Some things never go out of style, and vanilla cake with chocolate frosting is one of them — especially when the "frosting" is simply Hershey's chocolate bars, placed on top of the just-baked cake to melt into a topping.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

Irene Smith and her mother, Irene Margaret Alexander Robinson, 'Big Irene.'

Frank Niemeir/AJC (ENLARGE)

Melted Hershey's chocolate bars frost the 1-2-3-4 cake.

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The contributor: Irene R. Smith of Covington. Known as "Little Irene" to her mother's "Big Irene," Smith is a cookbook author, Master Gardener, public speaker and host of her own monthly cable TV program, "Taste of Newton."

The story: "My mama, Irene Margaret Alexander Robinson (1903-1996), was well- known for her 1-2-3-4 Cake with chocolate icing. Hardly a birth, operation or death occurred in town that this cake wasn't lovingly delivered to that family here in Covington.

"This can be made without a special trip to the grocery store at all, [as long as] the Hershey bars are on hand.

"The Hershey bars weren't a problem, as my daddy, Guy Robinson, owned City Pharmacy Drugstore on the square, and a quick call to him assured a pocketful when he came home.

"Mama would put some of these on a pretty plate to bring to someone. The person would bring the plate back with something on it. To this day, when someone brings me food on a returnable dish, I never return that dish empty. 'That is not the proper way to show your appreciation,' my mama said."

Big Irene's 1-2-3-4 Cake With Hershey Bar Icing
36 servings

Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes, plus cooling time

It's called a 1-2-3-4 cake, but the better way to mix the ingredients is really "1-2-4-3" — first the shortening, then the sugar, then the eggs and then the flour mixture.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
12 (1.55-ounce) plain Hershey bars, unwrapped

Grease and flour 2 9-by-13-inch pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Beat in the flour in 3 additions until just combined, alternating with the milk in 2 additions. Divide the batter between the 2 pans and spread evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 17 to 20 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Remove the cakes from the oven, place on cooling racks and immediately top with the chocolate bars. After a few minutes, use an offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate evenly over the cakes. Let cool completely, then cut each cake into 12 squares.

Notes: We changed just a few of Big Irene's instructions. First, we used butter instead of Crisco. Instead of creaming the butter and sugar together with your hands, as Robinson did, we suggest using a mixer. We slightly changed the order in which the ingredients are added, and instead of using a broom straw to test the cake, we recommend a metal cake tester. Also, Big Irene put the filled cake pans in a cold oven, turned it on and baked for 45 minutes; since ovens heat at different rates, we recommend preheating the oven and baking for 17 to 20 minutes.

Variation: If you have only one 9-by-13-inch pan, don't worry. The batter will all fit into one — just bake it a little longer, about 30 to 35 minutes. You'll only need 6 chocolate bars to top the single cake.

Per serving: 219 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 3 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrates, 1 grams fiber, 11 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 41 milligrams cholesterol, 53 milligrams sodium.