Brooklyn Blackout Cake

This was a very impressive cake. I haven't ever had it's namesake, but am sure that if I had I'd have made it quite a bit sooner. I don't often use vegetable shortening, but it did affect the crumb; very tender!! The construction was a bit of a mess, but drooling over the components as I was putting them together made it a wonderful experience, and it was a blast to decorate with crumbs. I made this for a 50th birthday party, on a HOT July day, and the chilled creaminess knocked everyone's socks off. Can't wait to do it again!