Redneck Recipe # 29 - Pickle Kool Kake

Everyone kept telling me how foolish it was to consider making a cake containing dill pickles. Even I kept telling myself that it was a dumb idea. Being the accomplished Redneck that I am, I ignored all of those other folks and their negative thoughts, and I ignored all of those little voices in my own head that tried to convince me that pickles in cakes were just too crazy to think of. So I ignored all of that and, after a few minutes of baking in the microwave oven, Pickle Kool Kakes were welcomed to my bride’s now very messed-up kitchen.

Actually, the doggoned things taste pretty good. The dog refuses to try a piece, but the owner of the kitchen accepted one and said it was "OK." For her, that is truly high praise, and praise that was given with a big smile, too. Then she asked me what kind of fruit I had stuck in the middle.

"Ahem... dill pickle slices."

The smile went away and was replaced by that look husbands get when they are caught doing really dumb things. Oh well. She had already told me the Pickle Kool Kake was "OK," thus praising its flavor and texture to the sky. I had won!

The basic Kool Kake recipe remains the same as before but with some little changes related to the pickle part. I made only two bowls of the Kake (see the photo) that provided a total of 8 triangular slices. Those microwave-safe paper bowls will hold about as much as will one half of a pyrex baking pan that is 13x9x2 inches in size - that is, I cut the following recipe in half:

2 cups flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¾ cup of sugar, 2 packets "Kool Aid" flavoring powder plus ¾ cup of sugar (no sugar in the packets) OR ¾ cup of "Kool Aid" and sugar combination (whichever you like best), ½ cup milk, ½ cup cooking oil, 2 or 3 eggs. If you like, some powdered sugar to sprinkle on top after baking.

You will now need some sliced dill pickles. Being lazy, I bought a jar of "sandwich sliced" dills. That’s a double-purpose buy. I like the pickle slices on sandwiches, too.

To go right on top of those pickle slices, I made a sort of thick sauce using a tablespoon of corn starch, a tablespoon of regular sugar, and 1/8 cup of "Kool Aid – sugar mixture right from its cannister, plus a full tablespoon of cider vinegar. (Kool Sweet and Sour???).

The batter was beaten around until it gave up and got smooth. Then I spooned several spoonfuls into two well-oiled paper bowls. On top of that batter I laid out enough pickle slices so as to cover the batter. On top of the pickle layer went enough of that thick sauce to cover them – no green showing. Then, on went the rest of the batter.

They required 6 minutes of baking in the microwave oven at 50% power, two bowls at a time.

As they cooled I sprinkled them with powdered sugar (having run out of instant pudding mix which I would have preferred). Then I cut the Kakes into quarters, still in their bowls.

That is it. Well, that is almost it.

In place of the pickle slices you could use sliced fruit, fresh or preserved. Peach slices would be good, and perhaps banana slices would work for you. I am not sure about apple slices. They’d be worth a try, but I guess you would have to use really thin slices or cook them ahead of time maybe. If I were to use fruit slices instead of pickle slices, I would also skip that sauce stuff. I only used the sweet and sour sauce because dill pickles in cakes (and in Kakes) is a really dumb idea, right?

Hey, I may be a regulation ding-a-ling in the kitchen, but no one leaves my house hungry. Sick, maybe. Hungry, never.