MAMA'S  MAHOGANY CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE

To me,  this is the most precious of all of my dear, sweet, 
late Mommas' recipes .  She loved to bake Christmas cookies
and she would make all sorts sweets like homemade fudge, divinity,
Turtles (pecans, caramel and chocolate) and Mounds candies (coconut
filling then, dipped in chocolate). And, then there is her signature cherry
chocolate cake, "Mahogany Cake " .It is so perfect; it's not too sweet,
not to rich and not too chocolatey.  It's just perfect and it gets better each
day that it sits at room temperature. The third day is amazing, if your family
 can resist eating it all before the 2nd and 3rd day.

 She made this every Christmas . 
I have such fond memories of her and our family enjoying this
delicious cake together; it was a "tradition" in our home and she 
served it with vanilla ice cream. 
Please forgive me if I have blogged about this recipe 
before, it is just so wonderful.

ps   I don't know where she got this recipe, but, nobody,
outside of my home town of Mamou, has ever heard of a
Mahogany Chocolate Cake.  

MOM'S MAHOGANY CHOCOLATE CAKE   
                
 If you love chocolate and maraschinos cherries , you will adore this cake.

Dry Ingredients:
4   C .sugar 
2    t. baking soda
1    T. cinnamon
1    t. salt 
1   C. cocoa
4   C. flour

Whisk all the above ingredients, in the Magnalite Dutch Oven (Magnalite is
the brand of cookware used in south Louisiana).. Then, whisk-in the cherry juice and remaining
liquids, leaving eggs for last.

Wet Ingredients:
2   sm. jars of cherries, (pour cherry juice in oil, set cherries aside in
     a bowl for last step)  

1   C. cooking oil 
1   C. boiling water
1   C. buttermilk
1   T. Pure Vanilla

Pour wet ingredients into the whisked mixture and stir until well blended

Add: 
4   lg. eggs , slightly beaten
Stir in slightly beaten eggs just until there is no sign of raw egg and it
is just incorporated enough.  This gives the cake leavening .
*do not over beat after adding the eggs.

Drop cherries, one at a time, starting in the center, working outward,
placing them about an inch apart from one another.