1922 Devil's Food Cake

This was one of my Great-Grandmother's recipes. When I came across it, there was something so intriguing about trying a cake recipe from 1922. The original recipe calls for lard, as you can see here, but I use shortening instead. Before you bake this, see my notes below on other possible adjustments that you might choose to make.

2 C Brown Sugar
1 C Lard (you can use shortening instead)
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup sour milk (instructions below)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C fresh hot coffee
2 C flour
1/2 C cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two round 9" pans or one 9x13" pan.

For sour milk: Put 1-1/2 tsp white vinegar in a measuring cup then add milk to equal 1/2 cup. Let sit for five minutes.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the crisco and sugar together, then add eggs and mix well. Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk and beat until frothy. Add the sour milk mixture to the sugar/egg mixture and beat to combine. Add the hot coffee a little at a time with mixer running on low. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in three shifts, mixing well after each addition of flour.

Note: I wanted to print this recipe as my great-grandmother made it, since I am a fan of retro recipes and I believe in preserving family recipes in their original form. However, while I love the flavor of this cake, I find it slightly dry, so I make a couple of minor adjustments to the recipe when I bake it: I use 3 eggs instead of two, and I increase the coffee to 3/4 Cup (instead of the 1/2 cup listed).