​Emily Benatar

At some point Emily decided she did not like regular cake, only Thundercake...[see more]

 

This recipe comes from the book Thundercake by Patricia Pollacco. Emily loved the 

 

story, about overcoming fear. She also had clear ideas of her likes and dislikes, and she 

 

decided at some point that she did not like regular cake, only Thundercake. So for many 

 

years when she was little the cake she would have on her birthday was Thundercake. 

 

The frosting recipe is one I got from a friend. (One of the things she seemed to like about 

 

Thundercake is that it was different—it has tomatoes in it—but don’t let that scare you 

 

away, it didn’t scare Emily even though she didn’t like tomatoes, and you can’t tell 

 

they’re in there.)

 

Once Emily was roughly in her teens, she decided she preferred Rice Krispies Treats to 

 

any cake, so we switched to a special Rice Krispies Treat cake, recipe also given on this 

 

site.

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Cream together one at a time: 

 

1 cup shortening 

 

1 3/4 cup sugar 

 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

 

3 eggs, separated 

 

( blend yolks in. Beat whites until they are stiff, then fold in.) 

 

1 cup cold water 

 

1/3 cup pureed tomatoes

 

Sift together: 

 

2 ½cups cake flour 

 

1/2 cup dry cocoa 

 

1 ½teaspoons baking soda 

 

1 teaspoon salt

 

Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture. Bake in two greased and 

 

floured 8 1/2 inch pans at 350 degree for 35 to 40 minutes. Frost 

 

with chocolate frosting. 

 

Chocolate Frosting (from Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate 

 

Desserts)

 

Makes about 3 ½ cups

 

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

 

1 ½ cups sugar

 

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

 

1 stick (4 oz) plus 2 tablespoons butter

 

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

 

pinch of salt

 

In a medium saucepan, bring the cream and sugar to a boil over 

 

moderately high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring 

 

occasionally, until the liquid reduces slightly, about 6 minutes (I find 

 

it can take longer). Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and add the 

 

chocolate, butter, vanilla, and salt. Let stand, stirring occasionally, 

 

until the chocolate and butter are melted.

 

Set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Using a hand-held 

 

electric mixer, beat the frosting on medium speed, scraping the 

 

sides occasionally with a rubber spatula, until thick and glossy, about 

 

5 minutes. Use at once.