6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup oil
1 cup milk
6 teaspoons Magic baking powder
a little vanilla [about 1 1/2 teaspoons]
zest of 1 lemon
chocolate [sweet] for baking, melted [about 4 oz.]

Beat eggs.

Add vanilla to the eggs. Mix.

Add sugar to the eggs. Beat until creamy.

Add oil and milk to the egg mixture.

Slowly add the flour.

Add the Magic baking powder. Mix well.

Fold in the lemon zest.

Take about 1/2 cup of batter and mix it with the melted chocolate.

Pour the remaining batter that has no chocolate in it in a well-greased tallish medium-sized baking pan.

Add the chocolate-flavored batter and swirl it.

Bake in a 350 F degree oven until the cake is ready -- about an hour.

Mrs. Anna-Maria Benvenuto has collected hundreds of recipes from relatives, friends, and neighbors over the years. She recorded the recipes in Italian in numerous notebooks, often naming the recipe after the person who gave it to her. Being an avid baker Mrs. Benvenuto tried out many of the recipes herself. However, because of her enormous talent and expertise, she did not feel the need to write detailed instructions as she knew how to make the recipes without them.... P.S. This website's amateur archivist and photographer (Mary Melfi) tried out this recipe and found it to be quite delightful.

Back to main list