Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts
One major weakness of mine is cake. Another one is lemon. Combine the two things and I fear I am totally a lost cause. Can. Not. Resist.
Especially when it is a cake that is as delicious as this Lemon Buttermilk Loaf Cake. With its full on lemon flavors and scrumptious lemon glaze topping, this cake spells winner with capital "W" "I" "N" "N" "E" "R!" Make no mistake about it!
I have never met a lemon cake I did not love and this one is no exception. It is a well known fact that buttermilk makes cakes that are wonderfully moist and rich.
There are a lot of lemon buttermilk cake recipes out there, but most are baked in a Bundt tin. This one differs in that it is baked in a loaf pan, and it makes one loaf, not two, or three, etc. Just one incredibly moist and lemony cake.
One 8 by 4 inch loaf. Enough to serve 4 really hungry people, or two hungry people with leftovers, or 8 peckish people. It all depends on if you are peckish, hungry, or you just adore lemon cake.
If you are here, I gather you are at least one of those. But I am pretty sure you at least love lemon cake.
If you have lemons, butter, buttermilk, sugar, eggs, flour and a few odds and sundries like vanilla, baking powder and baking soda, then you already have the makings of this lush, moist and delicious cake!
I used to belong to a baking group, called Tuesdays with Dorie. In that group we used to bake one recipe a week, together as a group from Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking with Dorie. Sadly I had to leave all of my Dorie Greenspan books back in the UK last autumn.
I actually learned a lot from baking her recipes however. One thing was that to get a real depth of lemon flavor into baked goods, it helps to rub the lemon zest into the sugar.
Just measure out your sugar, add your freshly grated zest and start rubbing. Before you know it your nose and your kitchen will be filled with the lovely fragrance of lemon, and your bake will be filled with abundant lemon flavours.
This single act helps to release all of the natural oils in the lemon skins/zest and imparts a lovely flavor to the cake. I have done it ever since I learned it from Dorie and have never regretted it. You won't either.
Do you wash your lemons before you zest them? I do. You never know what lurks on the skins of your lemons. Not to be indelicate or anything, but lemons are grown in hot dry climates for the most part, and you know what proliferates in hot dry climates? Flies.
Those clusters of little black or brown dots you may see here and there on your lemon skins . . . fly dirt. SO I wash my lemons. Unwaxed, waxed, no matter. Also there are pesticides which are used.
So I just give the skins a good wash under cold running water and use a veggie bush to give them a bit of a scrub and then dry them with a soft dry cloth.
I could be wrong of course . . . but what then if I am right. Its not a chance I like to take. Mind you, when I was a child I thought banana seeds were spider eggs, lol. I didn't eat a banana for years on that presumption, lol.
Do use real lemon juice in this cake. Please don't use the little squeeze lemon bottles of reconstituted juice. It just is not the same. There is a huge difference in flavor.
It might be re-constituted from real lemon juice, but there's other stuff in there. I can smell it and I can taste it. Just don't. Real, fresh lemon juice is the way to go.
How else are you going to get that lovely fresh zest anyways? Unless you use fresh lemons. Eh?
There is something magical about buttermilk that renders every baked good it touches deliciously moist. Some sort of chemical reaction. I am no chemist, but I love buttermilk anything. Cakes, cookies, loaves, pies, biscuits, breads . . .
All are fabulous. If you don't have any buttermilk, you can make a suitable substitute by adding 1 TBS of lemon juice to a measuring cup and adding the amount of liquid buttermilk you need in whole milk to take its place. Let it sit for five minutes to clabber.
Vinegar will do the same thing. I used to have to do this a lot in the UK because I couldn't always find buttermilk. I don't know what was up with that.
Ireland is steeped in buttermilk, but in the UK? Largely an unsung hero. If you could find it at all, it was only ever in 1 cup sized pots. I am so grateful to be back in the land of buttermilk.
Have you ever marinated your chicken in buttermilk before you cook it? Oh boy, but does it ever make for tender chicken.
One of my favorite chicken recipes is this Buttermilk Chicken. Oh boy but it is some juicy and delicious. I haven't made it in a while. Time to make it again methinks.
Even more lemon flavor comes from the lush lemon glazed which gets spooned over top of the cake. Its just icing sugar, cream and lemon juice, oh and a bit of lemon zest.
The cake is lovely without it, but the glaze turns lovely into magnificent. Devine!! Lush!!! Beautiful!!!!
If you have time to bake only one cake this weekend, let it be this one. You won't regret it. I can promise you that!
You could inject even more lemon flavor into the cake by brushing it with a simple lemon syrup when it comes out of the oven. I sometimes do. Simply warm together 1/4 cup of sugar (50g), 1/4 cup of water (60ml) and 1 1/2 TBS of lemon juice, until the sugar completely dissolves.
Using a pastry brush, brush it on top of the lemon loaf, letting it soak in and brushing it on some more, repeating until you have used it all up.
There is no two ways about it. This is one fabulous lemon cake. Enjoy!!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake
Yield: One 8 X 4 inch loaf
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 50 Min
This beautifully moist loaf cake is bursting with lovely lemon flavors1
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 (210 grams)cups all purpose plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1/2 cup (120grams) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (195 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 TBS freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large free range eggs
- 3 fluid ounces of buttermilk
- 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
For the glaze:
- 3/4 cup (95 gram) icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2 TBS heavy cream
- 1/2 TBS fresh lemon zest, plus some for dusting over the top
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter your loaf tin really well and line the bottom with baking paper. Set aside.
- Rub the lemon zest for the cake into the sugar in a bowl until it is really fragrant. Add the butter & vanilla. Beat until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Whisk together the buttermilk and lemon juice.
- Beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, alternating wih the buttermilk, until everything is fully combined and all of the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Scrape into the prepared loaf tin. Bang the tin on the counter a couple times to release any air bubbles.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs. The top should also spring back when lightly touched.
- Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk the icing sugar, cream 1/2 TBS of lemon zest and lemon juice together until smooth and of a drizzling consistency. Spoon over the cake and then sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon more of lemon zest.
- Cut into slices to serve.
Applesauce Spice Cake. I confess to having a great love for spice cakes. Not only do they taste pretty wonderful, but they also smell heavenly when they are baking.
Not a lot of people bake spice cakes these days. Spice cake is a bit of an old fashioned concept in cakes. Young people want sparkle and dazzle. I confess I don't understand the draw to funfetti cakes. Perhaps it is a generational thing.
Give me something simple any day of the week and I am more than happy. Over the moon in fact.
This is an old fashioned cake recipe, much in the style of what your grandmother might have baked, and her mother before her. There are no bells and whistles, not unless you consider a frosting a bell or a whistle!
It uses simple, every day ingredients, and goes perfectly with a nice hot cuppa. (Today it was Creamy Peach herbal tea.)
It is quite a bit cooler outside today, and raining. I didn't mind putting my oven on to bake this lovely cake. And once I walked down to check my mail and returned, the smell of the baked cake started my tastebuds to tingling.
I wasn't long making the frosting, icing the cake and putting the kettle on so that I could sit down and enjoy a piece with a nice hot cuppa.
It is a very simple cake to make. It is also a small batch recipe. It makes four perfect layer cake slices.
I frosted it with a cinnamon buttercream frosting. Just in the middle and on the top. I did not bother with the sides, although you certainly could if you wanted to.
The cake itself is a simple cake. Butter and sugar are creamed together to begin with. I used demerara sugar, which is a type of brown sugar.
I used some applesauce as well. Because I am on my own, I buy my applesauce in small single serve pots. The kind you might buy to put in children's lunch boxes. It just makes sense, and there is no waste. What doesn't go into the cake, I just eat with a spoon. (Its good for you! Especially if you buy the unsweetened kind!) 
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You only need an egg yolk, not the white. I always freeze the whites. I always use them. You can add them to omelets if you are making one, or use them to make an angel food cake, once you have enough.
I make a lovely Angel Food Cake for Two. Its delicious! You can find that recipe here.
The cake itself is filled with lots of lovely warm baking spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and some cloves.
I also add vanilla and lemon extracts. An old Italian woman taught me a long time to add a splash of lemon whenever I was using vanilla in cakes like this.
I am not sure how it works exactly, but the vanilla flavor really pops when you do that! Its like magic!
I also added some raisins to the cake. You don't need to, its completely optional. I happen to really like raisins however and, for me at least, they are a perfect addition to a spice cake.
There are not a lot of them, just a few. Nice little sticky surprises when you go to eat the cake. You could also add toasted walnuts if you wanted to.
Or just leave the cake as is, unadulterated by anything but those lovely warm baking spices.
The cake itself bakes in an 8-inch square baking dish. It won't look very tall when you take it out of the oven. You could also bake it in a loaf tin if you wanted to, but I find the 8-inch square dish to be the perfect size.
I butter it and then line it with paper, leaving an overhang which makes it very easy to lift the cake out when done.
The cake itself only takes about 25 minutes to cook. And it cools very quickly as well.
I like to cut the cooled cake in half down though the center of the cake, creating two 4 by 8-inch rectangles. The perfect size for filling and layering together with a lush cinnamon buttercream frosting.
This is also very easy to make. Just bang everything into a bowl and beat it up with an electric hand whisk until everything is light, creamy and ready for spreading. I only fill and top the cake.
As you can see it makes a very generous and creamy filling and topping. There is no need to ice the sides.
This went down a real treat with my hot cuppa, and I guarantee it will go down a real treat with yours too! A spicy, moist and delicious cake with a fabulously creamy frosting. What's not to enjoy!!
Applesauce Spice Cake with a Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
Yield: 2 with leftovers
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
This delicious, moist cake is nicely spiced, and studded with raisins. It cuts into exactly four pieces. The cinnamon buttercream is the perfect adornment!
Ingredients
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 TBS demerara sugar, packed (you can use granulated sugar if you want a lighter cake)
- 1 large free range egg yolk (freeze the white for another time)
- 1/4 cup (62g) applesauce
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp lemon extract
- 2/3 cup (90g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (35g) dark raisins (optional)
For the frosting:
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 cups (260g) icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 TBS milk (or as needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish. Line with baking paper, leaving an overhang for ease in lifting out.
- Sift together the flour, spices, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla and lemon extracts, and apple sauce. (If the batter curdles, add a spoonful of the flour mixture.)
- Beat in the flour, alternately with the milk. You should have a batter with a soft dropping consistency.
- Fold in the raisins, if using, and then spread the batter in the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until risen, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top should also spring back when lightly touched.
- Lift out from the baking dish and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the icing measure all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat together, only adding enough milk to give you a smooth and creamy consistency. (You may need more milk. )
- Cut the cake in half through the center.
- Put a dollop of icing on a serving plate. Place 1/2 of the cake on the plate, bottom side up. Spread with half the icing. Place the other cake half on top, right side up. Spread the remaining frosting on top.
I am so happy to be sharing this beautiful old fashioned rhubarb cake recipe with you today. It is not often you see a rhubarb cake with buttermilk! This is the BEST rhubarb cake going.
So simple and yet, so delicious. This is the type of cake that you can dress up or dress down, depending on when you are going to serve it.
Left plain, it makes the perfect snacking cake. Beautiful served with an ice cold glass of milk, or with a cup of your favorite hot drink.
Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, however, it then becomes one of the tastiest dessert cakes going!
You can even frost it with a simple vanilla buttercream frosting if you like.
I always like to dust it with a bit of icing sugar, or confectioner's sugar as it is also known. I have also seen it called powdered sugar. Whatever the name, it is the sugar you use to make icings with.
Its like popping a frilly crinoline underneath your fullest skirt. It just becomes prettier! And we all know we eat with our eyes first.
Rhubarb, or Pie Plant as it is also called, is one of my favorite spring time/early summer fruits! On its own it is very tart, but sweetened up it becomes quite delicious!
The roots and underground stem of the rhubarb plant are used to make medicine. The stalk of the plant is used as food. The leaves of the plant are highly inedible and actually poisonous, so do not make the mistake of thinking you can eat them like a green.
You DEFINITELY CAN NOT! Its dangerous.
When we were children, during rhubarb season, my mother would often give us a stick of rhubarb to eat raw. She would also give us each a small bowl of sugar to dip the ends of the rhubarb in.
Rhubarb is so sour it would be darned near impossible to eat it without the sugar. Even with the bowl of sugar, it made our cheeks ache, but we loved it. It was kind of like eating an all natural, no preservative or coloring added, pixie stick
For us, aching cheeks or not, it was a real treat. Added to the pleasure was knowing that mom would probably soon be baking us a rhubarb pie, or this lovely cake.
Or maybe even a rhubarb crisp/crumble. Oh boy, that was another real favorite! I love LOVED the buttery oat-filled topping.
Don't you just love my mug and tea infuser? My friend Noelle (who is like a daughter to me) sent me the mug as a gift recently. It is a Wrendale design, entitled "The Diet Starts Tomorrow." I thought it very appropriate!
It was so kind of Noelle to send it to me. Thank YOU Noelle! I love it!
The Tea Infuser is one I got on Amazon. It comes in several different colors and is not very expensive.
I stumbled onto it when I was looking for an infuser. I thought they were really cute and I loved that they came in sets of two (perfect for when you are sharing), with each having their very own infuser rest for when you take it out of your cup.
I don't drink regular teas because I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We have a health law called the word of wisdom, which prohibits drinking black tea and coffee.
I do love a good herbal tea however and today I was drinking Canadian Cranberry. I got this herbal tea from a Canadian Company called The Tea Haus, which is situated in London, Ontario.
I am a person who likes to support National Businesses no matter the country I live in. I have to say that they have a great selection of teas, herbal and otherwise.
I was really happy with their service as well, and no, I have not been paid or given free product to tell you that. I simply like to share good things with you if I can.
Now back to the cake. This is a beautifully moist and delicious cake. Unless your rhubarb is really red in color, you probably won't be able to see it once your cake is baked, but trust me, it is there.
Studding the cake all over with sticky tart, yet sweet bits of delicious rhubarb. Buttermilk cakes are always incredibly moist I find. I love them!
I had buttermilk left that I needed to use after having made Dan's Buttermilk Chocolate Cake for his Birthday. This was the perfect use for it (aside from biscuits or pancakes.)
I love that here in Canada I can buy whole liters of buttermilk! In the UK, I was only ever able to get it in 1 cup sized containers, although in Ireland, just a hop, skip and a jump away, you could also buy it in liter sized containers.
I suppose that is probably because the British didn't really use buttermilk a lot in their cooking, but the Irish do. Supply and demand I suppose.
In any case, I am happy to be back in the land of buttermilk and am using it any chance I get!
This is, simply put, a beautifully moist and flavored cake. Perfect for enjoying with a hot cuppa, or for dessert, or for taking on picnics. I think you best prepare yourself to fall in love, because it's going to happen.
I can almost guarantee it!
Yield: Makes 1 9-inch square cake
Rhubarb Buttermilk Picnic Cake
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 43 MinTotal time: 53 Min
Fresh rhubarb studs this lovely buttermilk cake, adding little pockets of sweet/tart deliciousness. You can eat as is with a hot drink, or add some softly whipped cream or ice cream to serve it as a special dessert.
Ingredients
For the rhubarb:
- 2 cups (200g) washed and cleaned rhubarb, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup (70g) granulated sugar (In UK use castor sugar)
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (195g) granulated sugar (In the UK use castor sugar)
- 1 large free range egg
- 1 tsp baking soda (Bicarbonate of soda)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk (*See note)
- 2 cups (280g) plain all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9-inch square baking tin and line it with some baking paper. Set aside.
- Put the rhubarb into a bowl along with the 1/3 cup of sugar. Set aside while you make the batter for the cake.
- Cream together the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Stir in the baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
- Add the flour alternately with the buttermilk, making three dry and two wet additions until well combined.
- Quickly fold in the rhubarb along with any juices. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes until risen, golden brown and the edges have shrunk away from the sides of the pan a bit. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Cool in the pan for five minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Serve cut into squares. You can dust it with a bit of icing sugar to pretty it up a bit.
Notes:
If you don't have any buttermilk, you can make a great substitute by doing the following. Measure 1 TBS of lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring cup. Fill it up with milk to make the 1 cup/240ml measure. Leave to stand for 5 minutes until it clabbers. Use as per recipe.
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Chunky monkey cake, is one of our favorite snack cakes to make when we have over-ripe bananas in our fruit bowl. It is sooo delicious. I have been known to hide bananas just so I can bake with them, and one thing I like to bake is this!
It used to be so hard for me to bake banana stuff when I was in the UK because my partner would gobble the bananas up before they over-ripened. I literally did have to hide them because if he didn't eat them, he would throw them away thinking they had gone off.
As any seasoned baker knows, you need seriously ripe bananas to bake with. Ideally you should have bananas with plenty of brown spots on them. Well speckled with brown.
The riper a banana gets the more sugar they develop. They become sweeter and are beautiful to bake with. The riper the better is the secret to rich and flavor-filled banana baked goods!
The riper they are, the easier they are to mash as well. In fact if they are well ripe, you can mash them with your electric mixer. It does a dab job of it.
You can also liquify them with a stick blender. This works well when you don't want any lumps of banana in your baked goods. I confess, I am not a person who is fond of lumps of banana in my breads, cakes, etc.
Of course you can also mash them with a fork or a potato masher. Try to get them as mashed as you can.
This chunky monkey snack cake is a rich and moist cake, filled with loads of chopped toasted nuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips and salted caramel chips. If you can't get salted caramel chips, use white chocolate chips.
The addition of sour cream ensures that you end up with a cake that is incredibly moist. Of course brown sugar aids in that as well. I really love cakes that are made with sour cream or buttermilk, or even yogurt.
These three things really bring out the best in a cake and result in cakes that are amazingly moist and delicious.
This is so moist and delicious, there is no need for a frosting of any kind. Its just not needed. This a cake that stands very well on its own.
You can use pecans or walnuts in this cake. They add a deliciously nutty crunch and do I need to say it? Toast your nuts first!
I always toast my nuts for baking, and for snacking too. Toasting enhances their natural nuttiness. It doesn't take much effort to spread a bag of nuts out onto a baking tray and toast them in the oven.
About 8 minutes or so at 375*F/195*C until you smell their nuttiness is long enough to do the job. You don't want them burnt, just toasted. You can do a whole bag full at a time and keep them in the freezer for whenever you need toasted nuts.
Its also a great way to get the skins off of hazelnuts/filberts. Just toast them and then rub them in a clean tea towel. The skins fall right off. Perfect!
Just a handy tip that you might want to hang onto for future reference! It also works with walnuts.
This is an incredible breakfast cake to share with your family at the weekend, as well as being more than welcome as an afternoon snack with a nice cold glass of milk.
It also goes well with hot cups of tea or coffee, or herbal teas as well.
With a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream (or chocolate) it makes a lovely dessert. I would cut it in much smaller squares if I was having it for dessert, and maybe add a drizzle of chocolate sauce!!
Sounds decadent eh? I thought so too! I have seen other version of this where they sprinkled sugar on top of the cake before baking. I have one word for that. DON'T!!
This cake is well sweet enough just as it is. It needs nothing else. Trust me on this. I think sprinkling sugar on top is going well over the top. Just my opinion of course.
Why mess with perfection? Why indeed! And this is truly perfection. Just look at how moist and dense this cake is!!
It has a wonderful tender and moist crumb. Prepare to fall in love. This is destined to become a firm family favorite of I will eat my hat! (not near as tasty!)
My sister happened to stop by on her way home from work and she couldn't resist taking a couple of pieces home with her. I love this new aspect of my life. I love being able to say my sister stopped by on her way home from work. This is a dream come true.
And my father said he would stop by on his way over to my sister's for supper. This is the silver lining in all that has happened. Being able to spend time with family. I am so blessed.
In the meantime, if you bake only one cake this weekend, let it be this one! I guarantee you won't regret it! GUARANTEE!! You have my word. This will make all your chunky monkey's very happy indeed!
Chunky Monkey Snack Cake
Yield: 9
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 50 Min
This moist and delicious banana snacking cake is chock full of chocolate chips, salted caramel chips and toasted pecan nuts! Perfect for after school, breakfast, break time, any time! No frosting needed for this tasty cake!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (135g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup (120ml) dairy sour cream, full fat
- 1 TBS pure vanilla extract
- 1 large free range egg
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 small ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (1 cup/225g)
- 1/2 cup (85g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup (85g) salted caramel chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (60g) toasted pecans or walnut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*C/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8X8-inch square baking tin and line the bottom with baking paper, leaving an overhang to lift it out.
- Beat the butter and brown sugar together to combine. It will look crumbly. Beat in the sour cream, egg and the vanilla.
- Sift together the flour, soda and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture, just unti combined.
- Stir in the mashed banana, semi-sweet chocolate chips, caramel chips and nuts.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and level off.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden brown, well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Leave to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares to serve.
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