Susie Riehl’s Chocolate Cake by Jennifer Beckstrand

I have an Amish friend in Pennsylvania whom I call from time to time when I need to check my facts about the Amish. Her name is Priscilla. She has three little girls and a husband who does housework, and she occasionally owns a cell phone. I say occasionally, because she gets a cell phone during certain times of the year so that her husband can take it with him when he goes hunting. She doesn’t like him being out in the woods by himself without a phone. In Huckleberry Harvest, Noah Mischler owns a cell phone so he can keep tabs on his dat. Priscilla gave me the inspiration for that plotline.

Priscilla has taught me a great deal about the Amish. At their core, they are simply normal, good people who have chosen to live a different lifestyle. They have the same desires for close family relationships and lives of service to God. They treat neighbors and outsiders alike with exceptional kindness and strive to live according to their religious beliefs.

Another thing that Priscilla often reminds me is that every Amish community is unique. Some communities are vastly different from others. The most conservative sects eschew indoor plumbing and battery-powered lights. Other communities use modern LP gas stoves and fridges and solar power.

Individuals in a community are just as unique and different as in any neighborhood in the country. The day I talked to Priscilla, she was making chicken bacon ranch pizza for dinner. I asked her if she had any favorite recipes to share, and she told me she doesn’t like to cook.

She did share a recipe for chocolate cake that she doesn’t mind baking because it’s easy. Here is Priscilla’s mother’s chocolate cake recipe for people who don’t like to cook.

Susie Riehl’s Chocolate Cake

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
¾ c. baking cocoa
A pinch of salt
2 t. soda
1 t. baking powder
½ c. vegetable oil
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
Put all the above ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Add 1 c. boiling water and mix. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick spray and pour the batter in the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool and frost.

Optional: As soon as cake comes out of the oven, spread ½ to 1 cup of peanut butter on the hot cake. Let cool and frost with chocolate frosting.

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Jennifer Beckstrand is the award-winning author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill Amish romance series. After growing up with a steady diet of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen, she went slightly crazy and got a degree in mathematics, which came in handy when one of her six children needed help with homework. After her fourth daughter was born, she started writing. By juggling diaper changes, soccer games, music lessons, laundry, and two more children, she finished her first manuscript in just under fourteen years. Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and the enduring family ties of the Plain people and loves writing about the antics of Anna and Felty Helmuth. Jennifer and her husband have been married for thirty years, and she has four daughters, two sons, and three adorable grandsons, whom she spoils rotten.