Hatbox Cake
"But where was the cake?... She had put the cake into her hatbox instead! Then she remembered something else. She had thrown the hatbox up on the shelf with a terrific wham... Perhaps the cake was all right. But how could it be — when it was such a soft cake and she had given it such a wham. She tried not to think about it."
1 cake of your choosing (homemade, from a mix, or store-bought)
2 cups frosting (as above)
Chopped nuts (optional)
1 pt. ice cream
Frost the cake and sprinkle with the nuts. Put the cake into an appropriate-sized plastic container (you may want to cut the cake into pieces to fit, or use 2 containers). Tape the lid on securely with packing or duct tape. Now let your kids throw it around and drop it until the cake and frosting are "swoozed together." Serve the "pudding" topped with ice cream.
What's Good for You
It's not the occasional piece of cake that overloads kids on sugar. It's more likely to be hidden sugars (like high-fructose corn syrup), found in everything from ketchup to granola bars, that can make kids' diets unhealthy.
Ann Hodgman knows a thing or two about working food into a story: In addition to her cookbooks, she has written more than 40 children's books, including the juvenile series "Lunchroom," with titles like "Rubberband Stew" and "Frog Punch."
