I flew my mom out to see me last month with the lure of cherry blossoms and cherished friends, but the real reason for her trip from Minnesota to Washington was for the two of us to cook together.
Dorothy Sietsema moves like someone half her age, entertains as if she’s competing with Martha Stewart and likes to tell the story about the safari she took to Kenya last year. (When one of her Maasai escorts told her that his father had six wives and that he himself was considering a second, she told him “one is enough.”)
My mom is also 87 years old and tells me, “I don’t taste as well as I used to.” Both of us know she won’t be around forever. More than almost any heirloom from my family home — my late father’s fabulous photographs, the toys of my childhood — it’s my mom’s recipe for her World’s Fair Cake that I most desired.
No other dessert in our Worthington, Minnesota, household could compete with the colorful high-rise constructed with four rounds of buttermilk chocolate cake sandwiched with four flavors of fresh whipped cream. The fantasy starts with pale green whipped cream flavored with vanilla and crushed pistachios and is followed by soft yellow whipped cream touched with almond. The third whipped-cream layer, tinted pink, crackles with bits of peppermint candy in the filling. Finishing the top of the cake is whipped cream spiced with cocoa and cinnamon.
The centerpiece of countless birthdays and company dinners from the mid-1960s on never failed to impress anyone lucky enough to be served a slice. The cake’s uncertain origins made it mysterious; Mom couldn’t recall where she picked up the idea or which fair the cake referenced.
When I was a kid, my “job” consisted of licking the beaters once the batter went into the oven, so it wasn’t until last month that I fully appreciated the effort my mom put into assembling the confection. The cake, almost always made from scratch. The four separate bowls of whipped cream. The care it took to turn two round cakes into four delicate layers, sometimes using dental floss.
“It’s really simple,” my mom says as she creams shortening and sugar and I melt chocolate for what will eventually become an edible circus. “But it takes time. That’s why you only make it for people you like.”
Mom was always good about sending guests home with leftovers. The only exception to her generosity was the World’s Fair Cake. It stayed in our refrigerator, where its charms intensified over the few days it lingered under Saran Wrap held up with toothpicks. The cake seemed to get more moist, the fillings more intense, the longer it chilled out.
That cake wasn’t the sole family treasure I hoped to glean during Mom’s visit. Before she left home, I had her mail me instructions for her Rice Krispie Potatoes (you read that right). The potatoes took their name from the crushed cereal, in which my mom rolled buttered boiled spuds before baking them; snap, crackle and pop wasn’t just for breakfast on South Shore Drive.If I wanted to hang on to the flavors of my youth, I had to document every ingredient and record every step.
A funny thing happened on the way to finishing these recipes. The mixing and measuring, the slicing and dicing — the release of a cork from a bottle of rosé — got us talking about the past, mostly hers. My mom didn’t come from money, far from it, but she ate well, thanks to a single dad who tended a big garden and canned “everything!” including strawberries that were made into a sauce that was spread on toast whenever little Dorothy fell sick. Turns out, the straightforward goulash she made for my siblings and me was also her own childhood request every birthday back in tiny Stewartville, Minnesota
Our afternoon together had a few glitches. After some wine on the front porch, Mom and I returned to the kitchen, where one of us accidentally turned on the mixer with its beaters up, splattering the floor, the counter and us with whipped cream. We vowed not to tell my significant other, the neatnik. Dorothy being Heloise, she asked for an old toothbrush and soapy water to scrub the rug free of evidence of our misadventure.
Always teaching, aren’t you, Mom?
There will come a day, hopefully far off, when my favorite cook won’t be around to throw together a chocolate cake. I’d like to think that in her absence, I’ll be able to feel her presence.
World’s Fair Cake
For the cake
2 cups flour, plus more for the cake pans
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/4 squares (21/4 ounces) bittersweet baking chocolate, melted
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup water
1 cup regular or low-fat buttermilk
For the filling
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 or 2 drops green food coloring, preferably natural
3/4 cup chopped roasted, unsalted pistachios
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 or 2 drops yellow food coloring, preferably natural
1/4 cup chopped peppermint candies (may substitute 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract)
1 or 2 drops red food coloring, preferably natural
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
More than almost any heirloom from Tom Sietsema’s Worthington, Minnesota, family home, the Washington Post food critic most desired his mom’s recipe for her World’s Fair Cake. No other dessert could compete with Dorothy Sietsema’s colorful high-rise constructed with four rounds of buttermilk chocolate cake sandwiched with four flavors of fresh whipped cream.
Make ahead: The flavored, colored batches of whipped cream can be covered and refrigerated up to a day in advance. If there’s any cake left over, its flavor gets better with time; the assembled cake can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days.
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use butter to grease two 9-inch-round cake pans, then dust with flour, shaking out any excess. If you have them, line the bottom of each pan with a 9-inch round of parchment paper; this will make it easier to handle the cake later when you cut each layer in half.
Combine the shortening and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer; beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until well incorporated. Stop to scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs; beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Stop to scrape down the bowl. Add the melted chocolate and beat (medium speed) just until blended.
Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding one-third of the flour mixture, the water, another third of the flour mixture and the buttermilk, ending with the remaining flour mixture; beat to form a smooth, thin batter.
Divide the batter between the cake pans; bake (middle rack) for about 40 minutes or just until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Do not overbake. Transfer the cake, in the pans, to a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.
For the filling: Combine the heavy whipping cream and ½ cup of the confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer; beat on low, then medium-high speed for about 5 minutes or until soft peaks form.
Divide the whipped cream among four bowls. Stir in the vanilla extract, green food coloring and pistachios in one bowl, using just enough color to make the tint a soft pastel green. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Stir in the almond extract and yellow food coloring in the second bowl, using just enough color to make the tint a soft pastel yellow. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Stir in the peppermint candies and red food coloring in the third bowl, using just enough color to make the tint a soft pastel pink. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Stir in the cocoa powder, the remaining tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar and the cinnamon in the fourth bowl, blending to form an even light-chocolate tone. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Use a long serrated knife or unwaxed dental floss to cut each cake layer in half horizontally and evenly.
Place one of the four thin cake layers on a serving plate. Spread the green whipped cream evenly across the top, making sure it goes to the edges. (The sides of the cake remain exposed.)
As needed, peel off the parchment from the matching cake layer half, then place the cake layer peeled side up on top of the green whipped cream. Top the second cake layer with the yellow whipped cream.
Place the third cake layer half atop the yellow whipped cream, then spread the pink whipped cream evenly over that surface.
As needed, peel the remaining parchment paper off the last cake layer half; place the layer on top of the pink whipped cream, peeled side up. Spread the chocolate-cinnamon whipped cream on top. Unless you’re serving the cake right away, use bamboo skewers to hold the layers in place. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 12 to 16 servings.
Nutrition per serving (based on 16, using low-fat buttermilk): 430 calories, 5g protein, 49g carbohydrates, 25g fat, 12g saturated fat, 75mg cholesterol, 400mg sodium, 1g dietary fiber, 34g sugar
Rice Krispie potatoes
6 whole medium red potatoes
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, melted
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups crisped rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies, crushed
Bette Struve, a sister-in-law of Tom Sietsema’s mother, used to make chicken coated in Rice Krispies for Sunday supper. Dorothy Sietsema borrowed the trick for potatoes; it lends a nice crunch to a basic side dish. Serve with meatloaf or roast beef.
Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain, cool and peel.
Meanwhile, stir the garlic powder into the melted butter. Season the potatoes lightly with salt and pepper.
Spread the crushed cereal on a large plate. Coat the potatoes in the seasoned melted butter, then press them into the cereal so they are coated all over, transferring them to a baking dish as you work. Pour any leftover butter over the potatoes. Bake for 25 minutes, until lightly browned.
Serve warm.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Nutrition per serving (based on 6): 310 calories, 5g protein, 47g carbohydrates, 12g fat, 7g saturated fat, 30mg cholesterol, 105mg sodium, 0g dietary fiber, 1g sugar
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