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Summer around our house looks like a low budget horror movie with the red juices of summer’s bounty dripping from my countertops and children. When the cherry harvest is finished, the strawberries and beets kick in to carry us through until winter.

I’ve never been a beet eater, but our CSA is seeing to it that this is not for lack of trying. Dirty and with the greens removed they look like beheaded dead rats. Blood and all. And their dye tinges everything. Thinking of saving a few for Halloween… They’ve been great julienned and sauteed, but having just baked up 4 of our 20 zucchini (thanks, again CSA), I’m thinking a chocolate cake might be the best resting place for one of our many bundles of beets. A quick google returns a ton of recipes. I’ll let you know if I get that far.

In the meantime, I just finished baking my favorite sponge cake recipe yet. It is from Marion Cunningham’s Fannie Farmer Cookbook (though at the link you’ll find the recipe hers is based on). Though there are several variations, my variation used 5 eggs, separated; 1 cup sugar – separated 3/4 and 1/4; 1/4 tsp salt; 2 tbs lemon juice and 1 cup flour.

The end result is a fluffy cake with a chewy/crispy caramel coat that would be delicious on its own, though at the request of the birthday child, mine was promptly filled with chocolate chips, vanilla ice cream and topped with buttercream frosting. It sits chilling in the freezer, now.

One cake down, and one more to go before the week is out. The big celebration gets a rainbow cake. Can’t wait to get started. Check back Sunday night for pictures.