Monday, January 8, 2018

Cream of Wheat for Dessert?



I'm starting off 2018 with a recipe for something I loathed as a kid. Seriously. And my mom made it quite often. I wasn't a very picky eater as a child, but when it came to Cream of Wheat, I sealed up my lips and wasn't having any of it. So why am I sharing this?

Not too long ago, a visiting friend opened my pantry and said, "She's hiding the good stuff in here!"

Naturally, I thought she meant chocolate. I walked over to see what the excitement was about. Can you believe it? Everyone present made a fuss over Cream of Wheat! If you have never cooked Cream of Wheat, allow me to assure you that there is nothing easier. Not even oatmeal.

When my mother served this, we ate a big salad first, then she brought out the Cream of Wheat Casserole. Casserole seems like the wrong name for it, but that's a direct translation from German (Griessauflauf), and I guess that's really what it is. It wasn't until I started making it for my mom and searching recipes that I discovered it's a comfort food dessert in Germany! Who knew?

It's not the sort of thing you'll find in a restaurant. It's definitely a homemade dish. Frankly, I am convinced that it was the brainchild of some mom whose kids didn't eat all their Cream of Wheat. She probably threw in some eggs and a little sugar and voila, there was their breakfast in the form of dessert.

Now, even though I'm not crazy about it, I have to say that if you have someone at home who is ailing and likes Cream of Wheat, this is a great choice. Did you know that one serving of Cream of Wheat provides 50% of your daily iron requirement? It's easy to digest and good for you, too.

Cream of Wheat Casserole (Griessauflauf)

4 cups milk
dash of salt
3/4 cup Cream of Wheat
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar + 1/4 cup sugar
7 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 bag frozen fruit (like sliced peaches)
sugar
water

8x11 or 9x13 casserole pan

Cook cream of wheat according to instructions on box. Basically bring 4 cups milk and dash of salt to a boil. Slowly pour in 3/4 cup Cream of Wheat while whisking. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring, for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat to cool. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and stir in. Note: I have made the Cream of Wheat in advance used it when it looked like a useless big glop. It works fine. It should be cool when added.

When ready to proceed, pour the frozen fruit into a pot. Add between 1/3 and 1/2 cup water and sugar to taste. (You can add more sugar if needed when thawed.) Cook the frozen fruit until thawed and warm. Taste to add sugar if necessary.

Preheat oven to 400. Beat the 1/2 cup sugar with the butter. Separate the eggs, placing egg yolks into the butter mixture, and the egg whites into a beating bowl. Beat the egg yolks into the butter mixture. Add the gloppy cream of wheat and beat to combine.

Change to paddle to an egg white beater and beat the egg whites. Fold the egg whites into the cream of wheat mixture.

Mix the 1/4 cup sugar with the cinnamon. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top.

Bake 25 minutes. Serve warm with fruit. Leftovers heat nicely in the microwave.

Note: Do not store with fruit or it will become soggy.


Make Cream of Wheat.

Whip eggs separately.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Fresh from the oven.



Coming February 27th!

5 comments:

  1. My mother made us eat Cream of Wheat too. It was OK, but I actually like Cream of Rice better or oatmeal. However, this is really interesting and I've never heard of it. Bet it would be good with blackberries or a berry mix. Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I might make this just for the name! I did like Cream of Wheat as a child--I'd bury lumps of hard dark brown sugar (remember when it got lumpy?) in it and then go digging for them. (Lots of sugar!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Who knew?
    I like almost any hot cereal, as long as it doesn't have nasty lumps!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my gosh. That is hilarious. I hated Cream of Wheat when I was a kid. The last time I ate it was in the hospital in 1977 when I had given birth to our son. Mom was just in the hospital and she ate it at breakfast. I like oatmeal well enough, but I refuse to eat cream of wheat no matter how you dress it up!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What an interesting recipe. I think my husband would really love it and I would like it too, so I'll print it out now! XO MJ

    ReplyDelete