CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE WITH FUDGE ICING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Grease and flour a 12-cup tube pan; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat butter, shortening, and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until very creamy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• In another bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
• Add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
• Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.
• Note: You may have to bake your cake longer than the stated time, depending on your oven.
• Let cool in pan for 15 minutes.
• Invert onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
• Place cake on a cake plate, ready to frost, before making fudge icing.
• Frost with fudge icing as soon as it reaches the proper spreading consistency.
• For the icing, in saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, cocoa and salt.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat.
• Let boil for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla.
• Beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 6-8 minutes, or until frosting becomes creamy and reaches a spreadable consistency.
• If making icing on a rainy day, it may take longer to reach a spreadable consistency.
• If you overbeat icing, or it begins to harden, add a little hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is spreadable again.