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7-Minute Frosting

Zola Gorgon

Happy Birthday to Me...

The other day, while we were driving from Chicago to Madison, my husband asked me what I want for my birthday.

"I don't have anything prepared," he said. "Do you want something from Mexico?" (We are going on a business trip to Cancun later this week.)

I told him I hadn't really thought about it and didn't have any idea what I want.

What I want for my birthday is always a difficult question for me. Right after Christmas I don't feel like I deserve anything. Christmas is always wonderful and I'm at an age where I have just about everything one can wish for. I think birthdays are wonderful; don't get me wrong. I treat other people on their birthday like it's their own "personal Christmas." I think it's the most important "holiday." I've just always been a little "whacked" when it comes to my own birthday.

Later that same day, when I got to the office, I remembered that a friend of mine asked me to check into ticket availability for a play that opened in Chicago. It's called "Monty Python's Spamalot." It's a play constructed around the elements from the movie, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." "The Holy Grail" is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. My sense of humor might be a little perverse when it comes to this movie. Every time I see a part of it, I laugh so hard it almost hurts. And it's one of the only movies ever made from which I can quote full scenes. I had intended to order tickets and got all caught up in the holiday rush and totally lost track of that little ticket ordering duty. I knew the play was in Chicago for a limited time before it heads to Broadway.

Turns out the play heads to Broadway in FEBRUARY. I only had three weeks left before I'd miss my chance to see the play! I got on the Internet right away to get tickets. The last weekend it plays is January 21, 22 and 23, so I went for that first. I began by trying Loge. No tickets. Then Orchestra. Nothing. In desperation I put in a choice of "Any" tickets. Nothing.

Next I got on the phone. I went through the whole process on the phone where it prompts you to order using your keypad first. (They don't really want to talk to you unless they have to.) After striking out on all of that, they connected me to a human. She broke the terrible news. No tickets. I was stuck believing her. She's a human and she sounded like she actually felt sorry for me.

I hung up and went weak. How could I be so stupid! How could I forget to order those tickets! I then consulted my calendar. With everything I've got coming up, including the trip to Mexico, I didn't have many openings in the calendar. I had one more night before I was leaving for Cancun; I thought surely there must be at least two tickets available for Wednesday night this week. Any price point. Obstructed view. Didn't matter, I'd take it.

Crashed again. No tickets. I was shut out. I failed. I was truly bummed.

So . . . I emailed my husband, Chris. I said that if he wanted an idea of what to get me for my birthday I had the perfect opportunity for him. I wanted tickets to see "Spamalot." I suggested he work on some connections he might have and, if he could pull off this miracle, I'd thank him profusely and love him forever (even though I already intend to do that). Then I waited . . .

I only made it about five minutes before I emailed him again. This time I told him that if he did pull of this miracle and find two tickets to "Spamalot," he'd better not hold it a secret until my birthday. Reason? Because if he didn't tell me, I knew I was going to use up a lot of my own brain power between now and then scheming to find tickets and, frankly, I have lots of other things I should be thinking about. (I could already see myself making very expensive phone calls from Mexico . . .)

I managed to distract myself and get back to work. It wasn't two hours later and my email lit up with a message inviting me to a meeting on February 21 at 8PM. (On our Outlook program, others in your network can check your calendar and "invite" you to meetings.) I opened it up. Voila! My husband had pulled off the ticket coup of the century. He secured two tickets, 12th Row Orchestra for "Monty Python's Spamalot" and I was "invited."

I cheered, I clapped. I was in awe of my husband's talents once again and my birthday was fulfilled -- early, and even before I've seen the play! Happy Birthday to me!

Now, onto food. What do I eat on my birthday? Cake, of course. What cake? Pretty much any cake will do. My favorite is chocolate or, when I was a little girl, I would ask for marble cake from a bakery oddly enough called Quaker Dairy.

Today what I am going to share with you is my favorite frosting of all times. This is the first thing my mother allowed me to cook on the stove. I can remember clearly because, each time I made it, I had to stand on one of the kitchen chairs so I'd be tall enough to hold the mixer. And because it cooks over boiling water, I had to be really brave and hold the mixer while the steam rose out of the double boiler. It was kind of scary for a little girl, but I thought it was well worth it. This frosting tastes best in winter, so I felt privileged to have a winter birthday so I could have this frosting on my own personal birthday cake. And I got to lick the beaters all by myself.

I have to admit this is not a Zola Original recipe. This is from the Betty Crocker cookbook that is practically older than me. Tattered pages from decades of use and even some dried sticky parts on the revered page that holds the recipe for Double Boiler (7-Minute) Frosting.

I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did as a child because, if you do, your eyes will roll back in your head as the ethereal swirl of white, foamy frosting crosses over your tongue. Pick any of the miracle cakes from the Zola website to go with this. Choose your favorite flavor. Then slather on the frosting. This recipe makes enough for you to mound it on--even an inch thick or more. Don't worry, that's they way it's supposed to be. Thick and fluffy. The kind of frosting you can swirl your spoon in and easily make your cake look like it came from the fanciest bakery.

Two more hints: Serve the cake the same day you make the frosting. As the days pass, the frosting crystallizes and becomes grainy. It's still good that way but not the mind-bending good it is the first day. Cover leftovers of your cake with a cake dome if you can. It does not work well with plastic wrap because the frosting sticks like glue. This frosting does not do well in the refrigerator either.

Double Boiler (7 Minute) Frosting from Betty Crocker

2 egg whites (1/4 cup)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar or 1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and water in top of double boiler. Beat on high speed 1 minute with electric mixer. Place over boiling water (water should not touch bottom of pan); beat on high speed 7 minutes. Remove pan from boiling water; add vanilla. Beat 2 minutes longer on high speed.

Fills and frosts two 8- or 9-inch layers or frosts a 13x9-inch cake.

This news arrived on: 01/07/2005

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