The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook (28 page)

SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

MAKES 8 TO 12 SERVINGS

Based on a recipe from Rick’s friend Martha Foose from her award-winning cookbook
Screen Doors and Sweet Tea
, where it is called Commitment Cake, this cake does take some commitment of time and attention. It is surely the dessert that Minny, a character in
The Help
, Kathryn Stockett’s contemporary look at race relations in the Sixties, made for her loved ones. Don’t make this on a rainy day, or the caramel frosting could act up and not set.

CAKE

2½ cups cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for the pan

1 tablespoon plus

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

3 cups sugar

8 large eggs, at room temperature

CARAMEL FROSTING

2½ cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

¾ cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1¼ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

15 large marshmallows

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1.
To make the cake, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with rounds of waxed or parchment paper. Dust flour inside the pans to coat, and shake out the excess flour.

2.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir the milk, vanilla, and almond extract, if using, in a glass measuring cup.

3.
Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in the sugar. Continue beating until the mixture is light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low. In thirds, add the flour mixture, alternating with two equal additions of the milk mixture, and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, just until smooth. Divide equally among the pans and smooth the tops.

4.
Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let stand for 10 minutes. Invert and unmold the cakes onto cooling racks, remove the paper, and turn right side up to cool completely. When cooled, use a long serrated knife to slice each cake in half horizontally to make 4 cake layers.

5.
To make the frosting, combine the sugar, butter, buttermilk, corn syrup, baking soda, and salt together in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Add the marshmallows. Attach a candy thermometer to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is beige and reaches 238°F (soft-ball stage) on the thermometer. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

6.
Pour the sugar mixture into a heatproof bowl set on a wire cooling rack (this helps air circulate around the bowl so the mixture cools more quickly). Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until the mixture is cloudy, opaque, and spreadable, about 4 minutes. Place the bowl in a larger bowl of hot water to keep the frosting warm and spreadable. Working quickly, place a dab of frosting in the center of a serving plate. Place one cake layer on the plate. Spread with about ½ cup of the frosting. Repeat with the remaining layers. Spread the top and sides of the cake with the frosting. Let stand for at least 1 hour before serving. Slice and serve.

SOUSED GRASSHOPPER PIE

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

The Grasshopper Pie was inspired by the alcoholic drink of the same name (
page 189
) for its shared ingredients, flavor, and color. It’s not a dessert to serve to kids, but for once you won’t have to share.

CHOCOLATE CRUMB SHELL

1¼ cups crushed chocolate wafer or cookies

3 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

FILLING

1 envelope (2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin powder

3 large eggs, preferably from pasteurized eggs, separated (see Note on
page 158
)

½ cup sugar, divided

Pinch of salt

¼ cup green crème de menthe

2 tablespoons white crème de cacao

1 cup heavy cream

WHIPPED CREAM

½ cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

8 chocolate-mint candies, such as Andes Thins, unwrapped

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
To make the crust, mix the chocolate wafer crumbs, sugar, and butter together in a small bowl. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake until the crust is set and smells sweet, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire cake rack and let cool completely.

3.
To make the filling, sprinkle the gelatin over ½ cup of water in a small bowl. Let stand until the gelatin absorbs the water, about 5 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks, ¼ cup of sugar, and salt in a heatproof (preferably stainless steel) medium bowl. Add the soaked gelatin. Cook over a medium saucepan of simmering water, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula (if you run your finger through the mixture on the spatula, it cuts a swath), about 4 minutes. Strain through a wire sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in the crème de menthe and crème de cacao. Place the bowl in a larger bowl of iced water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until chilled and beginning to set, about 10 minutes.

4.
Whip the egg whites in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in the remaining ¼ cup sugar and beat until the whites are stiff and shiny, but not dry. Stir about one-quarter of the whites into the gelatin mixture, then fold in the remaining whites.

5.
Whip the cream in chilled medium bowl. Stir about one-quarter of the whipped cream into the gelatin mixture, then fold in the remaining cream. Pour into the chocolate crust and smooth the top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

6.
To make the whipped cream, whip the cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla together in a chilled medium bowl with an electric mixer until the cream forms stiff peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch star tip. Pipe 8 equally placed cream rosettes around the perimeter of the filling. (Or spoon 8 dollops of cream around the filling.) Insert a mint in each rosette. Cut into 8 pieces, and serve chilled.

NOTE
:
This recipe uses raw eggs, which have been known to carry the potentially harmful salmonella bacterium. Pasteurized eggs, available at some supermarkets, are safe to use. If you use standard eggs, do not serve this to the very young, elderly, or infirm people with compromised immune systems.

BRANDY ALEXANDER PIE
:
Substitute 3 tablespoons brandy for the crème de menthe, and increase the crème de cacao to 3 tablespoons. Omit the chocolate mints. Decorate the top of the pie with chocolate shavings (see
page 165
).

Omit the gelatin and water, eggs, sugar, and salt. Snip 30 large marshmallows into pieces with oiled kitchen scissors. Melt the marshmallows and ⅔ cup milk in the top part of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring often. (You can improvise a double boiler by placing a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.) Let cool until tepid. Whisk in the liqueurs, then fold in the whipped cream. Pour into the chocolate crust.

Three-Martini Lunch

Don’t forget to turn in your itemized expense account report after this party.

Martinis, Very Dry (
page 194
)

Iceberg Lettuce Wedge with Blue Cheese Dressing and Bacon (
page 54
)

Pan-Fried Steak with Butter (
page 80
) or grilled steak

Steakhouse Creamed Spinach (
page 136
)

Baked potatoes with sour cream and chives

French Bordeaux, as expensive and pretentious as possible

Soused Grasshopper Pie (
page 157
)

Coffee and tea

Cognac or brandy

CD Playlist

Frank Sinatra,
The Capitol Years

Dean Martin,
Dino: The Essential Dean Martin

Sammy Davis Jr.,
That’s All

TART-TONGUED LEMON MERINGUE PIE

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Lemon meringue pie has survived into our times, but if you order it at a restaurant, it is likely to be deconstructed somehow. We don’t want a watered-down version: this
is
your mother or grandmother’s puckery lemon meringue pie. One piece of advice: don’t make lemon meringue pie on a rainy day, or the meringue will weep.