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Stop Wailing. Start Baking

All winter, friends have been wailing about winter. When will it be over? Will summer ever come? Others complain about the cold. Some have slipped on ice.

For me, winter on the Connecticut shoreline isn’t bad. I grew up in Troy, New York, went to college in Ithaca and Rochester, and lived and worked in Worcester, Massachusetts. Even the isolation during the pandemic wasn’t bad for me. I read a lot, I write a lot, I cook a lot, I learned about HGTV. My daughter installed Roku on my television. And I get all my food magazines.

Last week my new Bon Appetit arrived and the cover showed a pale green cake topped with chocolate glaze showered with pale green powder. But the recipe called for mochiko (or sweet rice flour) and matcha. So I called Christine, who owns Fromage in Old Saybrook. “Oh, Lee,” she said, “I just sold the last package,” and said she’d have more by the end of the week. Obviously, I wasn’t the only shoreline denizen who saw the magazine’s cover photo.

The next day I got my copy of Yankee and saw a recipe requiring only ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator. Wait until you try this one.

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Maple Gooey Butter Cake

From Amy Traverso, Yankee, March/April 2022

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 cup salted butter, melted, plus more for

greasing pan*

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for

dusting pan*

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup maple syrup, at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for

sprinkling

2 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup maple syrup, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon maple extract (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and set a rack in the middle position. Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with a thin layer of butter, then sprinkle with some flour, tilting the dish to coat evenly. Discard excess.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together I cup melted butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla. Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until evenly combined. Use your hands to press this mixture into an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Now, prepare the topping: Using a stand or handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese with the confectioners’ sugar and eggs in a large bowl until smooth. Add maple syrup and maple extract (if using). Beat until smooth. Pour topping over the cake base. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is puffed but still jiggle slightly when you shake it, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Sprinkle with additional confectioners sugar just before serving.

*I use PAM in the blue can for baking instead of buttering and flouring a baking pan