How I Learned to Make Aunt Ruby’s Cake

Jun
1

Post by community member:

When I was a child, my mother worked full-time. She also loved to cook and taught me early on. I spent a pretty fair amount of time standing on a stool next to her following her directions. Her love for cooking was passed down to me, and to this day, I love to try new recipes and prepare the tried and true family favorites as well.

One day when I was about 10, Mom called me from her office and told me that we were going to have company for supper. Since it was unexpected, there wasn’t any dessert on hand–things like dessert were not an everyday thing in our home–and she asked me to make Aunt Ruby’s cake. Devil’s Food with chocolate frosting is among my favorite things, so I readily agreed. I got out the recipe card (one that my grandma had typed on her portable Royal typewriter) from the box, uncovered the Sunbeam mixer, and got to work. After I’d added the last of the ingredients, I stood and proudly watched the batter swirling around the beaters and that was when I realized something wasn’t quite right. The batter was SO shiny……

I agonized over it for some time and then finally broke down and called Mom at work–something you were only allowed to do in an emergency. When I told her the batter looked funny she had me tell her what I’d put into it. I said , “Two cups of sugar, and then it says two or three cups of Crisco, so I put in two and a half.” There was a beat of silence and then I heard a groan that turned into a chuckle. “That’s supposed to be two-thirds of a cup of Crisco, not two or three. Call Grandma to come help you.” Seems my Grandma’s typewriter had a key for a quarter and a key for a half but not one for two-thirds so she’d used the normal sized numbers and a slash. In my inexperience I didn’t realize that was waaaay too much Crisco.

Today, I’d probably see if the chickens like cake batter and start over, but we couldn’t really afford to do that at the time so Grandma came over and we did the math and produced a whole lot of extra cake that was frozen for future reference. We had cake that night, and a few other nights too!

Here’s the recipe in case you’d like to try it out for yourself.

How to make Aunt Ruby’s Devil’s Food Cake:

1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup Crisco
2 eggs
1 cup sour milk
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 cup hot water

Combine cocoa with either the sugar or the flour, then mix the ingredients in the order given.

Bake in greased and floured 8″ round pans at 300 degrees for 35-50 minutes.


Get the handy print page and save this to your recipe box here:
Aunt Ruby’s Devil’s Food Cake.

Do you have a recipe post or kitchen-related story to share on the Farm Bell blog? See Farm Bell Blog Submissions for information and to submit a post.

Want to subscribe to the Farm Bell blog? Go here.




Comments

  1. GrannyTrace says:

    Tooo funny. I just commented to Suzanne that Chocolate Cake helps more than Calgon and now here is this wonderful recipe. Looks like heaven.
    Thanks for sharing your story.
    Hugs
    Granny Trace
    http://www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com./

  2. Anita says:

    What a great mom you had! This is a fantastic story. (I was raised by women who wouldn’t have had such a good sense of humor about it.)

  3. Linda Goble says:

    What a great memory you have. I think it is like the one my mom always made.Thanks for the story.:)

  4. Darlene says:

    That is a great story and your Mom was wonderful to trust you to do this for her.

  5. JerseyMom says:

    Thanks, ladies. Yes, my mom was a gem and one of my best friends. I lost her almost four years ago now to breast cancer and it’s aftermath. I miss her each and every day. I’m trying to pass along at least some of what she taught me to my daughters. I don’t call them to make chocolate cake though 😉

  6. Darlene in North GA says:

    lol
    I have a story of being told to cook something and doing EXACTLY what I was told to do.

    My mother told my 9 year old self to go into the kitchen and wash the chicken and put it in the oven. And off I went.

    I guess she wondered why the water was running so long, as she got up from her sewing machine and came in to find me literally WASHING the chicken with SOAP! She managed to salvage the chicken without a soapy taste. And I learned that the phrase to “wash” something has more than one application. With and WITHOUT soap! lol

    Reckon that 9-10 year olds are like Amelia Bedelia – quite literal because of inexperience.

  7. JerseyMom says:

    Hahaha Darlene! How right is that! We give our kids direction and expect them to execute….just as we did…and not always with the result we want!!

Add Your Thoughts



Search Farm Bell Recipes

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
All Recipes
Appetizers & Snacks
Bagels
Bean Soups
Beans
Beans, Grains & Rice
Beef
Beverages
Biscuits
Blog
Boiling Water Bath
Bread Machine
Breads
Breakfast
Brownies
Budget
BWB Condiments
BWB Fruits
BWB Jams, Jellies, Butters & Preserves
BWB Marmalades & Conserves
BWB Other
BWB Pickles & Pickled Stuff
BWB Salsas
BWB Sauces
BWB Tomatoes & Combos
BWB Vegetables
Cakes
Candy
Canning
Casserole
Casserole
Casserole
Cereals
Cheese
Cheesecakes
Chilis
Chowders
Cobblers
Coffee Cake
Cold Remedies
Condiments
Cookery 101
Cookies & Bars
Cream Soups
Crisps
Crock Pot
Crowd-Size
Crusts
Cupcakes
Cure & Smoke
Dairy
Dehydrating
Desserts
Diabetic
Dips
Doughnuts
Dressings
Egg Dishes
Eggs
Entertaining
Fat-Free
Featured
Fermenting
Fillings
Fish
Food Photography
Freezing
Frostings & Icings
Frozen
Fruit Breads
Fruit Cakes
Fruit Salads
Fruits
Gift Basket Goodies
Giveaways
Gluten-Free
Goat Cheeses
Gourmet
Gravies
Griddles
Grill-Outdoor Cooking
Hard Cheeses
Herbs & Spices
Holiday
Homemade Cheese
How To
Ice Creams
Ingredients
Ingredients & Mixes
Jell-O
Jell-O Salads
Kid-Friendly
Kitchen Gadgets
Kosher
Lactose-Free
Lamb
Leftovers
Lettuce & Greens
Low-Carb
Low-Fat
Low-Sodium
Main Dish
Marinades
Meat Salads
Meet the Cook
Muffins
Non-Dairy
Old-Fashioned
One Dish Meal
Other Breads
Other Breakfast
Other Condiments
Other Dairy
Other Desserts
Other Main Dish
Other Salads
Other Side Dishes
Other Soups & Stews
Other Special Diets
Pasta
Pasta
Pasta Salads
Pastries
PC Beef
PC Chicken
PC Meats
PC Other
PC Poultry
PC Soups & Stews
PC Veggies
Pets
Pickling
Pies
Pizza
Pizza Crusts
Pork
Potato Salads
Potatoes
Potluck
Poultry
Presentation
Preserving
Pressure Canning
Pressure Cooker
Puddings & Custards
Recipe Requests
Relishes & Chutneys
Rolls
Rubs
Salads
Salads
Salsas
Sandwiches
Sauces
Scones
Seafood
Side Dishes
Soft Cheeses
Soups & Stews
Sourdough
Special Diets
Special Occasions
Steam Juicer
Stocks
Stuffings
Substitutions
Syrups
Tarts
Tips & Tricks
Tortillas & Pitas
Using FBR
Vegan
Vegetable Breads
Vegetable Salads
Vegetables
Vegetarian
Wild Game
Yeast Breads


If you would like to help support the overhead costs of this website, you may donate. Thank you!





Thanks for being part of our community!