by Sheila Connolly
A
couple of months ago I drove to Pennsylvania and Maryland for a couple of
bookstore signings, including a nice one at the Chester County Book Store in
West Chester, Pennsylvania. I chose that because it’s literally right down the
road from where my most recent book, Razing
the Dead, is set. Is that serendipity or what?
I
love that area of Pennsylvania—my family lived there for decades, and I lived
there for a while myself, years ago. It includes Kennett Square, mushroom
capital of the country, so of course I stopped at a café for a bowl of mushroom
soup. And then I went antiquing, and I ended up with four hexagonal Swans Down
baking pans (among other things!).
A
brief history of the company, founded in Evansville, Indiana, can be found
here. They’ve been
around for a while!
Of
course I wanted to try out my new old pans. A quick scan online suggested that
they date from the 1920s, so I set out to find a Swans Down recipe from the
same era. This one comes from an ad from that time (note: the original recipe
was made by hand—I’ll let you use a mixer!). What sold me was the attached recipe
for mocha frosting, which was one my mother made often. (BTW, the hexagonal
pans hold 3 cups of batter. This is the same as a standard 8” baking pan, BUT
it is not as wide and it is deeper, so I had to adjust your cooking time.)
Once
again let me note that this is a half-recipe (I like cake, but not enough to
eat a whole one!), or one pan’s worth. If you want a more typical two-layer
cake, just double it (use only five eggs total).
Swans
Down Chocolate Cake
1-1/4
cups Swans Down cake flour
1/2
tsp baking soda
Pinch
of salt
1/2
cup butter
1
cup sugar
3
eggs, well beaten
1-1/2
ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (originally
this called for 1-1/2 squares of Baker’s Chocolate, when 1 square = 1 oz. There
are a lot more options these days, and the measurements have changed.)
1/2
cup buttermilk
1
tsp vanilla
Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your baking pans well.
Sift
together the flour, baking soda and salt.
Cream
the butter, then add sugar gradually with the mixer running, and continue until
the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add
the eggs and beat well. Then add the chocolate, and mix to blend.
Add
the flour alternating with the buttermilk, beating after each addition. Add the
vanilla last.
Bake
for 45-50 minutes or until done (when a toothpick comes out clean). Remove from
the oven and let cool before frosting. When you are ready to frost the cake,
remove it from the pan and cut it in half crosswise.
Chocolate
Mocha Frosting
2
Tblsp butter
5
cups confectioner’s sugar
1/8
tsp salt
2
oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2
cup strong coffee
2
tsp vanilla
Cream
the butter and add 1 cup of the sugar, blending thoroughly. Add the salt and
the melted chocolate, and mix well.
Add
the remaining 4 cups of sugar, alternating with the coffee, beating after each
addition. (You may not need all the coffee—you want a smooth spreading
consistency, not soup). Add the vanilla and blend.
And
frost your cake! I have to say, the cake was lovely—light in texture, with a
nice chocolate flavor. There’s something to be said for the old ways!
Swans
Down wanted you to know that their flour is
27 times finer than ordinary flour! in the 1920s—and the same line is still
on their box today.
Oh, right--there's a book coming out in October. In Picked to Die, Meg Corey is too busy harvesting apples and solving a murder to even think about baking a cake. But vintage cooking equipment will play a part in the next book!
Add this to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth and glossy. Frost the cake. And decorate as desired. Sit back and let the rave reviews roll in...
