Editor's Pick
APRIL 27, 2010 12:09AM
Rate: 15
Oh? Really? Not B minor?
We come from a long line of classically trained, yet fickle musicians. We play instruments, compose, and some have even (briefly) attended Julliard. Careers as virtuosos don't happen in our family, but it is almost mandatory that an instrument be handed to a child at a young age, nonetheless. Careful not to anger the musical spirits of the ancestors, we enrolled the 4 year-old in a Suzuki string methods class. The child attended philharmonic concerts from the age of three, sitting with us in our steeply student-discounted seats. Fidget free; she seemed taken with string instruments. When asked which her favorite string instrument was, she eagerly pointed a chubby finger at the violin section. Or so we thought.
On her first day of class she talked nonstop about getting her new violin - just like the philharmonic musicians. She skipped into class, dragging us by the hand. The teacher proudly presented the child with her first violin; a brand new 6-inch cigar box wrapped in wood-grain contact paper with a ruler sticking out of the end for the neck. The bow? A skinny little stick.
The child's face was pinching into the look that happens right before she melts into tears. She squinted at us like we had offered her worms sautéed with peas for dinner. Oblivious, the teacher sealed the meltdown by giving her a cardboard circle with two feet drawn in marker – a diagram for her stand on to get into the correct form for playing the violin.
We weren’t even worthy of her pitiful look anymore. Stifling a hiccup/sigh, she turned away and merely stared at the ground. Little tears fell on the floor. Did our health insurance cover therapy for victims of well meaning, but really stupid parents?
Her homework was to practice holding the pretend violin correctly using all the props. The girl was beside herself with misery, but she diligently practiced.
Her younger sister borrowed the violin daily for special projects, like smashing spiders. She broke it so often we finally ran out of duct tape. We also went through 3 containers of pick-up-sticks as substitute bows before we realized that the deviously clever little sister was using them as lock picks. Obviously, her career would clearly not be in music.
Finally, the 4 year old graduated to her first ¼ sized violin.
Have you heard the catchy tune, Mississippi Hot Dog? It goes like this; mis-sis-sip-pi-hot-dog. Repeat, a lot. If you’ve not had the pleasure of listening to a pint sized violinist play it (badly) four hundred times in a row, consider yourself lucky. It is hard to screw up the tune since it involves one solitary note. But given how many ways there is to bow a string on a violin, chaos will ensue; as in your ears will bleed.
Eventually, she was fiddling reasonably well and liked to practice with the door closed because she was shy. Each day it seemed like the sound got more muffled. That should have been a clue.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find her in the closet sitting on pint sized chair. The little violin was now playing the role of cello. That’s right. Apparently she didn't have the heart to tell us that we'd been mistaken. She wasn't pointing to the violins at the philharmonic. She was pointing beyond the violins and the violas to the cellos.
We made a deal. She could play cello right after she finished the classes we had already purchased. Mississippi Hot Dog? Sounds exactly the same on the cello as it does on the violin.
Perhaps she had the right idea with that closet. Julliard would not be calling.
The other thing the wayward young musician and her lock-picking sister had to look forward to on Suzuki concert days was Uncle Jake’s dessert. He came to most of the concerts and always brought dessert. Knowing that fudgy cake was waiting for us at home made 30 kids sawing away in unison (sort of) at Mississippi Hot Dog tolerable. Almost.
The cake uses ingredients that are usually in the cupboard. Serve warm with a favorite ice cream, whipped cream or fresh berries. Or all of the above.
Jake’s Fudgy Pudding Cake
Ingredients Cake:
- 1 cup flour or gluten free flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch salt
- ½ cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Godiva liquor (optional)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1.5 cups boiling water
Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 pan. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, white sugar, cocoa. Add in milk, butter, liquor and vanilla. Stir. Pat evenly into prepared pan. Mix together cocoa and brown sugar making sure no lumps remain. Sprinkle on top of batter. Pour 1 cup plus a scant half cup of boiling water over the top. Place in oven and bake for about 35 minutes.
Cool for about 5-10 minutes and scoop and serve. Best served slightly warm. It will be gooey. Serves 9-12.
Bon appétit.
Comments
Darling. Two teachers give the Sazuki(sp) method at my church. There's simply nothing cuter than seeing a family with three or four little ones toting various sizes of little violens. The little children with the string instruments are just precious. This cake looks yummy. It looks very much like the gingerbread cake my mom made. She made the homemade whipped cream and also a lemon sauce. I liked to eat it w/ both. The lemon sauce was hot and the whipped cream slightly cold.. but not very. The cake was warm from the oven. The first time I remember eating it was the day the Apollo Flight went to the moon... in the 70s. We were celebrating with the ginger cake and watching tv. I like how you weave such a story around cake!
And the sprig of mint on top looks lovely and fresh and tasty. xox
And the sprig of mint on top looks lovely and fresh and tasty. xox
Great story and I'll try the cake. Loved it.
Oh dear, failure to follow a pointing child's finger! But your daughter had good taste--I've always loved cellos, too.
That cake looks like edible therapy. And Julliard sure didn't break down my door, either. =o)
That cake looks like edible therapy. And Julliard sure didn't break down my door, either. =o)
THIS is priceless. pinched look. smashing spiders, lock-picks, closet, cello, cake. Wonderful. What will the little sister play?
Okay, I was a Suzuki student of the cello, and my parents sat through probably hundreds of those concerts - your kid advances, but they move later and later in the program, and "Twinkle" becomes a regular fixture. My point is that my family has earned the cake, and all of those things are in my cupboard. I just "need" to go buy whipping cream.
P.S. Of COURSE she was pointing at the cellos. No contest!
P.S. Of COURSE she was pointing at the cellos. No contest!
Thank you, kissinglessons. Ginger cake sounds great.
alicia - enjoy the cake!
Shiral - cellos are great. sadly, we often made mistakes like that...but the cake is great therapy. Julliard's loss I think!
nola - the little sister went on to violin and ended on the flute.
Ann - yep, the concerts were long! she played cello for many years - and indeed. cello v. violin? cello, every time.
alicia - enjoy the cake!
Shiral - cellos are great. sadly, we often made mistakes like that...but the cake is great therapy. Julliard's loss I think!
nola - the little sister went on to violin and ended on the flute.
Ann - yep, the concerts were long! she played cello for many years - and indeed. cello v. violin? cello, every time.
Great story. Yeah, I'm interested in the little lock-picker, too!
Will try the cake recipe shortly. Thanks!
Will try the cake recipe shortly. Thanks!
Wow. I didn't get anything at my guitar recitals. Where the equivalent of "Mississippi Hot Dog" was "Shoo Fly."
Great piece. Great-looking recipe.
Great piece. Great-looking recipe.
This was charming. Loved the photos too. Rated.
Sweet -- the story, the picture, the recipe, everything. That cake is so familiar to me. I used to make it when I was cooking something I knew the kids wouldn't really like. "If you'll eat this...there's CAKE!"
The story is delightful and the cake sounds delectable! rated
I love the violin story and I always love fudgy cake. The pictures are beautiful!
Cake. Mississippi. Strings. Arched top instrument. Maybe what she really wanted was a git box, a sweet little triple O Gibson parlor guitar. Had no milk with my cake since my milk cow gone to Memphis. That kind of music.
Pablo Casals describes exactly this: he started on the violin, and spent his time pretending it was a cello, holding it between his legs.
His autobiography, which is out of print, is online. Here is the page:
http://www.cello.org/heaven/joys/index.htm
Good luck with your young musician. Lucky she, who gets to tackle the Bach Suites.
His autobiography, which is out of print, is online. Here is the page:
http://www.cello.org/heaven/joys/index.htm
Good luck with your young musician. Lucky she, who gets to tackle the Bach Suites.
Connie - thanks! the lock picker is jail-free and no longer picks locks, unless she locks herself out...
Ken - shoo fly? That alone deserves a chocolate cake!
Sheila - thank you!
Bell - bribery gets us everywhere- thank goodness.
514 - thank you!
Lucy - many thanks!
green - she played accordian later on - even at her sister's wedding.
Divorce - ah, the little one is grown and she did play for years, mostly for enjoyment. I do have to say though, the the Yo Yo Ma Bach Suites is a favorite around here (and even the dog loves it). Pablo Casals was one talented guy. Thanks for the link!
Ken - shoo fly? That alone deserves a chocolate cake!
Sheila - thank you!
Bell - bribery gets us everywhere- thank goodness.
514 - thank you!
Lucy - many thanks!
green - she played accordian later on - even at her sister's wedding.
Divorce - ah, the little one is grown and she did play for years, mostly for enjoyment. I do have to say though, the the Yo Yo Ma Bach Suites is a favorite around here (and even the dog loves it). Pablo Casals was one talented guy. Thanks for the link!
who is Uncle Jake? :) I remember the violin playing days! Going through it now with Z! Although he has more talent on the violin than I did, but alas we are moving on to wind instruments starting in Jr.High!
the adorable guy with the beard.
Hi there,
The cake tastes great - at least the parts that turn out solid (and how couldn't it with that much sugar!) Below the fudgy part was a sea of very liquid chocolate soup... Is this supposed to be this way, or did I make a mistake when converting the measures to metric units (1 cup = 240ml)? I guess most of the soup was water - do you have to use different "cups" for water and flour? :) I'd be greatful for any hints. Thanks!
The cake tastes great - at least the parts that turn out solid (and how couldn't it with that much sugar!) Below the fudgy part was a sea of very liquid chocolate soup... Is this supposed to be this way, or did I make a mistake when converting the measures to metric units (1 cup = 240ml)? I guess most of the soup was water - do you have to use different "cups" for water and flour? :) I'd be greatful for any hints. Thanks!
shrike - sorry it didn't turn out! Yes, 240ml should be right. Some do use different measures for dry v. wet, but 240 sounds right.
The batter itself is kind of thick, so when you put that in the pan first, did you have to spread it to the edges? Make sure you do that - and it will almost be like cookie dough. Make sure it is even and don't forget to use an 8x8 pan.
Then mix the cocoa and brown sugar together in a bowl and sprinkle that on top of the batter and give the pan a shake to make sure it is evenly distributed. Then right before you place it in the oven, pour boiling water over it gently - start with one cup or 240ml and then a little less than half that again. don't stir or do anything to it.
Bake at 350 degrees for almost 40 minutes. Don't stir it at all. It will look weird when it comes out - some parts with look baked, other parts will look gooey, but not liquid.
The gooey pudding part should be on the bottom of the pan now and the more solid part will be on top. It will be quite gooey on the bottom and some parts may be more soupy, but over all, it should be like lava cake.
Let me know if this explanation helped.
The batter itself is kind of thick, so when you put that in the pan first, did you have to spread it to the edges? Make sure you do that - and it will almost be like cookie dough. Make sure it is even and don't forget to use an 8x8 pan.
Then mix the cocoa and brown sugar together in a bowl and sprinkle that on top of the batter and give the pan a shake to make sure it is evenly distributed. Then right before you place it in the oven, pour boiling water over it gently - start with one cup or 240ml and then a little less than half that again. don't stir or do anything to it.
Bake at 350 degrees for almost 40 minutes. Don't stir it at all. It will look weird when it comes out - some parts with look baked, other parts will look gooey, but not liquid.
The gooey pudding part should be on the bottom of the pan now and the more solid part will be on top. It will be quite gooey on the bottom and some parts may be more soupy, but over all, it should be like lava cake.
Let me know if this explanation helped.
Hi LuluAndPhoebe,
Thanks for your answer!
As the I performed the preparation as you describe, I think the pan I used is the problem (used this: http://www.kaiser-backform.de/basic_106/koenigskuchenform-30-cm-basic_5463.html, 8x8 is not a very common form in Austria). In retrospect, I guess the pan must be wider so the dough is spread thinner, and thus stays submerged and won't rise above the water/chocolate soup as much. I'll find something that fits better and will try again next weekend!
Thanks for your answer!
As the I performed the preparation as you describe, I think the pan I used is the problem (used this: http://www.kaiser-backform.de/basic_106/koenigskuchenform-30-cm-basic_5463.html, 8x8 is not a very common form in Austria). In retrospect, I guess the pan must be wider so the dough is spread thinner, and thus stays submerged and won't rise above the water/chocolate soup as much. I'll find something that fits better and will try again next weekend!
shrike - more like this pan. www.williams-sonoma.com/products/goldtouch-nonstick-square-cake-pan/?pkey=ccake-pans|bkwcakcls
hope that helps.
hope that helps.
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