Originally Posted by jodinky
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooking/msg011
This is the link to the scratch recipe that was requested. I make icings with no recipe. I made a buttercream icing with white crisco and added marshmallow cream, and vanilla flavoring. It's your cake; cut it and stack it in a brick shape with two layers, or even make cupcakes.
I found the same recipe and was going to post it but you beat me to it! It sure does sound authentic, doesn't it? I'm sure the spoonful of cocoa will give it the dark color and the oil and applesauce will make it nice and moist. I would cut the cake lengthwise to make 2 layers with icing between and on top (not the sides) and rake the top with a fork (or a pastry bag with a wide flat tip that makes (raked) lines.
But there is another recipe which is repeated on many websites in which 2 cups of raisins are cooked for 10 minutes in 4 cups of water and then drained and cooled, and the recipe calls for shortening or a combination of shortening and butter, and 4 cups of flour instead of 2 (and spices, soda, etc) and put in the same sized pan! Seems to me the resulting cake would be twice as thick as the gardenweb.com variation and now I'm as confused as ever!