Granny Anna was the grandmother of my mother. She was a woman that everyone described as strong but sweet: maybe because she made excellent desserts!
This breakfast cake is very good to soak in milk and easy to make. It does not use eggs because in the past, especially during the WWII, they were a prized food.
If cow’s milk is replaced with vegetable milk, the recipe becomes completely vegan.

Grandma Anna's black cake

  • Preparation time: 60 minutes
  • Ingredients for a 7 7⁄8 inch round baking pan
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 100 gr or 4 oz of cocoa
  • 200 gr or 7 oz of cake flour
  • 150 gr or 5 oz of sugar
  • 300 gr or 1 cup and ¼ of whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon of baking powder
  • 1 zest of orange grated
  1. Instructions
  2. Sift the flour with cocoa and the baking powder.
  3. Warm the milk.
  4. In a bowl, add the sugar into the flour and mix with a whisk. Pour the milk and add the finely grated orange zest.
  5. The dough will be very compact and sticky.
  6. Place the dough in a greased and floured baking pan and bake at 350° F for about forty minutes.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • Flour and baking powder should always be sieved for this type of recipe.
  • Baking times will vary because each oven cooks differently. It would always be advisable to do the toothpick test to see if the cake is ready. If the toothpick, inserted into the center of the cake comes out wet but dry, then the cake is ready.
  • The cake is definitely much better two days after being cooked and remains soft for up to four days.

Grandma Anna