Save the Recipe: Gullah Dirty Cake

 From time to time I find recipes that I find interesting and make an effort to save them. Mostly it's the old recipes that cooks and chefs might wrinkle their noses at. This one surprised me as it includes lard as one of its ingredients. I haven't seen that since I was a child. So here it is, from the cookbook Cake Ladies, Celebrating a Southern Tradition by Jodi Rhoden (2011 Lark, Sterling Publishing Co.) This recipe is found on page 69 and was contributed by Dye Scott-Rhodan (not Rhoden ... Rhodan.)

If I ever do make this recipe, it would be worthy of a comedy video as I think I would totally muck it up. I love to bake but I live in a small place with very little kitchen space. It becomes very difficult to make much. I prefer to make things that have few ingredients so that I have less to put out on countertops. If anyone who reads this makes it or has made it, please let me know what you think of the cake.

Also, quick note, I read through to make sure everything was correct and noticed that autocorrect had made a few unauthorized changes. My vision is going bad, and I may not have caught all of them. If you spot something, please let me know.

Gullah Dirty Cake

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

BAKING TIME: 35 minutes

COOLING TIME: 1 hour

DECORATING TIME: 20 minutes

YOU WILL NEED

For the Cake: 

1/2 cup lard

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs at room temperature

3 ounces unsweetened baker's chocolate, melted

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup buttermilk 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Icing

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) salted butter

1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups milk

3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

15 cups of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

• Prepare the Pans

• Spray three 8-inch round cake pans, liberally with cooking spray. Place the pans on a sheet of parchment paper, and trace three circles, the same size as the bottoms of the pans. Cut the circles out and place in the bottoms of the greased pans.

• Make the Batter

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the lard slowly. Add the sugars, beating at medium speed until creamed, light and fluffy. 
• Stop the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, scrape down the paddle, sides, and bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, stopping the mixer to scrape down the bowl after each addition. 
• Add the chocolate. Make sure that it has cooled slightly, but still melted. 
• Measure the flour, baking soda and salt, and place them in a sifter over a separate, clean bowl. Sift the ingredients together. 
• Add a third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat slowly until just combined. 
• Add half the buttermilk and beat slowly until just combined. Repeat, alternating between the flour mixture and buttermilk, ending with the flour mixture. 
• Add the vanilla and combine. 
• Stop the mixer and thoroughly scrape down the paddle, sides, and the bottom of the bowl, and continue to beat the mixture on low speed until all of the cake batter is light and uniform in color and texture. 
• Be careful not to beat the mixture anymore after the ingredients are all smoothly incorporated however as this will toughen the batter and create air tunnels in the finished cake.

• Bake the Cake

• Divide the batter evenly among the three pans. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes or until a knife, inserted in the center of the cake, comes out clean and the sides of the cake have pulled away from the sides of the pan. 
• Set the pans aside and allow the cakes to cool completely.

• Make the Icing

• Mix the butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan and heat on medium low heat, stirring until the butter melts and the ingredients are fully combined. 
• Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. 
• Place the chocolate mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle and whip until completely cooled. NOTE: If you add sugar to the chocolate mixture while warm it will melt and become sticky and not fluffy. 
• Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time, scraping down the bowl periodically until fluffy and spreadable.

• Assemble the Cake

• Invert the first layer onto a cake plate so that the parchment side is up. Carefully peel the parchment off the cake and throw it away. 
• Spread about one and a half cups of icing on the top surface of the cake with an offset spatula, pushing the icing over the edges of the layer and creating an even coat of icing. 
• Place the second cake layer on top of the first and repeat the process, removing the parchment paper, and spreading the icing. Repeat with the third layer, and then cover the sides with the icing.

Dye’s Kitchen Wisdom

If the icing is too liquid and hard to work with simply let it stand, whipping occasionally, until it begins to thicken. Also, if the icing is too soft, the layers can shift while decorating. Pop the filled cake into the refrigerator to firm up so the layers don’t slide while you’re icing the exterior. Gullah dirty cake can be kept covered at room temperature up to three days or up to a week if refrigerated.