Retro spiced devil's food cake with ganache icing, 1956

I ask you. Could it be more luscious?

We take the recipe from a cooking pamphlet called The Southern and Southwestern Cookbook, published by Chicago's Culinary Arts Institute in 1956. Its editress was Ruth Berolzheimer, whom we have enjoyed meeting in these pages before Waste no time, but instantly set to. The chocolate! -- the cinnamon! -- the allspice! -- the cloves. Tis the season.

Combine and stir until chocolate is melted:

2 squares baker's chocolate
1/2 cup water. 

Set aside.

Sift together and set aside:

2 and 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves

Cream together until softened:

1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Add gradually, creaming until fluffy

2 cups packed brown sugar

Add to the butter mixture, in thirds,

2 eggs, well beaten

Add the cooled chocolate to the butter and eggs. Measure out 1/2 cup buttermilk or soured milk Alternately add the dry ingredients, in fourths, and the buttermilk, in thirds, to the creamed butter and brown sugar mixture. After each addition, beat only until smooth. Do not overbeat.

Turn batter into two prepared (greased and floured) 9 inch cake pans. Bake at 375 F  for 30 to 35 minutes, until a cake tester inserted comes out clean

Assemble the two layers of cake, icing between and then all over with a ganache. This is  very simple to make. Combine equal parts cream and semi sweet chocolate, gently heating together until the chocolate melts and the ganache is spreadable.

Set to.