Editor’s note: This post is part of a series highlighting recipes used by the White House Staff for the Jewish High Holidays.

This is a recipe that my great grandmother, taught my grandmother who taught my mother who taught me. It is a delicious cake and I use the batter for all of my cakes. I also make it the traditional way every year for Rosh Hashanah. One minor glitch- it used to rise 7 or 8 inches but since my mother passed away 9 years ago it hasn't risen more than 3 inches. If you get it to rise you should take a picture and email it to the American Jewish Outreach Team, by clicking on the “Contact Us” tab above! :)

Grandma’s Kuglof Recipe

• 13 tbsp butter
• 1 ¾ cup sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/3 cups plus additional ¼ cup of flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder (to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a tube pan.
3. Cream butter and sugar.
4. Add the egg yolks to the creamed butter mixture and mix well.
5. Whisk 1 1/3 cups flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl.
6. Gradually beat milk and flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating milk and flour.
7. Beat the egg whites until stiff in a separate bowl.
8. Fold ¼ cup flour into the egg whites.
9. Fold egg whites into the batter.
10. Mix 1/3 of the batter with cocoa in a separate bowl.
11. Fill the tube pan, alternating half of the white batter with the cocoa batter.
12. Bake for 50-60 minutes to an hour, until toothpick comes out clean.

Shira Sternberg is an Outreach Specialist at the Environmental Protection Agency