Seven Minute Frosting

Granny really couldn't cook very well. I'm sure she was a product of her time, but boiling green beans with ham for two or three days before they were eaten really didn't leave much bean to enjoy. And they were mighty salty. I can't even talk about the mincemeat pie, for which she fancied herself famous. Perhaps she was.

I haven't eaten meat in years, but every now and then I want to taste those beans and choke down a bite of mincemeat pie. (For some reason, I was usually allowed--or was it forced?--to eat only a bite. My memory fails me on this one.)

In the summer, she made us "Snow Joes" with ice we crushed by hand using a heavy, metal contraption. For the flavoring, she used a little sugar, a little water, and half a bottle of pure extract: lemon, peppermint, or rum. But what exactly is the difference between Pure Rum Extract and rum? By the time we went to bed or Mom picked us up, we were tipsy from those kid-version mint juleps.

Every birthday cake that I remember Granny making me was iced with Seven Minute Frosting, one of the only things that she made well every single time. In fact, I don't remember even a holiday-related cake that did not have this frosting; it was a family specialty that Granny, Aunt LaVerne, and their mother, myGrandma Mayme, all made.

Until today, I had never tried to make this frosting. I usually end up making a butter and sugar based "cold" frosting. I was feeling a little homesick for Granny's house today, and I pulled out my recipe box to look for the recipe that I must have copied down from her at some point. I could not find the Seven Minute Frosting recipe in any of the cookbooks I own, so I know it must be hers.

Making Seven Minute Frosting is a lot like making candy. Eggs, cream of tartar, sugar, corn syrup, and water cooked over a hot double boiler for seven minutes or until the mixture forms stiff peaks. I made two batches today, and the first one took twelve minutes and the second one took nine.

When it's finished, it looks like melty marshmallow, even when it turns hard on the cake. I could have cried when I tasted that cake and frosting mixture. It was like being home at Granny's again.