My mother-in-law, Patricia Hurst, went home to be with the Lord on Monday, September 21, following a four-year battle with cancer. I praise the Lord for having given me such a wonderful mother-in-law. I always called her “Mom”, and she welcomed me into Bert’s family as if I were her own from the beginning. I have so many wonderful memories of the times that we spent with her.
Patricia Hurst & Hannah Perry, 1999, a weekend in New Hampshire.
Bert’s mom was a home economics major and a dietician. She loved to cook. She loved to prepare and provide a wonderful meal. She loved to knit and sew. She loved to do kind and meaningful things for people. She always had a loving, supportive spirit.
When I think of Mom, I think of the many recipes that we received from her. Some are simply ones that she found and liked, others are family traditions, like the Dark Chocolate Birthday Cake that Bert says he enjoyed at every birthday while growing up, except for his mom’s when it was always carrot cake.
In Mom’s Honor and with Bert’s permission, I thought I would share the Dark Chocolate Cake recipe from the Kitchen of Pat:
1/2 C. cocoa
1/2 C. cold water
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
2/3 C. butter
1 2/3 C. sugar
2 eggs
1 C. buttermilk
2 C. flour
1 t. vanilla
Two 9 inch layers
Mix cocoa, water, salt, soda. Let stand while creaming butter and sugar ’til light & fluffy. Beat in eggs. Add cocoa mixture. Add flour & buttermilk alternately, starting and ending with flour. Beat in vanilla. Spoon into prepared pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Mocha Icing:
1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
1/2 C. cocoa
1/4 t. salt
3 T. soft butter
1 t. vanilla
hot coffee
Combine sugar, cocoa, salt. Add butter & vanilla. Pour in hot coffee 1 T. at a time, beating until smooth, thick & spreadable.
A funeral for Mom will be held on Saturday, September 26 at 10:30 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Chesterton, Indiana. We miss her greatly.
