For the month of November, we get to select the order in which we make our
FFwD recipes. I decided to start with cake! I think that's probably a metaphor for my life. When I saw this recipe in Dorie's book, I was excited to try it, as I'm a closet Cream of Wheat lover. Growing up, my mom made Fried Mush for breakfast on weekends. If you've never had Fried Mush, you actually haven't lived.
It's easy to make. Friday night, cook a pot of cream of wheat and then pour it into a rectangular buttered pan and put it in the fridge overnight. Saturday morning, slice the now firm cream of wheat into 3 inch squares and remove from pan. Dip each piece in an egg wash and then in flour. Fry in a skillet with oil and/or butter until golden brown on each side. Serve slathered in butter and syrup. Prepare to be kissed by whoever you have served it to.
Dorie's cake is a little more sophisticated than my mom's Fried Mush, and it's every bit as yummy. You just make the cake batter, make caramel...put them together in a baking pan and bake. If you want the full recipe (which you do, trust me)...buy Dorie's book!
Making caramel turned out not to be as hard as I thought it would be. Just let the water, sugar and lemon boil for a few minutes. When it starts to turn color, you want to watch it closely. It only takes a few moments and then it's ready!
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| Cake batter ready for the oven |
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| Baking, starting to rise |
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| Waiting to be flipped |
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| Isn't that lovely! |
I was a little skeptical at this point as to whether or not the cake would actually come out in one piece when I flipped it. I was very happily surprised when it did and admonished myself for even doubting Dorie!
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| Up close, and oh so personal! |
Once again, I used a 9" pan instead of an 8". I guess I don't have any 8" pans in my house...hmmm. I also used these beautiful princess sun dried raisins that I picked up at the farmer's market last weekend (rather than golden raisins that were called for in the recipe...which probably would have been a little prettier in the recipe.) This is a fairly simple recipe, reminiscent of flan and bread pudding (both huge favorites in our house) and I think it will become a new staple. So, if you come to dinner, don't be surprised if you get this for dessert!
Wondering what everyone else at FFwD made this week? Check them out
here.
Dorie's cake is a little more sophisticated than my mom's Fried Mush, and it's every bit as yummy. You just make the cake batter, make caramel...put them together in a baking pan and bake. If you want the full recipe (which you do, trust me)...buy Dorie's book!
Making caramel turned out not to be as hard as I thought it would be. Just let the water, sugar and lemon boil for a few minutes. When it starts to turn color, you want to watch it closely. It only takes a few moments and then it's ready!
27 comments:
Thanks for sharing...I love reading about all these dishes you are making....I love cooking, but always afraid to try new things...YOu are inspiring! Thank you!
Gorgeous, gorgeous cake!! And I've never had Fried Mush, but I'm going to have to make that this weekend now. Thanks for sharing the how-to on that one!
Heather...the nice thing about trying new things is that the worst that can happen is you or hubby don't like them...the best thing is you discover a new favorite! Try one new thing a week...you'll be glad you did.
Jayne...thanks for the comment. Definitely try the Fried Mush...it's comfort food at it's best!
Ok, this is the one this month that I'm most excited about, so I'm probably going to try it this week. And the texture that you describe is probably my favourite texture in the world for desserts, so I can't wait! Looks fantastic!!
YUM!! I can't wait to make this recipe! It looks so delish!
I like how your fruit made the dotted design in your cake. Looks delicious!
Looks great! And your mom's Fried Mush? Sounds fantastic!! :)
Oh i havent ever had fried mush :-( sounds good!!
Bdw, we dont find cream of wheat here yet, but i can order it online , though shippn is V expensive:-(
AM gng to bake this too, with semolina, i think it will work , coz i have baked a few goan portuguese semolina cake recipes and we love them!
THis is v different but ,hopin it will work!!
Ofcourse its lovely and wish i could lay my hands on the princess raisins and bdw, u cake does look v pretty with them:-)
am still giggling abt ur note on my blog!!
Thanks for the step-by-step photos. You've made it look delicious!
When I first looked through the book, I passed this one right by...but the more I read about it, in posts like yours, the more I think I will try it after all.
My dad was the big Cream of Wheat eater in our house...but if we could have had it in your mom's version, I think we all would have been!
I have never had Cream of Wheat, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this cake...now that I have read your post, I am excited and looking forward to checking it all out. Yours is just beautiful in color, etc.
I don't care for cream of wheat, so I wasn't really looking forward to this recipe, but seeing it done is making me rethink the dislike of my childhood. It looks wonderful and I love the golden raisins in the caramel!
I'm looking forward to this one. I love that caramelly edge on yours, I'll bet it was fantastic.
I have always loved cream of wheat but,I have never had fried mush. It sounds really good to me. I will definitely have to try it! Your semolina cake looks fantastic! I am so looking forward to making this. Your photos are great.
Your caramel turned out perfectly! And your photos are really good.
If we'd had fried mush when I was a kid, I think I would have appreciated Cream-of-Wheat a lot more!
Two months in France, how lucky! I have been once for 10 days and plan on returning to celebrate my 45th birthday in a few years. Your cake looks great. I will have to try fried mush!!
Fried mush!! oh... you just took me back to childhood!
Trevor Sis. Boom.
I think Dorie is telling you to get 8" pans :-)
Very nice -- it's glad to hear there are more of us out there who are cream of wheat lovers.
I can't stop thinking about Fried Mush! It sounds as good as this cake. I wasn't too excited about the cake when i first saw it but now I am looking forward to it, thanks to your post!
Your cake looks great! I haven't tried this one yet. When I do, it will take me out of my comfort zone as I grew up with a mom that had a strong aversion to hot cereal. Caramel will sugar-coat that, I'm sure. I also loved your Brussels sprouts post! I LOVE Brussels sprouts too. Come to think of it, my mom hated those too, so there's promise that I might love the semolina cake too :)
Wow- this cake looks amazing. Your photos are wonderful and really help show the whole process of testing the recipes. I was chuckling because Nana had the same doubt about her cake making it out of the pan...yet it came out easily too. I don't know what flopped with my potatoes but something went wrong with the ingredients on my end because all the other bloggers had such luck that I know mine had to be the exception. Plus I tried the similar recipe on p362 "Cauliflower Bacon Gratin" tonight and it was SPECTACULAR. Smelled like the potoates recipe but this one tasted amazing as well. And Nana agreed when I took some next door to share :) Your pumpkin bread looks incredible. Wish I had a nice slice right now :)
Your cake turned out perfect! I am happy you visited my blog. I look forward tom seeing your next recipe. Have a great weekend:)
I love any hot cereal! I know Im going to love this cake. Yours looks so good! I hope mine will come out of the pan as good as yours!
Glad this came out so beautifully for you. I don't have any 8 inch pans in my house either! :) Looks delicious!
Never had fried mush, but caramel? Yummmmmm!!!
Hi Steph! Thanks for visiting my blog :)
Your cake turned out beautifully - it looks even more delicious than the picture in the book. I am looking forward to trying it now after reading about a lot of success from the FFWD bakers. It didn't seem that great but now I want to get to it.
Fried mush sounds right up my alley!
Can't wait to give this recipe a try. Fried mush was always a special treat when I stayed with my grandparents. We topped it with maple syrup or sorghum. Delicious!! Thanks for visiting my blog!
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