Mad About Maida

Old-Fashioned Fudge Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.) , pg. 62. This recipe is simple to do. Even the icing, which involves beating it in a bowl in a bowl of ice water, is foolproof. And I must add, the icing is delicious! The cake itself is also very good, dense and rich. This is not an overly moist cake. Be sure not to overbake! 3 oz. (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate 1 3/4 cup sifted cake flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 TBS. plus 1 1/2 tsp. white vinegar 1 cup milk  Preheat oven to 350. Butter (or spray) two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with baking liners or wax paper. Dust with flour. Set aside. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Set aside to cool slightly. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.   In a mixing bowl, c...

Old Fashioned Jumbo Lemon Wafers Source:  Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 79 . These lemon cookies are simple to make. The recipe calls for mace which is part of the outer shell of nutmeg. Michael says he doesn't like this flavor although I thought it was fine. Nutmeg can be substituted for mace or I suppose you can leave it out altogether if you are like him and don't like the taste. I am always hesitant to use lemon extract because it is so powerful. I made a cake one time and lemon extract ruined it. This calls for 1/2 tsp. I confess I used slightly less than that amount. The cookies were wonderfully lemony but I would not have minded had they been a bit stronger. Therefore, I think the 1/2 tsp. should be fine.  These are fragile cookies and they don't travel well. (Makes about 14 large cookies) 1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. mace (or you can substitute nut...

St. Louis Chocolate Layer Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.) , pg. 52. This is a light devil's food cake with the most delicious old-fashioned marshmallow icing. I took part of this cake to work where it got many rave compliments. This cake cannot be froze after it has been iced. A great cake for a special occasion!  If you are using a stand mixer and have two bowls, that will save you time since you will need to beat the egg whites in a clean bowl. I always put the bowl I will use for beating egg whites in the freezer along with the whisk attachment while I'm preparing the first part of the cake. Then I retrieve the bowl from the freezer when I get to the egg whites preparation. The cold bowl and whisk make them whip easier.  The icing may sound scary to make but it is actually not too difficult if you follow the instructions exactly. In the book, the recipe for the icing is almost an ent...