Monday Morning Marshmallowy Motivation

Okay! It's a big week. Is everyone ready? I'm in charge of a vegetable, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and a pie this year and I'm just itching to get started. It's going to be a delicate dance: there's only one oven at Ben's mother's house and the turkey obviously gets precedence, so I'm going to try and do as much as I can in advance. Thank goodness for half days, is all I have to say: my kitchen on Wednesday afternoon is going to be a slightly manic place. Is anyone else doing the bulk of their cooking that afternoon? Maybe we should set up some kind of cheerleading group conference call, with hands-free sets, of course. Isn't there comfort in numbers?

But what's that? You were wondering about this other thing, this towering concoction of tender cake layers and great swoops of marshmallowy frosting? Oh right. I thought you'd never ask.

I threw this together last night in about 15 minutes (weeeell, you know): the simplest one-bowl chocolate cake (not the best cake every, but certainly one of the easiest) divided into two pans and then - oh, then -  a bowlful of billowy frosting that emerged after egg whites, sugar and corn syrup warmed together in a double boiler and were beaten to within an inch of their floppy little lives. Is there anything better than watching Seven-Minute Frosting come together under your beaters? Watching frothy egg whites morph into stiff, glossy, swoopy peaks that just beg for an index finger to be swept through them?

No, simply, no. Now go forth and cook!

Comments

[Adrienne]

I'll be joining that call on Wednesday... except I'll be baking. You know, letting breads rise and such. Probably not as stressful as active cooking, but I'll have more time for cheerleading! Gooooooo team!

[David]

We're working with one oven as well, and I'm co-chef for dinner for thirteen people. Am trying to convince the hostess (with the kitchen) to get the turkey cut up, so it cooks faster, but it's a tough sell.

Perhaps I should hold all the desserts I'm planning on bringing hostage til she comes to her senses.

[maggie]

Good luck!

[jenny]

I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one who's been baking prior to the baking I need to do for the holiday. there's been something about the weather (and all the good cookie/cake/pie recipes I squirreled away over the summer) that's sent me on a bit of a dessert-making bender.

I got off easy on the thanksgiving donation this year. as one of 17 folks, my only assignments are cranberry salad and a quick bread. but I will be in the kitchen wed afternoon nonetheless!

[Lisa]

oh my goodness--this is like the cake of my dreams!

[Gemma]

This cake looks incredible. I'll be baking tonight but in a quest to use up a freezer drawer full of bananas it will be banana loaf, again. I'm thinking about making my Christmas cake and Christmas pudding at the end of this week though.

[Hillary]

Nice looking cake! I can't wait for all the delicious Thanksgiving food, good luck with cooking!

[meg]

will the cake make it until thanksgiving?

[aknauf]

The one-bowl cake links to Martha's book, not the recipe!
I just made a date chocolate cake which was delicious, but short. I'm jealous of your two-layer wonder!

[Luisa]

Meg - it was for a friend's birthday last night and Ben took the leftovers to work, so no! Thank god. I have more important things to worry about, like PIE!! :)

Aknauf - yes, the recipe comes from Martha's baking handbook. I couldn't find the exact recipe online. Did you make the date chocolate cake from this site? Mmmmm, that cake is so much better than this old layered thing. (The frosting, though, is in a class of its own.)

[Mary Ann]

How strange; I've been craving chocolate cake and Seven Minute Frosting for days now. Here is the recipe I always use: http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2008/04/20/day-112-cinnamon-bun-french-toast-and-chocolate-cake/

I especially like the effect of using brown sugar for the icing; it gives the icing an irrisistible caramel flavour. Canadian Thanksgiving is in October and isn't nearly as big a deal as American Thanksgiving, so I've still got a month to prepare for the Holidays. I'm jealous.

[zoe]

Ooo yeah, cheerleading is a good idea, except I'm hosting my gang on Saturday so I'll need the support on Friday. Anyone else out there willing to join me or are ya'll going shopping that day?

[Tina]

Delicious! Amazing photos too!

[evy]

-- this post brought back great memories of watching my mom make the 7 minute frosting when I was little
Your blog never fails to be wonderful!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

[Syrie]

Looks fabulous! I'd never heard of marshmallow frosting. Very decadent.

[Bobbie]

I have it easy this year -- bringing only veg to the 20-person gathering we've been invited to. But...I haven't found veggie inspiration yet! Anyone have any suggestions? The rest of the meal will be beautifully prepared and quite traditional; I'm not looking to add something heavy or rich to the rest of the spread.

[Marie]

I also only have one oven... and, as is tradition in my husband's Italian-American family, we serve lasagna AND turkey!! I have it all carefully orchestrated....

In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy this simple soup: http://morecheese.typepad.com/more_cheese/2008/11/soup-au-pistou.html

I can't wait to try the kale-and-ricotta pasta recipe you posted earlier this week!!!

[DD]

Yuuuuuuummmmmm! I've never tried 7 minute frosting but you've just opened my eyes.

[Biz]

My sister-in-law just advised that she, her 2 boys and grandson will be joining us, so that's 9 people altogether - I plan on making my pies tomorrow night.

Also need one additional side dish that doesn't need to be warmed - maybe a spinach/orzo salad? Not much time left to figure it out!

[EB]

Can we please set up that call? Somehow I got wrangled into french apple pastry, homemade ice cream, butternut squash soup, a vegetable roast, spinach salad and the appetizer. The only thing that can really be made ahead is the ice cream, and the soup base I guess. Oh damn... I wasn't stressed before.... now I am... ok that conference call number???

[anne spice]

K - I'm glad you answered Meg's question the way you did... I was like, ummm, *why* again are you making a ginormous and luscious cake so randomly and so close to Thanksgiving... don't we all have a hard enough time fitting into our trousers by the end of the week as it is...?

Looks delicious though!

[fussball]

Gute Arbeit hier! Gute Inhalte.