to remember a by-gone time. 

    "Here," she said, snapping out of her fog. "You can have this."

    I made this cake for just about every child's birthday, several Valentines' Day celebrations, and one wedding reception. It's always a big hit. And every time I make it, I think about Mom and her "gals" slipping into the kitchen at the boarding house to make their cake. Mom was sure a spunky gal back in the day!

FOR THE CAKE

•  1 c. buttermilk, well shaken
•  2 1/2 c AP flour
• 1/2 c dutch cocoa
•  1 tsp baking powder
•  2 tsp baking soda
•  1/2 tsp salt
•  3/4 cups hot water
•  2 tsp vanilla
•  16 tablespoons butter, unsalted, measured out
•  2 cups of sugar
•  2 eggs

1.  "Bloom" the cocoa by adding the hot water to it and mixing it with a whisk until combined and no lumps (it helps to sift it first).
2. Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and soda together and set aside.
3. Cream the sugar, butter, and vanilla together until very light and fluffy.
4. Add in eggs one at a time, being sure to incorporate well.
5. Mix together the buttermilk and the cocoa mixture, which should be cooled by now.
6.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the cocoa-creamy liquid in 3 additions.
7. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted comes out pretty clean. About 30-35 minutes.
8.  DO NOT REMOVE FROM PAN.
9. Cool at least 4 hours or overnight. It must cool in the pan.

THE FROSTING

•  1/2 cup Evaporated Milk
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
•  8 oz bittersweet chocolate
•  1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups confectioners sugar

1. Cook together over medium heat until it reaches 235 - 238 degrees GO NO HIGHER
2. Transfer to a cool, room temperature mixing bowl.
3.  Let stand for 10-15 minutes.
4.  Add in the bittersweet chocolate and stir until melted
5.  Add the vanilla.
6.  Add, in one lump, the confectioner's sugar and, on low, mix in the sugar beating for around 3 minutes.
7.  Let it sit for one hour and mix with your mixer again on medium-high and you will see a consistency change.
8. Continue beating to whip and then frost your cake.

NOTE: I have made this cake into cupcakes but be aware that you can only fill your standard cupcake cups 1/3 of the way. Filling them more will result in overflow batter. I hollowed out the middles and poured in some liquidy ganache and then frosted the top with the whipped frosting topped with chocolate-dipped cooked bacon. Um yeah, everyone went bonkers.