Whopper Cake - Book Review Plus Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

"Today is Grandma's birthday
and Granddad has an itchin'
to bake a whopper chocolate cake
and traumatize the kitchen"

They had me at "traumatize". Whopper Cake, by Karma Wilson and Will Hillenbrand, is a great children's book. The story is of a Grandpa who wants to make a cake for his wife, but has a little bit of trouble following the recipe. It is just too tempting for him to scale it up a hundred-fold or so. A delicious mess ensues.

The book ends with a (normal-scale) recipe for Whopper Cake. With my daughter's birthday approaching and the book in nightly rotation, it was obvious that we should make it for her big day. I can confirm, it makes a very moist, tasty chocolate sheet cake. You should buy this book for any kid that loves to cook with his or her family. Or any kid that loves cake.

The recipe didn't specify a frosting, but I was faced with three simple facts: (1) we had a lot of leftover cream cheese (2) my wife loves cream cheese frosting (3) cream-cheese frosting is super easy to make. Here's what I came up with:

Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting
Enough for a 9"x13" sheetcake
Vegetarian and gluten-free (the icing, not the Whopper Cake!); not vegan

• 12 ounces good quality chocolate chips (Ghiradelli works well)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 ounces cream cheese (I used the whipped kind, but a denser one should work fine too, just break it up into cubes), at room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler or microwave. To microwave, combine in a microwave-safe bowl and cook 1 minute at a time, stopping to carefully stir in between. This is my favorite way to do it, you just have to be sure not to overcook or you can scorch it.
2. Allow to cool a bit, so it won't cook and curdle the cream cheese.
3. Whisk the cream cheese and salt into the melted chocolate. Keep whisking until smooth.
4. Refrigerate for an hour or so until firm enough to spread.
5. Yum.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with a Pumpkin Seed Topping - Recipe

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp with a Pumpkin Seed Topping

Who doesn't love a good fruit crisp? They are a great way to use up excesses of seasonal fruits, and you can make the topping so easily that there is no need to wait for a special occasion. Strawberry + rhubarb is a great combination for this time of year, as the rhubarb is getting late and the strawberries are not yet so perfect that it would be a shame not to eat them fresh. 

Sarina insists that there is no other topping for a crisp than oatmeal, and I certainly see her point. It has a great toasty flavor. This time I augmented it with toasted pumpkin seeds, but you could use walnuts or almonds or hazelnuts, or omit them entirely depending on your mood. Crisp topping freezes beautifully too, so why not make a double batch?

The recipe below (based on an Ina Garten formula), makes a lot of topping for a single crisp - we are all hounds for the buttery goodness, so I don't stint. But you could make do with just half as much if you are looking for a lower-fat option.

There are two good options for handling the butter for the crisp topping. You can either melt it, and then refrigerate the topping for at least an hour before baking, or you can cream it relatively cold with the other ingredients and use it right away.

Some recipes for this sort of thing involve peeling and/or pre-stewing the rhubarb. Trust me, this is totally unnecessary. All you need to do is trim the ends and cut it into 1 inch segments. It will happilly cook to tenderness in the oven, leaving a little bit of desireable texture instead of completely turning into sauce. I much prefer it this way.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
Serves 8
Vegetarian; not vegan or gluten-free

For the crisp topping:

• 1/2 pound butter (room temperature or cold, see discussion above)
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
• 1 cup pepitas (green, hulled pumpkin seeds), toasted (or your choice of nuts, or omit)

For the fruit:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1.5 lbs rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths
• 1 lb. strawberries, hullied and quartered
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• big pinch salt

1. Crisp topping option 1: melt the butter, combine thoroughly with all of the ingredients, and refrigerate for at least one hour until firm. You can also do this a day ahead, or even longer if you freeze it.
2. Crisp topping option 2: cut the cool butter into cubes, and cream in an electric mixer with all of the other ingredients.
3. Preheat the oven to 350.
4. Use the 1 tablespoon of butter to grease a deep casserole. I used a round Emile Henry one that was 9" in diameter and 3" deep.
5. Combine all of the other ingredients, toss well and put in the casserole.
6. Put the crisp filling on in an even layer on top.
7. Bake for about 1 hour until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown and crisp.
8. Serve right away, lest the crisp become soggy. Vanilla ice cream, duh!

Best Cornbread Recipe Ever

Since we talked about vegetarian chili last week, I've got to hook you up with the best cornbread recipe ever to go with it. It is moist without being cake-like with an intense corn flavor. The butter is browned before adding it to the batter, a genius trick I learned from The Recipe Girl. That contributes some of the umami flavor that some folks would get using bacon drippings.

I know you'll be shocked to hear I have opinions about cornbread. I think there are two main axes of variation to be concerned with: the corn to wheat flour ratio and whether you prefer your bread plain or with lots of additions (like corn kernels, onions, jalapenos, cheddar, olives and so forth).

I've seen ratios anywhere from 100% corn to only 25% corn. I like anything 50% and above. I want to mostly taste corn, but if you go too far in that direction, the results can be tasty but very crumbly. 50% provides a good balance of moistness without turning into cake. Use the freshest, best quality organic stoneground cornmeal you can find to maximize the flavor. A coarse grind is preferable.

As far as inclusions go, I don't have anything against them on principle. It is just that to me, the pure flavor and texture of cornbread with a big pat of sweet cream butter is so perfect, they seem an unnecessary distraction. But if that is what you like, feel free to fold them into the recipe below just before baking.

Best Cornbread Ever
Makes one 8x8" pan, enough for 4 for dinner if you aren't too greedy
Vegetarian; not vegan nor gluten-free

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup milk and 1 T. white vinegar (skim milk works ok)
• 1 cup coarse, stoneground cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter an 8x8" pan.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking about 10 minutes until it is turning a light brown and has a delicious, nutty aroma. Do not skim, keep all those browned milk solids.
3. Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Drizzle in the butter, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs.
4. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir just enough to form a batter. It is ok if there are a few lumps. Avoid overbeating as this could make the cornbread tough.
6. Pour into the pan and bake about 25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
7. Serve forth while still hot, with lots of good sweet butter.