May 17, 2008

• Caramel icing

  Not being much of a cook anymore, it's rare
  that I have a triumph in the kitchen, but I had one Saturday, and I'm
  still glowing from it. I cooked up a batch of old-timey Southern
  caramel icing that turned out perfect, and I was just tickled to death.
  So
  tickled, in fact, that I had to find my pink cell phone and call my
  little sister Cissy in Alexandria, Va., because she's the only living
  soul who shares a particular memory that was reigning supreme in my
  mind that afternoon.
  "You will not believe what I just
  made!" I told her. "A batch of caramel icing that tastes JUST LIKE the
  icing Miss Polly Misso used to make and put on those cakes she'd bring
  to Poppy's for us when we were little!"
  "YOU DID NOT!!! E-mail me the recipe right now!"
  Okay, here's my Caramel Icing Story.
  Back
  in our hometown in Mississippi years ago was a kind lady named Miss
  Polly Misso. She had been a friend of my grandmother, (also named
  Polly, but called "Poppy" by her 17 grandchildren), for many years.
  Miss Polly was famous for her cakes, especially her caramel cake, which
  ladies would pay a pretty penny for when they were hosting a party or
  holiday dinner.  Dear, sweet lady that she was, Miss Polly loved to
  make her friends and their families happy by taking them a cake as an
  occasional gift. When she would find out that my grandmother's far-away
  Taylor children were expected for a visit, Miss Polly would get busy
  caramelizing sugar and baking, so that when our travel-weary clan
  arrived at our Poppy's house from Washington State or Washington, D.
  C., there would be waiting, on the green sideboard in the kitchen, one
  of Miss Polly Misso's masterpieces. A three-layer cake, iced with her
  perfect caramel icing. Icing to DIE for. About four inches thick on the
  top of the cake. Creamy and just right, with that dark, New Orleansy,
  praliney-tasting caramel icing that melted in your mouth.
  As
  a child, I never cared for bakery white bakery-birthday-cake icing. It
  was just too sickeningly sweet. Miss Polly's caramel icing had just the
  right touch of richness, almost like a good cup of strong coffee, that
  cut the sweetness and just made it GOOD.
  Even after I was
  grown and married, I can't remember ever trying my hand at Miss Polly's
  icing. A caramel cake like hers seemed like an achievement that was
  just way out of my reach.
  As the years went by, I pretty
  much stopped making anything from scratch, like good Southern cooks
  always used to. No more home-made pie crust — what was the point when
  those All-Ready pie crusts are almost as good? Why bother to get out
  the shortening and the flour and the baking soda to make biscuits when
  the frozen ones taste almost the same? The joy I used to get out of
  cooking in my younger days when I was staying at home keeping house and
  raising little boys had faded. An occasional batch of brownies from a
  mix, or an easy Lemon Icebox Pie made with a bought graham-cracker
  crust was about the extent of my pastry chef-ing.
  But at
  some point in the past year, I started thinking longingly about Miss
  Polly Misso's caramel cake, and I even went as far as emailing my dear
  old friend Janet (ozarksfarmgirl), a wonderful cook, to see if she had that recipe. She
  didn't have Miss Polly's recipe, but gladly shared a similar one from
  “The Mississippi Cookbook” that she had used over the years.
  Saturday
  afternoon seemed like the perfect time to try it. I pulled out my black
  iron skillet, the one I save for cornbread (yes, I do still make
  cornbread from scratch). I caramelized sugar. I cooked milk and butter
  and sugar in another boiler, and added the caramel syrup. I delved back
  into my childhood fudge-making days and scraped up a memory of how to
  tell when candy gets to the "soft-ball" stage when you don't have a
  candy thermometer. I stirred and stirred and stirred, and when I took
  it off the heat and added the vanilla, I beat and beat and beat. And
  after an eternity of beating, it happened. Like magic. Holding my
  breath, I spread it quickly on the waiting sheet cake.
  And then I reverted back to my childhood and happily licked the spoon.
  Oh, my goodness. I took a beater to Doyle to taste. He grinned.
  I HAD DONE IT!!!
  I'd made caramel icing that tasted just like Miss Polly Misso's from long-ago.
  Sweet, with just a hint of faint, rich darkness to temper the sugary goodness.
  It tasted like my Poppy's house. It tasted like a happy childhood.
  Yes, indeed. It tasted just like love.
  •••••••
  Just in case you want to try it, here's my version of the recipe:
  Caramel Icing (by the way, in Mississippi, we call it “kara-mul,” not “karmel”!).
  Put
  3/4 cup half-and-half, one lightly beaten egg, two cups white sugar,
  and a stick of butter into a heavy boiler over low heat, stirring until
  butter melts.
  Keep over low heat while you melt one-half
  cup white sugar in an iron skillet, stirring until it is brown and
  liquid. Watch it carefully, because it will burn.
  Carefully
  pour warm caramel syrup from skillet into mixture in boiler. Turn heat
  up to medium and stir, bringing to a boil. Cook, stirring, until
  mixture reaches soft-ball stage. This will take about 10  minutes.
  Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add one teaspoon
  vanilla and beat, beat, beat with electric mixer until icing thickens
  and loses it glossiness. Spread quickly on cake. If it gets too thick
  to spread, add a little milk. Makes enough icing to frost two nine-inch
  layers or one sheet cake.
  _____
  By Celia DeWoody
  Copyright 2008 Harrison (Ark.) Daily Times
  
  
  
  
  

  • 2:52 pm
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