All the convenience of a bowl of cereal, all the elegance of a French dessert. Would you ever guess that this cake is made with Cream of Wheat? I never would have. This recipe is usually made with a box mix by the French; Dorie says that our Cream of Wheat cereal is a very close approximation. I have fond memories of winter mornings spent doctoring up bowls of porridge with a pinch of this, a dash of that (mostly butter and sugar, and most importantly, salt). This tastes a lot like I remember, actually. The big difference is the caramel because the base is simply milk, cereal, egg, sugar and vanilla. Put them together and what do you get? A custard! Love. Love. Love.
I may have let my caramel cook a tiny bit longer than I should have. Mine soaked completely into the cake ( or custard, really) and I had no graceful pools of amber around my slices. I was a little nervous about the timing; maybe the caramel sensed my fear. But nevertheless, I loved the burnt sugar taste that contrasted with the custardy sweetness of the rest of the cake. I went with Dorie's suggestion of golden raisins as the fruit addition, but the next time I make this I'm adding dried currants. I love their tiny size and their intense jam-like fruitiness. They would go well with the dark sweetness of the caramel and maybe wouldn't sink right to the bottom of the pan.
Custards have always been a favorite dessert of mine. I adore bread pudding, rice pudding, and anything else that involves eggs, vanilla and cream. I've never attempted a flan, but I would like to, now that I've conquered my fear of caramel. I have a feeling that it will just take some practice to recognize the right stages of coloring and knowing just when to pull the pan off the heat. This dessert is a perfect place to start. The custard/cake is a snap to put together and only involves the most basic of ingredients. Milk, sugar, eggs.... and these are a few of my favorite things. Practice makes perfect and I'm pretty sure that there is no bad way for this cake to turn out. Be sure to check out what the rest of the group picked to bake/cook this week on French Fridays with Dorie!
the bubbling caramel pic is awesome
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to make this recipe next week! Looks delish!
ReplyDeleteThis will also be my recipe to try next week. I think your cake/pudding/flan looks wonderful and isn't it great to try new things and to feel like you can do it even better next time...great learning experience. I love getting tips from this group and trying new things...just what I hoped for when I joined up to do this project.
ReplyDeleteThis absolutely has been a fantastic learning experience. I so appreciate everyone's comments and I'm loving all the new recipes and new cooking friends. You make this group fun!
ReplyDeleteMade it this week too and I agree, something more flavorful than golden raisins is called for. Currants would be good....rum soaked raisins? Dried sour cherries is my next go at this.
ReplyDeleteTrevor Sis. Boom.
I love your caramel photo! This cake was so yummy and now I've been eating cream of wheat in the morning too!
ReplyDeleteSeeing your photos makes me want to make this again, Christina. I didn't like Cream of Wheat as a child, but loved, loved this dessert as well. I am so happy that we are cooking and baking along together!
ReplyDeleteChristina, it's as if we were cooking together! My caramel soaked into the cake, and while I enjoyed the slight bitterness it added to the dessert, I wanted the streaks of amber liquid seeping around the cake...
ReplyDeletePlus, my pan was too big and the cake came out too thin, but still custardy and delicious. I wanted to add dried cherries for added acidity, but husband is highly allergic to any fruit from the rose family.
As you, I was raised on cream of wheat as a staple of comfort food and this cake brought to me all the wonderful memories of childhood.