The Hungry Canary

Adapted from Ideals Family Cookbook · Mrs. George V. Nelson

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups sorghum flour (original: 2 cups wheat flour; experimental substitution)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • Frosting of choice, after cooling (original does not specify type or amount)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a suitable cake pan; the original does not specify its dimensions.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and cocoa powder.
  3. Dissolve baking soda in the cold water, then stir into the sugar-cocoa mixture with salt and vanilla.
  4. Add sorghum flour and mix to combine. The original notes that the batter becomes quite heavy at this stage.
  5. Fold in mayonnaise until thoroughly incorporated.
  6. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes, checking for doneness in the center. Cool completely, then frost as desired.

Cookbook source

“Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake,” contributed by Mrs. George V. Nelson to the Ideals Family Cookbook. Original ingredients: one cup sugar, four tablespoons cocoa, one cup cold water, two teaspoons baking soda, two cups flour, one teaspoon vanilla, half a teaspoon salt and one cup mayonnaise. Sugar and cocoa are combined, soda dissolved in cold water, and salt and vanilla added. Flour is mixed in, making a heavy batter, then mayonnaise folded in. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes; cool and frost.

Hungry Canary adaptation

Flour: Two cups sorghum flour replaces the original wheat flour as a first test, not a proven one-to-one cake conversion. Without gluten, a sorghum-only cake may be fragile, gritty or dense, so further trials may require hydration or a suitable binder. Keep the original ingredient amounts recorded for comparison. Mayonnaise: Provides oil and eggs in the cake; select an appropriate brand according to the intended eater’s requirements.

Testing note

The original does not specify pan size, frosting, or yield. The baking time is an estimate that will vary with pan choice and flour substitution. The relatively large amount of baking soda is retained from the historical recipe rather than silently changed.