Chocolate potato cake is a flavor variation on a vintage favorite
The Des Moines Register in Iowa even introduced a potato cake recipe with a little old-timey — yet slightly helpful — banter back in 1917:
“They’re going to drive in for several days — Polly, and Ned, and Mildred, and the others. Oh, good gracious, Bettina! What in the world will you do with them all?” Aunt Ruth looked horrified at the idea.
“Just what I had begun to do when you came — turn tonight’s dinner into a picnic, and make the other meals as informal as possible, too.
“Help me think of what to bake for the picnic,” Bettina said to Aunt Ruth.
“Make one of those delicious mashed potato cakes that you’ve made before. They won’t eat half of it tonight, and it will stay moist and fresh as long as they are here.”
“That’s a good idea, Ruth; I’ll do it. I remember the first time I made a mashed potato cake, I was surprised at the way the mashed potatoes affected the batter. It became so thin and watery at once that I thought something was surely wrong. But it thickened up, and when it was done, was like any other cake, though a little more moist, perhaps.
“It really is a very good kind of cake to make, because it seems just as fresh when it is several days old as it does at first.”
Chocolate potato cake recipe (1918)
This cake keeps deliciously moist and fresh for some days after it is made.
Cream one-third of a cupful of margarine and beat in half a cupful of crushed maple sugar. Whip two eggs lightly, add half a cupful of white sugar and combine the two mixtures.
Then mix in half a cupful of creamy, mashed potatoes (hot), one ounce of melted bitter chocolate, one-quarter of a cupful of sweet milk and one cupful of flour sifted with one and three-quarter teaspoonsful of baking powder and half a teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon and mace.
Beat the batter thoroughly, add half a cupful of chopped walnut meats, dusted with a little flour, and bake in a loaf pan in a moderate oven.
ALSO SEE: Vintage recipes: Glossary of 44 helpful cooking terms & definitions
Spiced chocolate potato cake (1915)
Cream one cup of butter and two cups of granulated sugar. Add one-half cup of sweet milk or water, the yolks of four eggs, one cup of nuts (floured), one-half cup of cocoa dissolved in hot water, one cup of warm mashed potatoes, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, and one half teaspoonful of cloves mixed with two cups of flour, two teaspoonsful of baking powder, the whites of four eggs folded in lightly, and one teaspoonful of vanilla.
Spiced chocolate potato cake with nuts & raisins (1928)
Here is a mashed potato cake recipe that’s slightly different from others.
Spiced chocolate potato cake with nuts & raisins
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup hot mashed potato
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 1 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup milk
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift all the dry ingredients together.
- Add the potatoes and butter.
- Break in the eggs.
- Add the milk. Beat well.
- Dredge the nuts and raisins in flour.
- Fold the floured nuts and raisins into the batter.
- Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.
- Use a chocolate/cocoa icing, or sweetened whipped cream with a sprinkle of finely-shaved chocolate.
Notes
This may be baked in layers, but makes an excellent loaf cake.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 493Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 324mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 3gSugar: 43gProtein: 7g
Click Americana offers approximate nutrition information as a general reference only, and we make no warranties regarding its accuracy. Please make any necessary calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, and consult with a qualified healthcare professional if you have dietary concerns.
