I opened Aimee Bender’s The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake with skepticism. The cake on the cover looked tempting indeed. But the thought of something lemon-flavored, generously iced with chocolate frosting? Maybe somebody knows books much better than they know cooking.
Nevertheless, I fell in love with Rose Edelstein immediately. At nine years old, she discovers, to her shock, that she can taste emotions in food. If the cook loses a pet, gets a parking ticket, hates his job, or just wishes something exciting would happen to him, Rose will taste it.
What an original premise for a story.
If Rose could taste my Chocolate Chunk Fudgy Brownies (recipe below), she would know right away that I regret the impending end of summer. This means good-bye to cicadas, to evening reads on the deck, to walks in neighborhoods with fancy landscaping, lunches at Sonic and outdoor concerts.
Nothing like attempting to cover the pain with high doses of chocolate, and these brownies deliver with a wallop. They may look ordinary, but they’re packed with chocolate chips.
Bread dough, packed with ham and cheddar.
And if she tasted my Stuffed Sandwich (recipe below), she’d pick up on my hurry to get through the main dish (though delicious) and on to dessert.
Braided, buttered and ready to bake.
But back to our story.
Rose’s hermit brother keeps disappearing, which is good because when he’s around, he shows nothing but contempt for his little sister.
Rose’s mother, the one whose dissatisfactions keep showing up in the food Rose has to eat for dinner, finally finds a certain purpose in life. Which Rose tastes right away.
Rose’s lawyer father, a good enough chap, seems to work hard at not picking up clues on anybody.
Unfortunately, the charm in the book’s opening pages didn’t last. Perhaps Bender considered her story idea so original that she didn’t want it hampered by story-building conventions. You know, the events that make you say, “Uh-oh” and “Oh, no!” and “I can’t go to bed yet! I’ve got to see what happens!”
In the four or five days it took me to read Lemon Cake, I put the book down easily every time duty called me away and I pushed myself to pick it up again. Bender worked hard to add you-are-there details — middle schoolers chewing on straws, a mom kissing a daughter’s cheek, two people dancing at a wedding, sunlight on a blanket — but lost the premise of Rose’s overactive taste buds early on. It came around again near the end in a semi-satisfying way. But the Edelsteins’ sorrows and worries never gripped me.
This read felt like three times around on a carousel with no music and horses that don’t bob.
Hot from the oven, ready to slice.
STUFFED SANDWICH LOAVES (from the now-defunct Best Recipes Magazine)
- 1 one-lb. loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
- 1/2 lb. sliced deli ham
- 1 c. (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
- melted butter for brushing dough
On lightly floured surface, roll out thawed dough to 10×14 in. rectangle. If dough shrinks back, let rest for 15 minutes, then continue. Pu on greased baking sheet.
Fill center third with ham and cheddar.
With knife, make cuts on out 3rds of dough @ 1-inch intervals. Fold strips diagonally over filling, overlapping to give a braided appearance. Brush dough with melted butter. Let rise until puffy, about 1/2 hour.
Bake in preheated 375′ oven 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and serve.
CHOCOLATE CHUNK FUDGY BROWNIES (from 365 Great Cookies and Brownies)
- 2 sticks (8 oz.) butter
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chunks (2 cups)
Preheat oven to 350′. Grease a 9×13-in. baking pan.
Melt butter over low heat or in a microwave. Scrape into a medium bowl. Add cocoa powder and stir until well blended. Mix in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla, then flour and salt. Do not overbeat. Stir in chocolate chunks.
Turn into prepared pan, leveling surface. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove pan to a rack. Let cool completely in pan before cutting into 24 bars.
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