I was surprised to see “Baker’s chocolate” listed as an ingredient in an 1877 recipe. I researched and found that Dr. James Baker bought a chocolate company from Mrs. John Hannon. Her husband didn’t return from sailing to the West Indies and she sold it in 1780.

Dr. Baker changed the name to Baker Chocolate Company. How fun that the company still thrives today!

Since I simply wanted to try the recipe, I halved the ingredients. This gave 2 thin layers. Double the ingredients for normal proportions.

Grate 5 tablespoons of unsweetened Baker’s chocolate. (This is a little over an ounce—not enough for this chocolate lover. I’d suggest increasing this to 2 ounces.)

Cream ½ cup of butter with 1 ½ cups of brown sugar. Add 3 egg yolks.

In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, and the chocolate. (The recipe doesn’t call for salt but add a teaspoon of salt if using all-purpose flour.)

Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients, alternating with ½ cup milk.

I made this into a thin 2-layer cake, but a single layer or an 8 x 8 pan will work fine.

Bake at 350 until done, about 25 to 30 minutes.

There were no suggestions for icing so I made a buttercream frosting.

This cake did not have a strong chocolate flavor. The amount of brown sugar made it a very sweet cake. I will at least double the chocolate next time. Instead of grating the chocolate, I will melt it with the butter and then mix in the sugar.

The look and texture of the cake more resembles a spice cake. It goes to show how tastes have changed over the years.

This recipe is from Mrs. Frank Woods Robinson of Kenton.

I’d love to hear if you try it.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Baker’s Chocolate,” Wikipedia.com, 2018/03/25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker%27s_Chocolate.

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.