INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

ICING
1. Preheat the oven to 350(F. Butter an 11x15-inch pan. Put cocoa in a
medium saucepan; gradually stir in 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Add
butter or margarine and let melt. Set aside.
2. Sift together onto wax paper the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; add
to the hot mixture. Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the mixture along
with sour cream and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake
for 30 minutes, or until it feels firm in the center.
3. While the cake is baking, prepare the icing. In a saucepan, combine
butter or margarine, milk, and cocoa; bring to a boil. Add powdered sugar
and beat until smooth. Add chopped nuts and vanilla. Spread over the hot
cake. Cook before cutting.
By Mary Olsen Kelly from Chicken Soup for the Soul Cookbook Copyright 1996
by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Diana von Welanetz Wentworth
The Best Birthday
I come from a family of great cooks. My grandmother is famous for her Texas
Fudge Cake and pies of all kinds. My mother is an excellent cook who can
make something from nothing, and whose Doomsday Cookies (see page 20) are a
gift from the gods. My sister is a true culinary artist who delights in
mastering the most challenging recipes she can find. Somehow, the great
cooking gene was mutated in me, but I nonetheless appreciate the talents of
the rest of my family. Food is really just an excuse to spend time
together, in my mutant opinion. One of the best gatherings we have had in
the name of food was my brother's 26th birthday. For me, it changed forever
the meaning of the annual celebration; it was The Best Birthday. All the
family gathered at my sister's beautiful Southwestern-style home in
northern California for an evening of gourmet food and birthday cake. The
meal was sumptuous - Barbara had outdone herself - and as we all reached
for seconds, we suddenly realized that this meal, no matter how exquisite,
was not going to be complete without hearing from the birthday boy. Bob
started to give a little speech, then said, "I feel like I am pretty
confused at this age. What I'd really like is to hear what each of you were
doing when you were 26." We all settled more deeply into our chairs, and
there was silence as each person thought back to an earlier time: 26...not
yet 30. Still so young yet truly an adult. One by one, we spoke of our
thoughts and dreams at 26. I told of graduating with a master's degree in
theater, eschewing a comfortable teaching position in favor of moving to
New York City and struggling to become an actress. Ah, the terrifying yet
soulful life of a starving artist with so many dreams at 26. My sister
spoke of hitchhiking around Europe for years, then coming home and turning
her life around at that exact age. We all nodded, remembering what a
dramatic change she had made in herself then. My dad talked softly and with
great difficulty about the death of his first child. The baby boy was just
six weeks old when he died of heart complications. My father was only 26
when he lost the son who would have been our older brother. One by one, we
spoke. We celebrated birth, confusion, change and loss as the wheel of my
brother's life turned. Another birthday, the passing of yet another year.
And yes, we ate the famous Texas Fudge Cake since it is my brother's
favorite. It tasted especially wonderful that night.
Posted to TNT Recipes Digest by Linda Gilbert <gilbert@ipa.net> on May 03,
1998

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