Waldorf-Astoria Cake

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, cream sugar, shortening, salt and eggs together. In a small bowl, make a paste of the cocoa and food coloring; then add it to the sugar mixture. Alternate adding buttermilk and flour into the sugar mixture. Add vanilla. Then add the baking soda to the vinegar and blend this into the batter.

Pour into two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans that have been greased and floured very well.

Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely before assembly/frosting.

Once the cakes are cool, cut them horizontally, trying to keep both sides even. The end result you are looking for is a 4 layer cake, with each cake layer being approximately the same height. You could serve this as a two layer cake though.

For the frosting:

Whisk flour and milk in a medium saucepan over medium low heat and cook until thickened*; then remove it from the heat and let cool.

Blend sugar, butter and vanilla until very creamy; blend in flour and milk mixture.

Frost the cake, with frosting in between each layer as well as on the top and sides of the cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. The texture of the frosting changes if left out too long and isn’t as good.

*Make sure to blend the flour and milk really well so that you have no lumps.