Vanilla Wafer Cake

Vanilla wafers, pretty good on their own, are often the building blocks of desserts (banana pudding anyone?).  In Vanilla Wafer Cake, the cookies are crushed and used in place of flour, making this technically a flourless (but alas not gluten-free) cake.  This recipe may have originated in the south, but this version is in the 1977 Indiana Rural Letter Carriers' Auxiliary Cookbook from Hope, Indiana. This cake has many virtues: originality,  sweetness, moistness and portability.  It will keep fresh for days (if it actually lasts that long) and is sturdy enough to survive being transported on a NYC subway.  The vanilla flavor is enhanced by the addition of coconut (which also ramps up the sweetness factor) and chopped pecans.

Start by crushing a box of vanilla wafers.  (Though the recipe calls for 12 ounces, modern-day boxes contain just 11 -- but it won't affect the outcome.)  I used a food processor to make quick work of the task.  You can also place the cookies in a heavy plastic bag and go at it with a rolling pin or a wine bottle, whichever is handier.

Crushed cookies, below.

This is a simple, one bowl cake.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured bundt or tube pan.  Smooth out the top. Bake at 350.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the cake was upside down when I photographed it (below).  When properly positioned, the top has a nice light crust (see top photo of the slice).  Either way, it tastes really good.

I followed the recipe exactly, using butter instead of margarine and 11 oz. of vanilla wafers.

My dog-eared and prized copy of this cookbook was given to me by Mrs. Howard Stewart of Hope, who was the president of the organization at the time, and contributed many family recipes to the book.

A Cake Occupies Wall Street*

Baking for the revolution that's happening just a few miles from my house seems the perfect way to show support and a wonderful way to channel both my inner radicalism and inner Betty Crocker.
Plus, those occupiers deserve cake.

To feed more people, I opted to make a sheet cake, inspired by Marty Reimer, who baked for the revolution in Egypt earlier this year.  Commenting on my blog post, Egyptian Cake: When Politics and Pastry Collide, she wrote:
"i've been baking a sheet cake most days of the revolution and distributing it to my neighbors. every day i make a different recipe and call it something related to the revolution: "revolution cake," "tahrir cake," "curfew cake," "perseverance cake," etc."

The chocolate sheet cake I made (also called cookie sheet cake) is from one of my very favorite sources: the Indiana Rural Letter Carriers' Auxiliary Cookbook, published in Hope, Indiana in 1977, and given to me personally by the auxiliary president, Mrs. Howard D. [Katherine] Stewart, as she referred to herself.  Southern Indiana is also home to some of my most conservative friends (that's you, John Beach!), a real contrast to the occupiers of Wall Street.

This is an easy cake to put together and is baked, not in a cake pan, but in a 11 x 16 inch cookie sheet, aka, a hotel pan.  First heat the water, two sticks of butter (use that instead of the margarine called for in the recipe) and cocoa powder.

After a few minutes, the mixture will look like this.  Let it come to a boil before pouring it on the flour and sugar that you have waiting in a mixing bowl.

The cake bakes in just 20 minutes.  It's important to start the frosting about five minutes before you take the cake from the oven, as it needs to be poured over the cake while hot.

I didn't like the way the cake looked with just the frosting (the unfrosted cake is pictured above), so I put some sweetened shredded coconut on top.  It adds flavor, texture and an extra yum factor. The occupiers are going the extra mile, so I thought I should too.

*Credit to DS for coming up with the title of this blog post.