(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 (⅓ potato flour, ⅓ rice, ⅓ rye, sifted twice so as to mix flours well)

1 egg ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup buttermilk or sour milk ½ teaspoon baking soda

Mix the melted chocolate, sugar and shortening, and beat 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 cake batch. This will make a thin batter.

Bake in a deep pan, well greased, in a hot oven about thirty minutes.

Ice thinly with melted sweet chocolate prepared as follows:

Sweet Chocolate Icing

Shave and place in a bowl to melt. Place the bowl in a dish of hot water, not on the stove. Stir gently from time to time until all is melted. If the sweet chocolate is allowed to get too hot, the cake icing will be streaky and not shiny and dark. This cake can be served without icing if preferred.