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A Family Favorite

By: Advent Devotional

Posted: December 8, 2020

Category: Daily Devotional

This recipe is one of the many given to me by a friend when I was employed at the Hamilton School District in Hamilton, Ohio. It quickly became a family favorite. Now whenever we get together for Thanksgiving or Christmas it is expected this will be one of the desserts that mom brings.

Our daughter, Laura, if she happened to arrive home before the youngest brother, Tim, would hide it, pretending that this year Mom did not bake his favorite cake. Whoever managed to get the last piece was usually in the doghouse. Tim, to this day, claims he got an “A” in his English class by passing this recipe on to this teacher. It always brings a smile to my face as I prepare this, remembering the memories that this special family cake brings to mind and continues to do as I bake it for our very large extended family, as well as our immediate family.

God bless you all and may you have a joyous holiday season.

Miami Beach Chocolate Cake

Topping:

1 – 6 oz. package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate morsels     ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter                                                                 ½ cup chopped walnuts and/or pecans

Combine graham crackers and melted butter. Stir in nuts and 2/3 cup melted morsels: set aside

Cake:

2 cups flour             1½ cups sugar       1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon soda      1½ cups butter      1 ¼ cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt        2 eggs

Melt remaining 1/3 cup chocolate morsels.

Cream butter. Gradually add 1½ cup sugar, cream well. Add eggs one at a time – beat.  Blend in 1/3 cup of melted chocolate morsels and vanilla.  At low speed, add dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Turn into 3 greased and floured 9” pans.  Sprinkle the “set aside” chocolate over each layer before putting them into the oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Frosting:

Beat large Cool Whip with 2 teaspoons sugar. Fill between layers and frost side, keeping layers top side up. You can frost top also if you want.

~ Gladys Larson

Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness[a] be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Prayer

Giver of every good and perfect gift, we have reason to rejoice always, for you abundantly provide for our needs and often satisfy our desires. Occasionally, we may not like what we have to eat, but it satisfies our hunger. Most often we have food that tastes good and is good for us. More often than our birthdays or holidays, we have food we especially like that puts a smile on our faces and that is received with the sound, “mmm-mm good!” Lord, thank you for satisfying our hunger and our desires. Amen.