Helen was an old friend of my grandmother. I don't know anything else about her. This recipe, however, looks as if it'd been cut out of the newspaper or a magazine - perhaps it refers to another Helen?

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup nuts, chopped
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

  For the Frosting

• 2 sqs. bittersweet chocolate
• 1 can (15 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 9" layer pans with parchment or wax paper.

Make the cake. Cream together the butter with the sugar. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add to the butter mixture, alternating with the water. Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Make the frosting. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Add the condensed milk, salt and vanilla extract. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.