D R A M A++Q U E E N

Tell us about an outing with your kids that went way, way wrong. Send your tales to Drama Queen

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R E C E N T L Y

A counterculture childhood
By Lisa Michaels
In an excerpt from her new book, the author remembers being 3 years old and waving a Viet Cong flag
(07/15/98)

Beach babble on
By Polly Shulman
A selection of books immerses kids in a wetter, wavier world
(07/14/98)

A masterful Machiavellian matriarch
By Lesley Gold
For 24 years Rep. Pat Schroeder cleaned two houses
(07/13/98)

Cracking down
By Jeff Stryker
Paying addicted mothers not to have children
(07/10/98)

The demise of discipline: Second of three parts
By Sallie Tisdale
It's not enough to pour love into children
(07/09/98)

BROWSE THE FEATURE ARCHIVES

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Mamafesto
By Camille Peri
Why it's time
for Mothers Who Think

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Hot Milk Cake With Caramel Icing
1 cup milk
1 stick butter
4 eggs, well beaten
2 cups sugar
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well by hand. Pour eggs over and mix. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring milk and butter to a boil. Quickly pour over mixture in large bowl and mix well, moving quickly so the eggs don't curdle. (My mother says you have to be young and strong to make Hot Milk Cake.) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it tests done.

Caramel Icing (from "The Fannie Farmer Baking Book" by Marion Cunningham)

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs. light corn syrup
2 Tbs. butter
2/3 cup heavy cream

Combine the sugars, corn syrup, butter and cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring until the sugar melts. Cover and cook for about three minutes over low heat to prevent the frosting from becoming granular. Remove the cover and cook to about 240 degrees, or "soft ball stage." Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Beat until thick enough to spread -- the color will lighten and the frosting will lose its sheen. It if becomes too thick, stir in some droplets of cream. (This last step never works for me, however.) You will have enough to fill and frost an 8-inch, two layer cake.
SALON | July 16, 1998

From "The Fannie Farmer Baking Book" by Marion Cunningham, ©1984 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with the permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.