Cora Burgan of Frankford, Del., requested a recipe that her mother made called a Missouri Red Cake. "It was a big hit on many occasions. I have a cousin who is ill and would love to have this cake, but I cannot find my mother's recipe. Hope you can help."

Betty Ozbun of Rogers, Ark., responded with a recipe and a brief note. "I hope this is, or is nearly, the recipe Cora Burgan is looking for."

Missouri Red Cake

Serves 16

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 ounces red food coloring

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Cream first 5 ingredients. Sift dry ingredients and beat into shortening mixture gradually. Add buttermilk and vinegar last.

In a preheated 300-degree oven, bake in greased and floured three-layer cake pans 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Cool cakes slightly on wire rack.

Run a knife around the edges and turn cakes out. Cool completely and ice.

Icing

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

pinch salt

1 cup sugar

1 stick (8 tablespoons) margarine

1/2 cup Crisco

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

flaked or shredded coconut, optional

Cook first 3 ingredients until thick. Allow to cool. Cream sugar, margarine, Crisco and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour mixture and beat again. Frost cooled cake. Garnish, if desired, with flaked or shredded coconut.

Tester Laura Reiley's comments: "The cake is indeed a deep-red color, imparted by the food coloring and cocoa. I think a more subtle color would be pleasing, so I would add half the amount of food coloring.

"This cake is easy to over-cook, so remove layers from the oven as soon as a tester comes out mostly clean. If left in the oven too long, the cake can be dry.

"The icing makes a stiff, fluffy, very attractive frosting to the cake, the off-white color contrasting nicely with the deep-red interior."