Frosting

Frosting 1-30-94


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtmMredXKuo

As when three leaves left the tree
I stood up naked in the window
watching the heated summer day
fall to the ground.
I stood there a moment
left cold in shortened breath
contemplating the arrival
of a winters chill, forestalled
simply by getting dressed.

I imagined you here
and baked a cake
at the thought of you.

Still in the midst of winter,
a naked man stands in the window
reflecting the new fallen snow
just like icing,
white as a wedding cake
cooling on the counter.
A warm sweet fresh baked aroma
permeates my apartment
as I get dressed again.

Authors Note:
Frosting is about Autumn changing to Winter, keeping warm, and my recurring thoughts of a spouse while baking cakes.

About the naked part... I wake up, bake a cake, make frosting, take a shower when the cake is cooling, I walk past my chest high window on the way out of the shower and check the weather outside. In the winter, when I bake the most cakes, this is cold, and a new snow on the trees is beautiful.

I left the first word "As" out of the video. The introduction of the ingredients didn't transition well to the reading of the poem. "As" was kind of abrupt. "When" is smoother, like the frosting.

This depression era frosting goes best with angel food cake, in my opinion. Graham crackers is a close second. Sometimes after frosting a cake, the leftovers wind up on grahm crackers.

7 Minute Frosting
1/4 cup Butter (Not Margarine or Vegetable Spread! Use Real Butter!)
1 Egg
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 Cup Cold Water (Ice water without the Ice works best.)
1/4 Cup Flour 1 lb. Powdered Sugar

Cream first 5 ingredients.
Add the flour and powdered sugar.
Beat for 7 minutes on high.

Baker's Tips:
The part about the ice water without the ice, I fill a large cup with ice and the measuring cup with ice. I wait until the ice melts enough to make 1/4 cup. Empty the ice from the measuring cup and measure the water from the large cup. Ice water works best because it keeps the butter from melting. You don't want the butter to melt.

You don't want to use room temperature butter. I use butter when it has been out of the fridge for about 10 to 20 minutes. Not room temperature, not straight out of the fridge, somewhere in-between, but more on the cold side. Well chilled butter helps keep the frosting creamy.

Try adding the first cup of the powder ingredients about 1/4 cups at a time to get things going. Then add the rest about a cup at a time until the powder is blended in just to keep the powder spray down. Once everything is in the bowl, blend it for about 7 minutes.

If the weather is hot it is best to refrigerate the frosted cake. The egg and butter are dairy products and they do get melty after a while. A thin crunchy skin develops on the frosting after about a day in the fridge. Tasty.