Kids Cuisine

I spend inordinate amounts of time cooking, baking, researching recipes, grocery shopping, and generally talking about food. When one of my kids shows an interest in cooking, I jump at the chance to help them love the culinary world as much as I do.

I received the Twinkies Cookbook from one of my sisters as a birthday present this past summer. Who would have thought you can make your wedding cake out of Twinkies and fondant?! My daughter was very intrigued by a cookbook devoted to Twinkies and she decided to tackle one of the recipes. She made up a grocery list for me that included 18 Twinkies, a gallon of ice cream, and a tub of Cool Whip. With the wind whipping outside at 40 miles per hour and the wind chill at 10 degrees above zero, I thought it was an odd request. Never one to squash her cooking dreams, I purchased all of the ingredients she needed and she was ready to make Twinkie Ice Cream Cake.

My daughter likes to ask a lot of questions. At each step of the process, she would read the directions and then rephrase them to me and ask if she had it right. The cake was easy enough to make and produces enough for about 12 people. Her finished product was a masterpiece. Even with the overload of Twinkies, it did not have a processed sponge cake with imitation cream filling taste. The most difficult part was actually managing to squeeze all of the ingredients into a 9 x 13 pan.

Twinkie Ice Cream Cake

adapted from The Twinkies Cookbook

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
2 tbs confections’ sugar
6 tbs butter, melted
18 Twinkies
1 gallon of your favorite ice cream
1 cup Cool Whip
1/2 cup chocolate syrup

To prepare the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press evenly into a 9 x 13 inch dish.

Cut about 1/2 of the ice cream crosswise into 1 inch thick slices and arrange on top of the crust. Cut 12 Twinkies in half lengthwise and and arrange on top of the ice cream. cut the remaining 6 Twinkies into 1 inch pieces and stir into softened remainder of the ice cream. Spread the mixture over the Twinkies. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and top with Cool Whip. Freeze for about 2 hours. Cut into squares to serve.

I am just beaming when one of my kids asks if they can cook. My 10-year-old son has mastered scrambled eggs, my 14-year-old daughter will make and eat just about anything, but has a propensity for not being the neatest of cooks, and my 13-yea- old daughter is the Queen of Buttered Noodles. Won’t they all be surprised when they pull their gift subscriptions to Bon Appetit out of their Christmas stockings?