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Chocolate Filling

For Dirt Cake

In a saucepan or the top of a double boiler, mix sugar, salt, cocoa, and flour. (Note: if substituting for the sugar or flour, you MUST add the appropriate amount of cornstarch or the frosting won't thicken.)

Add milk and boil slowly over low heat until very thick, stirring constantly. (This is the point in the recipe where everything falls apart. It can take between 7 and 90 minutes to thicken, depending on how hot 'low' is. If you let it get too thick and boil for too long, it can harden before you get it on the cake. If you don't let it get thick enough, the top layer of cake will slide off and have to be held on (inadequately) with toothpicks.)

Alternate directions from Lisbeth: boil filling over medium heat. Cook until you get fat bubbles roughly 1" in diameter that float up and pop very sluggishly. That's when you take it off the heat. I almost always put it on a well-cooled cake. This works in NYC and very well in Chicago.

Remove from heat and melt in the butter. Cool and add vanilla. Spread on bottom layer of cake and top with remaining layer. Check before frosting to make sure top layer is not sliding!