Throughout the school year, I volunteered regularly at my daughter's school library. I enjoyed helping to shelve the books and listening to our wonderful librarian reading stories to the kids. Recently, I had a chance to hear a reading of Patricia Polacco's "Thunder Cake".
It is a story of how the author, when she was a little girl, conquered her fear of thunderstorms. She and her grandmother walk around their farm ignoring the storm, gathering fresh ingredients for a special "Thunder" cake; these include eggs from the chickens, milk from the cow, and tomatoes from the garden. When the little girl eats a perfectly delicious slice of cake, she is no longer afraid of thunder.
At the end of the book, there is an actual recipe for Thunder Cake. Our librarian provided copies of the recipe for the kids. She told me that she had shared the recipe for many years, but she didn't think anyone had actually ever made this cake. One reason this recipe intrigued me was its interesting use of pureed tomatoes. The story is inspiration enough, however.
I made this cake for the day after the library closed for the school year. We spent all day getting the books in order, and at the end of the day we had our special Thunder Cake treat.
It turns out to be a delicious chocolate cake, moist and not too sweet. We all liked the aesthetic and refreshing addition of strawberries on top. Although we couldn't taste the tomatoes, I think it contributed to the texture, color, and perhaps in subtle ways the special flavor of the cake.
You can find this book's recipe on Patricia Polacco's website. For the most part, I followed the original recipe, making a half portion and increasing the amount of cocoa powder just a bit. This is a great cooking activity to do with the kids, especially during summer thunderstorms!
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I'm currently away on our summer trip and have scheduled this post for you to enjoy in my absence. I'm looking forward to getting your feedback about this dessert!
