Babos Receptai (Part 14)

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, baked only a few signature items. She often made (and I still bake) "Babos Pyragas." She also (over)baked Banana Cake. Occasionally, she made Devil's Food cupcakes from scratch. She never frosted the cupcakes, so they were quite dry. (I dislike cupcakes, by the way, because who wants to eat all that hard crust? Isn't it better to eat the soft, moist inside of a cake?)

Here's Tatjana's recipe for the Devil's Food Cupcakes (notice again the chemical formulas):

Here's how I wrote up the recipe:

Devil's Food Cake

(1) First, cream together:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 whole eggs

(2) Second, sift together:
 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

 (3) Third, stir together:
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla

And now add to the (1) sugar/shortening/egg mixture the (2) sifted dry ingredients and (3) the liquid ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in three additions and the liquid ingredients in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

A cake (Tatjana used a 10-inch tube pan) bakes for about 45 to 55 minutes* at 350 degrees F.

ADDED: A reader tests this recipe.

*Baking time adjusted from the duration I originally had posted.