4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup shortening or 1/2 lb butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 cup cake flour
2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
4 eggs
Directions
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350F. In a small, heavy-bottomed pan, melt chocolate
and shortening, stirring over low heat until smooth and melted.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. In large bowl, combine flour,
sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add chocolate mixture,
milk and eggs, beating until smooth. Spread mixture in two greased
and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 30-to-35 minutes or
until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in
pans 5 minutes before turning out onto wire rack.
Servings: 10 servings
All-American Chocolate Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Chocolate; Chocolate Cake; Dessert
The History of Recipes
Recipes as an idea can be traced way back into history, in truth as far into history as the early Egyptians, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that is, these, old records were just very basic pictorial instructions for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to food historians are some clay tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel wonderful. During the time of the Romans a roman called Apicius compiled a collection of scripts which described recipes enjoyed by his fellow Romans. In his works, he describes how the roman meals were separated into appetizers, main meal and desserts, something we still use today. He also recounts how the Romans were skilled in the use of a good variety of aromatic flavours, including a few you will know for example thyme, fennel and parsley. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, there were two interesting recipe books dating from the fourteenth century - a book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Despite their titles, these two books are unconnected to the indian curry that is familiar to us all today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals on the tables of the nobility of that period. Later on, in the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods, spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including coriander, parsley, and basil. The introduction of these new culinary ideas led to an eruption in books on cooking, most of which are kept safe in private collections. Over the next few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Europe tried to serve up the most exotic banquets, and because of this the best cooks and their recipes could command a high salary. However, it was during the 19th century that fine cooking and recipe books reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down recipes common in their social group. When we get to the 20th century, cookery publications are increasing in popularity due to higher levels of literacy, people having increased free time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this All American Chocolate Cake recipe.
