President Dwight Eisenhower's "Prune Whip"
Prunes have made appearances on Cookin’ with Congress in the past. I’ve eaten them in duffs and on their own, but President Dwight Eisenhowe'r’s creation is delivering prunes in a whole new vehicle for me: a gelatinous, merginue-y vehicle in competition for Shiniest Dish on this site.
Chef Dwight Eisenhower
Republican President from Kansas
As always, I followed the recipe word for word directly from the man they called Ike, whom people apparently liked, no alterations:
INGREDIENTS
1 generous cup dried prunes
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 envelope gelatin
1/4 cup water
4 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1tsp vanilla
cream (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Cook 1 generous cup dried prunes according to directions on package.
There were no cooking directions on the package. I stewed them for 10 minutes until my home was fragrant.
2) Pit and strain them and run through the blender while hot with lemon juice and gelatin dissolved in water and melted over hot water.
There were also no pits in my prunes. Different generations. This line is a bit confusing, but for those of us (me) who are well-versed in gelatin, it’s clear: let the gelatin dissolve in cold water, then place that bowl double-boiler style over a pot of recently-boiled water.
3) When the mixture is smooth, remove it from the blender. Add egg whites beaten stiff with sugar and vanilla.
4) The mixture can be molded in a mold or a bowl. Optional: pour cream on it. It is also good unmolded and decorated with whipped cream.
Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the CwC Instagram or TikTok. Wow! You can almost smell the prunes from here. There was a slight bit of the top that stuck to the simple mold, so it isn’t perfect, but it’s actually pretty close. While Eisenhower liked to pour cream over his prune whip (reportedly there was also a rum sauce that would sometimes accompany it for guests of the White House), I dove in raw. I’ve done the whole “cream on gelatin” thing before, and it did not add to my experience.
Verdict:
If you’re a psycho for prunes, maybe you’ll like this. TikTok and Instagram commenters suggested using apricots or cherries, or even dates, which I could get into. But stewed prune marshmallows is not my idea of a treat, sorry Ike. Plus it made my stomach hurt.
