Hannah's 1st Note: Marge says to tell you that she got this recipe from two girls she met on the bus to Fargo, Sandy and Patricia. They used margarine, but since Marge is from a dairy state and she knows that there's no acceptable subst.i.tute for b.u.t.ter, she uses regular salted b.u.t.ter in her cake. She says she made a couple of other changes too, but it's been so long she doesn't remember what they are.

Before you start, grease and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan. (You can also spray with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then dust it lightly with flour.) 2 cups white (granulated) sugar

2 cups flour (don't sift just level it off with a knife)

1 cup b.u.t.ter (2 sticks, pound)

1 cup water

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a gla.s.s with a fork)

In a large bowl, stir the sugar and the flour together. Set it aside on the counter.

Put the b.u.t.ter, water, and cocoa powder into a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.

Pour the cocoa mixture over the sugar and flour, and mix it all up together. (You can do this on medium speed with an electric mixer if you wish.) Hannah's 2nd Note: Marge says you shouldn't be a neatnik and wash your saucepan. If you make the frosting, you'll use it again.

Whisk the milk, vanilla extract, baking soda, and eggs together in a small bowl. (I used a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup.) Add the egg mixture to the large bowl. Stir it until it's thoroughly incorporated.

Pour the batter into a 9-inch by 13-inch greased and floured cake pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes. When the cake begins to shrink away from the sides of the pan, it's done.

Hannah's 3rd Note: This cake is delicious without frosting, or just lightly dusted with powdered sugar. If you want a frosting, try the one below. Start making it 5 minutes before the cake is due to come out of the oven and the frosting and the cake will be ready at the same time.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING.

cup (1 stick) b.u.t.ter

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

one-pound box of powdered (confectioner's) sugar

Place the b.u.t.ter, cocoa powder, and milk in a medium-size saucepan (The one from before that you didn't wash.) Bring them to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. Stir in the powdered sugar, a half-cup at a time, until the frosting is thickened but still "pourable." (If that's not a word, it should be.) Pour the frosting on the hot cake, and spread it out quickly with a spatula.

Hannah's 4th Note: Interruptions happen and it's not always possible to finish the frosting at the same time you take the hot cake from the oven. For that reason, I've come up with an alternative fudge frosting, one that can be poured over a piping hot cake, a warm cake, or a stone cold cake. Here it is: NEVERFAIL FUDGE FROSTING.

cup (1 stick, pound, 4 ounces) salted b.u.t.ter

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

cup cream

cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cup chopped pecans (optional)

Place the b.u.t.ter, sugar, and cream into a medium-size saucepan (You can use the one from the cake that you didn't wash.) Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for two minutes.

Add the half-cup chocolate chips, stir them in, and remove the saucepan from the heat.

Stir in the vanilla and the chopped pecans, if you decided to use them.

Pour the frosting on the cake and spread it out quickly with a spatula. Whether you're pouring it on a warm cake or a cold cake, just grab the pan and tip it so the frosting covers the whole top.

If you want this frosting to cool in a big hurry so that you can cut the cake, just slip it in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a half-hour or so.

Hannah's 5th Note: Marge says that this cake smells so good, you might have to keep it under lock and key until it's cool enough to cut.

FUDGE CUPCAKES.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce each)

cup raspberry syrup (for pancakes I used Knott's red

raspberry)21

cup white (granulated) sugar

1 and cups flour (don't sift)

1 and teaspoons baking powder

teaspoon salt