VERONICA HINKE

author • speaker • journalist • coach

Recipes & Food Styling

West Haven Cake

Sep 19, 2021 | Cakes, Food Styling, Recipes, Uncategorized

West Haven Cake

Today: Marking a year of healing and celebrating an amazing long life!

In the year since my Grandma Hinke passed away, (January 24, 1919 to September 19, 2020) I’ve baked one of her treasured heirloom cakes each month. I used her recipes that were featured in the paper each month in 2014. 

Here is the “Cake of The Month” list that Grandma and I strategized at her kitchen table in autumn 2013:

October- Burnt Sugar Cake

November- Pumpkin Cake

December- Gumdrop Cake

January- Tomato Soup Cake

February- Shadow Cake (For Groundhog Day)

March- Maple Cake

April- Jelly Roll Cake

May- Lady Baltimore Cake

June- Bee Sting Cake (A “Yeast” Cake, for Pollinator Week)

July- Strawberry Shortcake

August- Lazy Daisy Cake

September- West Haven Cake 

 

For September, on the one-year anniversary of her passing, I made Grandma’s fabulous West Haven Cake. Like the pears this time of year, this cake reminds me so much of Grandma. The mix of cooked dates, chocolate and walnuts is perfect, as the earth begins its tilt toward autumn!

West Haven Cake

1 small package dates, cut

1 cup hot water

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

1 bar semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (can use 1 bag chocolate chips)

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Pour water and soda over dates and let cool.

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, then flour, cocoa, salt and vanilla. Add dates, water and soda mixture. Stir to combine.

Pour into 9 X 13 cake pan. Sprinkle chopped walnuts and chocolate chips on top.

Bake in 350-degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.