In honor of National Chocolate Cake Day, I give a nod to my late mother-in-law, Mary Jane Morgan, and the legacy chocolate cake she passed down to me from her mother, Irene Seeley.
I remember traveling with my firstborn, Trey, to visit George’s parents in September 1979.
Trey turned two that visit, and Mary Jane made chocolate cupcakes turned into clowns using ice cream cones as hats and candies for their faces. Trey was delighted and I noticed something funny.
Hubby, George, would sneak into the fridge and scoop from a bowl spoonful of left-over frosting again and again and again.
Mary Jane shared the cake recipe and I’ve baked it for every birthday for every child and friend for years and years.
I’ve made it as a sheet cake, a two-layer round cake, and a four-layer square cake. The frosting is so gooey that the more layers you try the more the cake slides to one side or another leaving it a tiered cake or as my sons refer to it the AVALANCHE cake!
No matter how it looks, the cake is incredible. It’s dark, rich, and has a flavor all its own.
The secret ingredient is black walnut flavoring. McCormick produced this essence until ten or so years ago when it was dropped. Lovers of the cake would ransack their grandmother’s pantry for stored bottles of the stuff. We found quite a few that way!
Today, Amazon will give you a good selection of choices when you search, and I’ve tried them all. It works!