A tale of the cakes...

The picture on the left is of Grandma Mize... Leona was her name.... taken between 1940-1950... Leona Crary Purcell Mize... 1900-1963

A tale of the cakes… a little rivalry is good for the family, and there was always some sort of cooking/baking competition between Mom and Grandma Mize. Every month, Mom would buy the newest issue of “Ladies Home Journal” and “McCall’s Magazine”. She would religiously read all the articles and if there was a recipe that caught her eye, she would try it out on us. I’m taking a guess and thinking this was back in the late 1950s… maybe early 1960s and Mom found the German Chocolate cake recipe in one of the magazines I mentioned before…the recipe was all the “rage” (fad)… The cake is a three layer cake of chocolate with a wonderful icing of sugar with coconut and pecans. When birthdays came around, we would request it as our cake. Since Grandpa and Grandma Mize lived in the area, of course, they were always at our family birthday parties. This one particular year, Mom made the cake for one of us... I really don’t remember for whom, but I do remember the next time Grandpa and Grandma Mize came for a visit, Grandma Mize brought a three layer dark chocolate cake she “invented” and appropriately named it, “Best Ever Chocolate Cake”. So, here is the recipe for Grandma Mize’s cake:
2 ½ cups of flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp soda
1 cup milk
1 tsp vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup shortening
½ cup cocoa
1 cup hot water
1 tsp vanilla

Cream shortening with the sugar and eggs; blend cocoa and flour with soured milk. Mix all together; add hot water and blend. Pour into 3 cake pans that have been greased and floured...Bake 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Frost with your favorite flavor... Grandma Mize would use a dark chocolate frosting she made... sorry, don't have that recipe.

That's my story for this posting... MMM