My Gramma Moutaw did a variety of things exceptionally well. One, she was one of those people who was gut-bustingly funny in a way where she was surprised you laughed at her brilliance, which made her even funnier. Two, she could crochet like a dream. Three, she accessorized beautifully.
And last, my gramma could COOK!
We lived in Indiana and she lived in California so we didn’t see her often. But I remember, every time we saw her, it was a good time full of laughter, love, warmth…and food.
This is one of several of my favorite recipes of hers. The cake is moist chocolate/cherry deliciousness. No, this cake is moist, chocolate/cherry, marzipan-ish freaking amazingness.
And now I give it to you!
Gramma Moutaw’s Chocolate Maraschino Cherry Cake
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 cup Sugar
- ½ cup Shortening (or Trex for those in the UK)
- 1½ cup Flour
- 1 ounce Square Plain Chocolate, melted
- 1 Jar (4 oz) Maraschino Cherries
- ½ cup Maraschino Cherry Juice
- ½ cup Chopped Nuts (optional, I never use these)
- 1 Egg
- 1 cup Buttermilk or Single Cream
- 2 teaspoon Soda
- 1/8 t Salt
- Icing:
- ½ cup Powdered Sugar (be prepared to need more)
- 1/3 C Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 t Vanilla
- 1 ounce Square Plain Chocolate, melted
- Pinch Salt
How to do it…
- The hilariousness of this is that the instructions are simple. No faffing about. Just mix ingredients together and bake at 350°F in a greased and floured 8" square pan. That's it!
- Now, if you don't know how to test a cake for done-ness, you can either get a cake tester which has a tip that changes color when inserted into the center of the cake and it tells you when it's done. Or, less fancy, you can use a toothpick to insert in the center of the cake, and when it comes out clean (no liquidy-dough on the end), it's done. Depending on ovens, you may want to start testing this at around 20-25 minutes, but it'll probably take longer.
- As for the icing: Cream sugar and butter, add egg, and salt. Add melted chocolate and vanilla then ice the yummy cake! And I would recommend icing the cake when it's still a bit warm. I'll just say here it may seem weird that there's an egg in this and there's no cooking, however, the better you beat this and with the chemical components of the other stuff, as far as I know, it's safe.