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'Gypsy' cake combines spice and chocolate

By Julie Rothman / The Baltimore Sun
Published: December 11. 2012 4:00AM PST

Gypsy Round Layer Cake

Makes 12-14 servings.
For the cake:
¾ C shortening
1½ C sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 C cake flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp nutmeg
2 TBS cocoa powder
1 C buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
½ C chopped nuts
For the mocha icing:
6 TBS soft butter
1 egg yolk
3 C confectioners' sugar
1½ TBS cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1½ TBS hot coffee
Whipped cream for garnish, optional
To make the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
Cream shortening in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add sugar and cream until fluffy. Blend in eggs. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in vanilla, lemon extract and nuts. Divide batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake for 30 minutes until tester comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before frosting.
For the icing, cream together butter, egg, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon and coffee until smooth and fluffy. Add another tablespoon of coffee or more sugar to balance texture if necessary. Frost top of each layer of cake when cooled and then assemble. Garnish cake with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa powder or cinnamon.
Note: Double the icing recipe if you want to frost the sides as well as the top and the middle of the cake.

Alice Rohart, of Baltimore, was looking for a recipe for a cake that her mom used to make when she was growing up that she called a Gypsy Round Layer Cake. She said her mom baked a lot and she fondly remembers this cake as being a lovely combination of spice and chocolate with chopped nuts topped with a delicious buttercream frosting.

I located a recipe for a Gypsy Round Cake in the American Profile magazine Hometown Cookbook that likely is the one Rohart was searching for. Octavia Fleck, of Morehead, Ky., sent in the recipe for the Gypsy Round Layer Cake. She said that she has been bringing this special cake to holiday gatherings for years.

My family enjoyed this rich mocha spice cake and hopefully Rohart will be reminded of her childhood when she tastes it again.

Request

Viola Brown, of La Pointe, Ind., would like to have good and easy recipes for making Polish Cabbage and Tomato Basil Soup.

Looking for a hard-to-find recipe or can answer a request? Write to Julie Rothman, Recipe Finder, The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278, or email baltsunrecipefinder@gmail.com. Names must accompany recipes for them to be published.

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