Sister

Sister was a large part of my Delta life.  My paternal grandparents farmed Clear Lake Farms outside of Shelby, MS.  My Granddaddy Rowe and Cody employed her everyday as long as they lived.  She was a fixture in their household.  She and her family had worked for my grandparents on Clear Lake Farm outside of Shelby, MS.
The story is that Cody taught Sister, at age 14,  how to cook everything she knew how to cook and then never darkened the door of the kitchen again.  That is why Sister moved into town with my grandparents.  Sister's food was excellent, so Cody must have been an excellent teacher.  At Cody and Granddaddy's very few meals were eaten in the large, airy kitchen.  We ate most meals including breakfast in the dining room.  Sister could always be heard quietly whispering her own addition to Granddaddy's mealtime prayer.  I always wondered what she prayed but never asked.
Sister made one of  most delicious deserts I remember in the summertime, which is when I was in residence the most.  We all looked forward to her Chocolate Marble Cake.  It was a chocolaty yummy confection that was cold on a hot summer's day.

So loved was this confection that my mother asked her to give us the recipe.  That must have been almost 50 years ago.  My mother, sisters, my friend, Barbara (one of the best cooks I know) and I have all tried to use Sister's recipe to duplicate that Chocolate Marble Cake with no success.  We wonder did Sister leave out a key ingredient on purpose or was it somehow lost in translation.  I give you that recipe  in honor of all the wonderful, prayerful meals I enjoyed made by Sister.  Sister made hers and put it in a tube pan.  When set, she would unmold.  This has always been the sticking point.  This recipe requires a trifle bowl and no unmolding required. This is how my mother recorded the recipe. If any of you discover how to get this out of a tube pan as a whole please share.

Here is what my progress looked like:

Melted chocolate over water.

Beaten egg yolks

Tempered egg yolks and chocolate

Whipped cream and egg whites incorporated into chocolate.

Finished product after a couple of hours in fridge.

This was delicious but I can't imagine how Sister ever got hers out of a tube pan and served slices.  Tasty and will be enjoyed by all who try it.

A note:  Several years ago my mother was going through old silver.  In a bag was a set of very black silver that included a center bowl, covered butter plate and some other odd container.  These pieces were on my grandparents table at every meal.  The bowl always contained some sort of flower arrangement,  The source of those flowers is a mystery to me as my grandparents lived in a very rural part of Mississippi.  I am sure Sister spent some of her non cooking time polishing these pieces.
My mother requested that I take these to a shop in Memphis to see what the cost of having them re silvered would be as they were so sentimental.  On discovering the cost she said just forget that.  I have yet to have the courage to dispose of those pieces but I think without much ceremony I shall do that today.