Red Earth Cake with Rocky Road Icing

Okay, okay. I was going to make you wait until Tuesday, but without further ado. Here is the best version of the red earth cake with rocky road icing that I found at Mom's this weekend.  She had a couple of versions. The other one involved instant coffee powder.  We both agreed that she stopped making it in about 1968.  It was a great cake to take on a picnic. When we moved to the country we didn't go on picnics much because who needs nature when you already live there?

Red Earth Cake

Ingredients:

4 Tsps. cocoa powder

1 tsp. red food coloring

1/4 c. luke warm coffee

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. shortening

2 eggs

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. sour milk or buttermilk

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs and and sour milk gradually.  Then stir in flour, soda, salt.  Add cocoa, coffee and vanilla. Bake in a 9 by 13 cake pan at 350 degrees for around 30 minutes.

Rocky Road Icing

1 stick butter

4 Tbsps. cocoa powder

1/3 c. milk

3 c. powdered sugar

1 c. dry roasted salted peanuts

around 1/2 bag of marshmallows--either mini or the ever popular cutting big marshmallows into 1/4 pieces

Spread peanuts and marshmallows over the top of the cooled cake.  Cook butter, cocoa and milk to a boil.  Add powered sugar. While hot spread over the top of the cake with the marshmallows and peanuts on top.

Mom thought maybe this recipe came from relatives in Oklahoma.  Since my kid is allegic to red food coloring and I don't do well with peanuts I won't make this recipe, but have at it, if you must.