Recipe - Rowells Inn Old Vermont Cocoa Cake

CAKE
One half cup Unsweetened cocoa
One half cup Boiling water
One fourth cup Butter, softened
One fourth cup Shortening
2 cup Sugar
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 One half teaspoon Baking soda
1 cup Buttermilk
1 Three fourths cup Allpurpose flour
2 tablespoon Sour cream
1 tablespoon Maple syrup
1/3 cup Chopped walnuts

COCOA MAPLE FROSTING
One half cup Butter, softened
One half cup Unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoon Corn syrup
1 teaspoon Maple syrup
3 cup Confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoon Milk

Impressive and special, this is a celebration cake. The layers are thin and
fragile, so be careful when removing them from the pans.

Cake ~ Combine the cocoa and boiling water and set aside. Cream the
butter, shortening, sugar, salt, and vanilla until fluffy. Add the eggs one
at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir the soda into the
buttermilk and add alternately with the flour to the creamed mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 3 9inch cake pans by greasing them and
lining them with waxed paper. Measure 1 2/3 cups batter into a small bowl
and stir in the sour cream, maple syrup, and nuts. Pour into 2 of the cake
pans.

Blend the cocoawater mixture into the remaining batter and pour into the
remaining pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool 5minutes before removing
from the pans. Spread Cocoa Maple Frosting between the layers, on the
sides, and over the top of the cake.

Cocoa Maple Frosting ~ Combine the butter, cocoa, corn
syrup, and maple syrup. Add the confectioners' sugar alternately with the
milk. Beat until smooth and of a spreading consistency.

Receipe from: Rowell's Inn, Simonsville, Vermont Source: Yankee Magazine's
Christmas in New England, 1995

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini