IDEA ALLEY: Yeast cake and a Gila delicacy

Recipes that appear in Idea Alley have not been tested by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

It's still a bit too hot to turn on the oven long enough to bake a cake, but this recipe from Lanette Taylor has my curiosity piqued enough to think about it.

The recipe is from Arizona Cooking Heritage: An Antique and Contemporary Collection (1987).

The recipe requires a bit of advance planning as the batter needs to sit overnight before baking.

Chocolate Yeast Cake

½ yeast cake OR 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast dissolved in ¼ cup warm water

½ teaspoon salt

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

3 squares chocolate, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 3 tablespoons hot water

Proof yeast in warm water.

Meanwhile, sift together the salt and flour; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and mix well, then add beaten eggs, dissolved yeast, milk and flour; slowly mix in the melted chocolate. Cover and let stand overnight.

The next morning add the vanilla and the dissolved baking soda. Divide mixture among two greased and floured cake pans [size not given]. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool and ice with your favorite chocolate icing.

Makes 1 (2-layer) cake.

"Run [this one] for a good laugh on a hot summer day," Taylor writes.

It is also from Arizona Cooking Heritage: An Antique and Contemporary Collection.

Saute de Gila Monster

Take one fat Gila Monster.

Do not skin him or mess around with him very

much as this irritates him greatly.

Cooperate with him at this point.

Place said Monster in a very heavy iron pot.

Add quickly ½ cup butter, truffles, Brie and Chablis.

Place close-fitting lid on pot.

Cook over mesquite charcoal for one hour.

Lift lid carefully.

He may look done. Do not believe him.

It is only that he has drunk the Chablis and is

sublimely happy as the heated pot almost equals

the heat of his natural habitat:

The Arizona Desert.

On second thought, leave said Gila Monster free

and treat yourself to the Brie and Chablis.

REQUEST

■ Potato salad made with russet potatoes, onion, crumbled bacon, olive oil and lemon juice for Jack Cherry. "I recall that the onion slices were covered with salt then drained, rinsed and dried before incorporating with the other ingredients," Cherry writes.

Send recipe contributions, requests and culinary questions to Kelly Brant, Idea Alley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR 72203; email:

kbrant@arkansasonline.com

Food on 08/21/2019

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