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From The American Peoples Cookbook, 1956:

Blender Chocolate Cake with Glossy Chocolate Frosting

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Blender Chocolate Cake

Prepare (page 34) two 8-in. round layer cake pans. (Before using the electric blender see page 13).

Melt (page 12) and set aside to cool
2 sq. (2 oz.) chocolate
Sift together into a bowl and set aside
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Put into blender container
2 eggs, unbeaten
Cover and blend a few seconds. Turn off motor and add in order
1/2 cup hydrogenated vegetable shortening or all-purpose shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Add chocolate, cover and blend 2 min. Scrape sides of container and blend few seconds longer.

Add gradually, stirring after each addition, two-thirds of blended mixture to sifted dry ingredients. Stir until well blended (total strokes, about 100). Add remaining mixture all at one time; mix until smooth. Pour into cake pans.

Bake at 350*F about 25 min., or until cake tests done (page 34).

Cool; remove from pans as directed (page 340).
Two 8-in. round layers

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From page 340:

Prepare pan- For cakes with shortening and for cake rolls, grease bottom of pan only; line with waxed paper cut to fit bottom of pan only; grease waxed paper.

Test cake when minimum baking time is up. Touch lightly at center; if it springs back, cake is done. Or insert a cake tester or wooden pick in center; if it comes out clean, cake is done.

Cool butter-type cakes 10 min. in pan on cooling rack after removing from oven.

Remove butter-type cakes from pan after cooling. Run spatula gently around sides of pan. Cover with cooling rack. Invert and remove pan. Turn cake right side up immediately after peeling off waxed paper. Cool cake completely before frosting.

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Glossy Chocolate Frosting

A frosting with a beckoning gleam. It looks rich, tastes wonderful, keeps well, is easy to make and a pleasure to spread.

Mix thoroughly in a 2-qt. saucepan
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
Stir in
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 sq. (3 oz.) chocolate, cut in pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt
Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens (about 5 min.). Remove from heat. Beat in
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Spread on cake while frosting is hot.
Enough to frost sides and tops of two 8-in. or 9-in. round cake layers

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I used 9-inch cake pans as the store didn't have any 8-inch cake pans, and I was in desperate need of new ones. I bought two "professional grade" Wilton cake pans with a 20-year guarantee, and they feel so much more substantial then my old ones.

I followed all of the instructions explicitly because I have had such bad luck in the past with cakes. I've had them fall, crack, burn, etc. This was the first time I have lined the bottom of a cake pan with waxed paper. I tore off a rectangle slightly bigger than the pan, and folded it down into triangles, which I trimmed to match the radius of the pan. Upon opening the triangles, I had perfect circles that nestled beautifully in the bottom of the pans.

While I was working on the batter, I handed the bowl that I had melted the chocolate in to Sabrina to rinse out for me. She thought she was being crafty and sneaky and stuck her finger in to taste the yummy looking chocolate. Her body convulsed in revulsion. She didn't realize that it was unsweetened baking chocolate. Oh, what a bitter taste that is!

When making the frosting, DO make sure that the cornstarch is well blended with the sugar before pouring in the water. Otherwise, it's incredibly hard... nay, impossible, to get out all of the lumps. Then while you're frosting the cake, you'll be picking out little white lumps of cornstarch... which luckily didn't detract from the taste much, as my whole family declared it the best cake ever.

The cake was light, moist, and had a nice delicate chocolate taste. The frosting was gooey and luscious, and my hubby described it as tasting "like warm chocolate pudding". Yum.