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I made the Hyde Park Fudge Cake posted a few days ago for my pottery class last night and it was very well received! The whole thing got eaten and two people said it was the best chocolate cake they ever had. I think it was killer and the frosting was worth the price of admission alone: this is my new favorite chocolate icing and I'm very excited to see what else I can use it for. The cake itself has a nice loose crumb and baked up perfectly, it rose very level in the pan and reminded me a lot of the classic Hershey Black Magic cake if you've made that before, from the back of the cocoa box. The icing has a great taste and texture, it sets up into a soft texture pretty quickly, kind of similar to the icing on a hostess cupcake, with a flavor that is like a much better version of a canned chocolate frosting. Kind of a brownie batter taste.

I couldn't help myself and made a few changes, the biggest one being reducing the recipe size down to fit in a 10 cup bundt mold -- but that was a good move because it made the measurements less weird (no more 2/3 of an egg). I'm posting my changes down below and I'll add some additional thoughts too:

Hyde Park Fudge Cake (10 Cup Version)

• 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 cup sugar
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

I followed the instructions from the original, but It baked in about 38 minutes for me. Also I would start the icing at the 20 minute mark of the cake cooling, it came together fairly quickly.

Changes: I doubled the salt and vanilla which I usually do, but it was almost too salty for me, right on the edge. I think next time I'll do like 1.5 tsp. I also added a pinch of salt to the icing, which people told me they liked as well. Instead of unsweetened chocolate I used 85% dark chocolate because my aldi had no unsweetened chocolate yesterday and I couldn't be bothered to go somewhere else. No problem because it gave the cake and the icing a great flavor. The icing is kind of a pain in the ass to make what with the double boiler and melting the chocolate separately, but the end result was PHENOMENAL so I think it's worth it.

I was a little nervous making the cake because it seemed like a lot of liquid, but it came together very nicely. I did it in the stand mixer which was totally unnecessary, next time I'll just mix it by hand. I used the Pam baking spray (where it has flour inside) and I had 0 issues with the cake sticking, it popped out beautifully.

Note on the icing: it took about 10ish minutes for the sugar to fully dissolve in the evaporated milk. I would test it by dipping in a spoon and then feeling the back. For a while it looked like it was dissolved but you could feel the grittiness, so be aware of that. And also, as soon as you add the chocolate/butter mixture, it will start to firm up IMMEDIATELY, so be ready for that.

Overall: you should make this cake!

Pizza Pie

2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups to cups well drained tomatoes or 1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 lb. nippy cheese, cut up
anchovies, sardines, or salami, chopped
pepper, oregano
2 tbsp. cooking (salad) oil
1/2 med. onion, grated

Heat oven to 425 degrees (hot). Mix Bisquick, water. Knead about 1 min. on surface dusted with Bisquick. Roll into circle 1/4: thick. Place on baking sheet. Pinch edge to make slight rim. Arrange other ingredients on dough in order listed. Bake 20 to 25 min. Serve in wedges.

Bisquick Party Book, 1957

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Honey Twist

Honey Twist
1 cup milk, scalded
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cakes yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 eggs
5 to 6 cups sifted flour
Honey Topping

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 egg white
2 tablespoons honey, warmed

Pour hot milk over butter, sugar, and salt. Crumble yeast into lukewarm water to soften. Cool milk to lukewarm, add yeast and well-beaten eggs. Beat in flour to make a soft dough, then turn out on floured board and knead until smooth. Form into a ball and place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. When light, shape into long roll about 1 inch in diameter. Coil roll into greased cake pan, beginning at the outside edge and covering the bottom. Brush with honey topping. Let rise until doubled in bulk and bake in moderate oven (375 degrees F) 25 to 30 minutes.

If desired, sprinkle with chopped nuts and chopped candied cherries and pineapple before baking.

Honey Topping
Cream all ingredients together and brush over Twist before setting to rise.

Woman’s World Cook Book, 1961

Macaroni noodles cooked and then drained, place back into the pot and fill with milk until about 4/5ths full. Add enough butter that a yellow film forms on top and it’s boiling.

Serve with Kraft Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of lawrys seasoning salt on top.

This was my mom’s poverty meal growing up in Los Angeles in the 50s-60s. She continued to make it for my sister and I whenever we got sick. The warm milk would coat your throat and it was perfection. She would also slightly overcook the macaroni so it didn’t hurt going down.

I’m currently 20 weeks pregnant and battling a brutal cold. My mom is no longer with us, but whenever I make this meal it feels like a big hug from her. I hope to share it with my son one day spreading it across 4 generations.

I haven’t met anyone else who ate something similar to it, but wondering if there are just different variations or names for it?