Thunder Cake: Book and Recipe
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Have you ever heard of a Thunder Cake? Â You are in for a treat!
When I was a little girl, I absolutely loved thunder storms. (Ok, I still do!) I grew up in southern Florida and storms there are just plain amazing. The rain is warm and the drops are so big just a few of them will drench you to the core. There is nothing quite like a Florida storm. In the summertime they come nearly every afternoon. Â I used to go out and run, dance and play in the rain all the time. When the storms were over, the giant puddles left over were the best to stop in or ride my bike through as the water would fly up and get me all wet. I know that loving storms is not the norm, though.
There are many kids who fear the thunder and the lightning. Some of my kids have feared storms at times. If you have a child who is afraid of thunderstorms, read on!
I have a book that I just love called Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco that is a great way to help kids with their fear of storms.
About The Book:
Thunder Cake is about a little girl with her Grandma. A storm is coming so she hides, but her Grandma helps her overcome her fear of thunder by making a Thunder Cake. She teaches her about watching for lightning and counting slowly until you hear the thunder to see how close the storm is. For each number it is a mile away. (I used to love doing that as a kid! My own kids love doing it as well) If they count and know how far the away the storm is, they know how much time there is to make their thunder cake.
They go about gathering ingredients and counting the distance of the storm. They go to the barn to get eggs, and the milk from the cow.  The lightning cracks but it is 10 miles away. They go to the dry shed to get the chocolate, sugar and flour. Each time the storm is a little closer. At last they gather the secret ingredients- tomatoes?!  Now they are counting just to 5!  They bake the cake together and now the storm is jut 3 miles away.
She and Grandma sit and look out the window together as the cake is baking and talk about how brave she is for getting out from under her bed and helping gather all of the ingredients around the farm. They enjoy their cake as the storm rolls in and she realizes she is no longer afraid of a sound. She now has a wonderful memory of thunder!
Thunder Cake Recipe:
1 c. shortening (I used butter)
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs separated
1 c. cold water
1/3 c. pureed tomatoes (I used canned tomato sauce)
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. dry cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Beat together shortening or butter, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, water and tomatoes. Â mix in the dry ingredients. Beat the egg whites separately until stiff. Â Fold them into the batter gently.
Pour batter into two greased round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Cool and frost with chocolate frosting. Top with sliced strawberries.
Have you ever made a Thunder Cake?
Kids Cooking: German Pancakes
Visual Recipe: Peanut Butter Balls
I have never in my life heard of a cake with tomatoes in it before, I am so curious what it tastes like. And I’m scared of lightning, I should probably read this book myself :).
Melanie, I don’t know if you will see this reply after so many years. If you haven’t tried the recipe, don’t be afraid. I made a similar cake (chocolate tomato soup) when my daughter discovered the recipe. The acid in tomato soup, or just tomatoes, reacts with the baking soda (a base) to replace the lack of rising ingredients. As for flavor, here’s my experience. I am retired from a university food research department. I brought two cakes for a going-away party. One was a typical chocolate sheet cake that is usually gone with only crumbs left. The other was the chocolate tomato soup cake. About half the sheet cake was left and not even a crumb of the chocolate tomato soup cake. Keep in mind that it was served to research scientists who regularly engage in sensory tests to evaluate flavor. Not one of them was able to identify the mystery ingredient! Warning though: the batter smells horrible and the odor is also horrible while it bakes until the last 10 minutes or so. That’s when the addiction starts. This one may be different – no added seasoning in pureed tomatoes like garlic and onion in the tomato soup.
Does anyone know if the butter needs to be room temperature or melted?
Softened.