A couple of weeks ago, Phillida Mirk of Camden asked about how to make white chocolate behave itself in cake frosting. I was the wrong person to ask because I have not had luck with it either. It always turned out grainy, stiff, and miserable. But bless Helen Hendry of Southwest Harbor, who knows just what to do and sent along instructions.

She wrote, “Allow me to submit my white chocolate frosting recipe that I have used with great success for many years.” She can’t remember where the recipe came from, but no matter. Armed with her advice, I strode confidently into the kitchen and, by gosh, made a downright creditable frosting out of white chocolate for the first time ever.

A word on white chocolate. First off, it isn’t chocolate. According to the National Confectioners Association Web site (www.candyusa.org), FDA standards require that white chocolate be a combination of cocoa butter, sugar, butterfat, milk solids, lecithin and flavorings. They say, “It contains no chocolate liquor and so gets its mild chocolate flavor from the cocoa butter. It also gets its ivory color from this most sublime fat.” They say that if the white chocolate you buy looks bright white, “chances are it contains no cocoa butter but instead a mixture of vegetable fat, milk solids, sugar, lecithin and flavorings.” If you want the genuine article, look for the words “cocoa butter” among the ingredients listed on the package.

They also tell us what Philida and I learned by accident, that white chocolate is more sensitive to heat than dark chocolate. Candy USA’s experts caution us to heat it in a double boiler with water between 110 F and 120 F and warn that, “White chocolate chips are tricky to melt in particular because they contain the least amount of cocoa butter of any form of white chocolate.” Ah-ha!

Helen melts her chocolate in the microwave on a normal setting for 30 seconds. Then she takes it out, stirs it, and puts it back in for another 10 seconds, stops, stirs again and determines if more time is needed. She may zap it for another 10 seconds. Easy does it, and check often.

So let’s assume that all has gone well with this recipe, and you have a nice little frosting to spread. I put it on some brownies that my friend Bonnie brought over, but the intensity of the chocolate in the brownies overwhelmed the white chocolate. Bonnie, Jamie and I thought after sampling that it would be a great frosting to use in the same way you might use a cream cheese frosting: on carrot, banana, or spice cake, for example.

Since the Independence Day holiday is coming right up, I was thinking the frosting might make a terrific background for a Fourth of July cake. I first heard of this, long before Martha Stewart put one on the cover of her magazine, from Agnes Cilley, who lived here on Islesboro (and remembered my husband when he was a little boy.) Agnes always made a Fourth of July cake, which was basically a plain cake, frosted in white, and decorated all over with blueberries and strawberries for a red, white, and blue finish to a picnic lunch.

Looking for…

Fig bars. Betty Martin e-mailed this week and said, “I am looking for a recipe for fig bars. I have made them the same as I would for date bars but am looking for one with a cookie dough or pastry type dough. I have been searching for one in all of my cookbooks and online and can’t find the one.” Maybe one of you has the one?

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.

White Chocolate Frosting

Yields 2 cups

4 1/2 ounces of white chocolate

1 3/4 to 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

pinch of salt

Melt the white chocolate gently in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir until it is smooth and set aside to allow it to come to room temperature. Put 1 3/4 cups of confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl, stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the butter and salt, and beat the mixture until it is smooth, then stir in the white chocolate. If the frosting needs to be firmer, beat in more confectioners’ sugar until it has the spreading consistency you desire. It will firm up when it is cold.