(Sugarless and wheatless)

⅓ cup shortening - part butter or all vegetable fats 1½ cups shaved or soft maple sugar 4 tablespoons melted bitter chocolate ½ cup boiling water 1 cup flour (one-third potato, one-third rice, one-third rye flour, sifted together twice so as to mix the flours well) 1 egg, well beaten ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ cup buttermilk or sour milk ½ teaspoon baking soda

Mix the melted chocolate, sugar and shortening, and beat for ten minutes, until thoroughly creamed and fluffy.

Add the boiling water, the well-beaten egg, then the sifted flours; mix thoroughly.

Add the soda and salt to the buttermilk, and mix into the cake batch. This will make a thin batter.

Bake in two layer tins, well greased, in a hot over for about thirty minutes.

Chocolate Custard Cake Filling

1 cup sweet milk

½ cup crushed maple sugar

2 level tablespoons cornstarch ½ teaspoon salt

Bitter chocolate size of two English walnuts

Bring the milk and sugar to boiling-point in a double-boiler.

Mix cornstarch and salt with two tablespoonfuls of the cold milk.

Add the chocolate and stir while boiling, for about fifteen minutes.

When cold, place the filling between layers of the black chocolate cake above, and ice the top and sides with melted sweet chocolate prepared as below.

Icing

Shave and place sweet chocolate in a bowl to melt. Place the bowl in a dish of hot water, not on the stove. Stir gently until all is melted. If the sweet chocolate is allowed to get too hot, the icing will be streaky and not shiny and dark.