On the 13th of August I will be turning 66 years. I would be lying if I didn't say that I was happy to see the end of my 65th year. It has been one for the record books to say the least, and not a year I care to repeat!
I could never, ever, in a million years have predicted how very tumultuous my 65th year would be. A year that would see me ending my third marriage and flying half way around in the world with nothing but a couple of suitcases to begin a new life.
And in the midst of a Global Pandemic no less. Life has a way of surprising us at the very best of times.
One thing I have come to realize about myself as I have aged is that I am a very simple woman with very simple tastes. Life is too short to spend it faffing about with a lot of nonsense.
I am far too long in the tooth now to tolerate a lot of fussing and messing about. I crave simplicity in everything. Excitement is grossly exaggerated! Give me the simple life anytime.
I want nothing in life to be overcomplicated. Not my home. Not my activities and certainly not my food. I have gotten to the point where I have decided life is far too short to put up with anything otherwise.
When it comes to simple food and simple desserts, it just doesn't get much better, tastier or simpler than this cake recipe which I am sharing today. I believe this is the BEST vanilla cake recipe ever created!
There is absolutely nothing pretentious about it. No jumping through hoops. No special ingredients required. Just simple ingredients, put together in a very simple way, to create an extraordinarily delicious cake.
And it is the perfect sized cake for the smaller family. Only eight-inches square.
If you are only one or two people (like myself) you will get to enjoy it for a bit longer than if you are more people.
There is one thing I can absolutely guarantee for sure. You WILL enjoy it. Positively.
Its quick and easy to make. Uses simple ingredients and simple methods. You can make it in one bowl. It bakes in one small 8-inch pan and its delicious!
It has a beautiful moist and buttery crumb. Buttermilk in the batter ensures this.
It smells heavenly when it is baking. This is due to the extravagance of using two teaspoons of vanilla in the batter. It is also quite rich. One full egg and two egg yolks give it its beautiful golden color.
Simple enough to be an every day cake. Delicious enough to be a celebratory cake. All without going overboard. Perfect for occasions such as a 66th birthday, celebrated simply at home by myself.
Oh for sure, there will be a get together with family (no friends due to the pandemic), and I am really hoping that I am treated to an ice cream cake, but for me all by myself, this is the cake I want and I crave.
What makes my Birthday extra special this year is that my brother will be visiting from Ontario with his wife. I have not seen my brother in over 8 years now, which makes it very special.
The last time we saw each other was when we were both home for my mother's lung cancer operation.
I feel so blessed that we will be able to be together for this occasion. My dad, my sister, my brother and myself. The only one not here will be my mother, which will make it slightly bittersweet, and she will certainly be missed.
It will be the first time we will have all been together like this in over 18 years, and who knows how much longer we will be able to do things like this. Or how long the restrictions with this pandemic will be eased enough that we can do things this.
I feel a sense of urgency about this meeting together of loved ones. Mom is already gone, dad is 87 and well . . . the rest of us are not getting any younger either. We must grab our blessings and our pleasures while we can. Every day is a bonus.
The recipe for this cake was adapted from one I found in the recipe book, Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perleman. I can assure you this cake tastes like so much more than every day.
This cake is super moist and indulgent. To be honest, it is just a beautiful cake. The frosting for it is perfection in and of itself.
There were several options offered for the frosting. A rich chocolate buttercream, a coconut buttercream and a cream cheese frosting.
I opted for plain vanilla buttercream, because I am a plain vanilla buttercream kind of a girl. With sprinkles.
The frosting was also very easy to make. Again simple ingredients put together simply in the most delicious way.
Butter, icing sugar, milk and vanilla. She did give the option of using cream rather than milk, but I went with the milk. Again all in one bowl and with an hand mixer.
The hardest part about making this cake was waiting for the cake to cool down enough that I could frost it. I had to endure that beautiful smell of it baking and then watch it sitting there for what seemed like ages and ages.
You would think that at the age of almost 66 but or a week, I would be much more patient than I am. Alas, patience is not a skill I have developed with age. Especially when it comes to delicious food!
I do hope you will be inspired to want to bake this cake. It is quite simply delicious. To be honest . . . cake just doesn't get much better than this! I promise you!
If you only bake one thing this weekend, let it be this. You will not regret it. I guarantee!
Golden Vanilla Cake
Yield: Makes one 8-inch Cake
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
This cake may be very simple and small in size, but it is HUGE in flavor. Moist, buttery and delicious with a delicate crumb and a lush vanilla buttercream frosting, this pleases on every level!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 6 TBS butter, at room temperature (85g)
- 3/4 cup plus 2 TBS (160g) finely granulated sugar
- 1 large free range egg
- 2 large free range egg yolks (freeze the whites for another purpose)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk
- 2 TBS cornstarch
- 1 1/4 cups plus 2 TBS (180g) plain all purpose flour
For the vanilla buttercream:
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (150g) icing sugar, sifted if lumpy
- 1 TBS whole milk
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking tin and line it with baking parchment, leaving an overhang to help lift the baked cake out with at the end.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg yolks and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Sift together the flour, soda, baking powder, cornstarch and salt. Beat in the dry ingredients, alternately with the buttermilk, until you have a smooth batter with no floury streaks. Do not over beat.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Leave in the pan for five minutes, then lift out onto a baking rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, measure all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat well together with an electric mixer until it is smooth, creamy and fluffy. Spread this over the top of the completely cooled cake.
I don't always eat high fat hedonistic food. Sometimes I actually do try to eat healthy. Well, most of the time I do, it just doesn't look like that on here!
Today for my dinner I made myself a lush creamy chicken and avocado salad, with the creamy bit meaning the avocado. I adore avocado.
Not only is this low in carbs and keto friendly, but it is also totally gluten free for those who cannot tolerate gluten. If you rein in the dressing, it is also low in fat and I think totally Diabetic friendly.
Tender, perfectly cooked pieces of chicken sit atop a salad composed of mixed salad leaves, creamy avocado, and rehydrated sun dried tomatoes. Crisp pepitas or sunflower pumpkin seeds as you may know them, make for a tasty and crispy garnish.
You begin by marinating a boneless skinless chicken breast in a simple mixture of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and some seasoning.
I cut the chicken breast through the middle horizontally, which really helps to ensure a tender finish when cooking.
Because it is thinner it doesn't take quite as long to cook it and still get it nicely browned. It also stays nice and moist that way.
I used sun dried tomatoes that have not been preserved in oil or in water. I buy them in a little tub at the farm market behind my house. They are really tasty and very easy to rehydrate by putting them in a cup and adding some boiling water.
Just leave them to plump up for a few minutes and then drain. I pat them dry after.
You can snip them up with a pair of kitchen scissors, or leave them as they are. I just left them as they were.
I love avocado. I used to be able to buy them frozen in the UK. They were excellent. I think I will start buying them up when they are on offer and freezing them when I can.
Make sure your avocado is ripe. Ripe avocados will have a dark green to nearly black skin, and should yield slightly when lightly pressed.
You should not be able to leave an indentation that stays and they shouldn't feel mushy. A ripe avocado will also have a pebbly skin rather than a smooth one.
There is nothing so lush and rich as a ripe avocado, but unripe ones are not very appealing or tasty. Been there, done that!
I remember ordering a sandwich as what was supposedly a premier sandwich shop in Chester in the UK one time. It was a California club or some such.
It was supposed to have Avocado in it, which it did, very sparse though I have to say. It was not ripe avocado however and was really nasty so I did remove it. Hard and tasteless.
You would think that a shop which specializes in sandwiches would know enough about all of the ingredients they are offering in their sandwiches to get it right!!!
Obviously not. Either that or their staff was not properly trained.
I just used a mix of garden salad leaves here today. Oh how I miss the Baby Gem lettuces from the UK. They were so good.
They looked like little tiny romaine lettuces, but a bit rounder and had a lovely bitter flavor. I could eat them just like apples, they were so good.
I have not seen them here at all. Perhaps this winter I will look for some seeds and possibly plant some next summer. They are my all favorite lettuces.
I used to love making this Baby Gem with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Salad. It is quite simply my favorite salad. It was from a recipe I found in Good Food magazine a long time ago. Delicious.
But then I am a salad lover full stop and have many favourites.
One thing I love about this one is the pumpkin seeds. I used roasted salted. Because I am naughty like that. You can use just plain roasted if you wish.
They added just a tiny bit of salty crunch. I think if a salad is going to be your main meal for the day, you deserve a bit of salty crunch.
And these have to be much better for you than croutons! So there!
The dressing for this salad is a zesty lime vinaigrette. Its just fresh lime juice, olive oil and seasoning.
Simple. Don't be tempted to use those little squeeze bottles of lime juice. You wouldn't get that same fresh zip that you get from using the real deal. I think you could add a bit of the lime zest as well, which would be nice.
I love the simplicity of the way the chicken is cooked and handled and I loved the nutty crunch of the pumpkin seeds. The richness of the avocado, the sweetness of the tomatoes. I could not improve upon it if I tried.
In short, I quite simply love this salad and I hope that you will too!
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Chicken, Avocado & Tomato Salad
Yield: 1
Prep time: 15 MinTotal time: 15 Min
This easy and delicious salad boasts a tangy lime vinaigrette dressing, along with creamy slices of avocado, sweet sun dried tomatoes, crisp pumpkin seeds and perfectly cooked chicken.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- the juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced in half horizontally
For the dressing:
- the juice of one lime
- 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
For the salad:
- a large handful of mixed salad leaves
- 1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
- 8 sun dried tomato halves
- 1 heaped TBS pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Measure the lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper into a dish along with the garlic. Add the chicken pieces and turn them to coat in the marinade. Set them aside to marinate for about 30 minutes, giving them a swish every now and then.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove from the heat, cut into slices and then return to the pan and cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes until no longer pink and nicely glazed. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- While they are cooling place the sundried tomatoes into a jar and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit for 5 minutes and then drain completely and pat dry.
- Whisk together the ingredients for your dressing.
- Put the salad leaves, avocado and sundried tomatoes into a bowl. Toss with about half of the dressing. Then place onto a chilled dinner plate.
- Top with the sliced cooked chicken and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
- Drizzle with some of the remaining dressing and serve. Save the rest to use as desired.
Cherry and Vanilla Scones. These are not cherry scones. These are not vanilla scones. These are Cherry and Vanilla Scones and they are completely different from my other Cherry Vanilla Scone recipe.
That one uses dried sour cherries and is lovely in its own tasty right, sporting a sweet vanilla glaze.
This easy recipe uses candied cherries, or glace cherries as they are also known. Feel free to use maraschino cherries if you cannot find the glace cherries. Just make sure you rinse them well and then dry them before using them in the recipe.
Otherwise they will tint your scone dough pink.
The recipe for these scones was adapted from one I found in a little National Trust book entitled The National Trust Book of Scones.
I love National Trust recipes and their books. They are filled with lots of little antidotes and many are actually recipes which are used in the tea rooms at their various properties which are dotted all over the country.
We always belonged to the National Trust when I was in the UK. They are a trust for the preservation of historic properties, gardens and farms all over England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
I have always loved visiting their historic properties. Not only are they areas of great beauty, but they are always fascinating and quite informative, historically speaking. I do believe that the Prince of Wales is a Patron.
Beatrix Potter bought up huge scathes of land and properties in the Lake District in an effort to prevent developers from taking over the area and destroying its natural beauty, which was then turned over to the Trust upon her passing.
The Trust is a worthy association which has done a lot to preserve the history and beauty of the UK. They are mainly supported by people visiting these properties and by people who donate to and support the organization. I worry about how it may have fared during Covid.
I hope that it will come out alright in the end.
I wish they had properties such as those here in Canada. I am a real history buff and I love visiting places like this. This is one thing I have in common with Susan Branch.
Anyways, if you ever have the chance to visit the UK, so go to as many National Trust Properties as you can. You won't regret it. You can buy a membership for the time that you are there and it will allow you to into as many places as you wish to for that given year. Well worth the price.
Most of their properties have shops and tearooms/restaurants/cafe's attached where you can go and sit down and have a lunch or a drink and a piece of cake or whatnot. Their treats on offer usually reflect the property where the teashop is located.
All of their food is great. We never visited one without having a drink and a piece of cake or a scone.
As I said, this scone recipe comes from one of their books and I would classify it as an every day type of scone. There are no eggs and cream in it.
Just simple ingredients. Self raising flour, butter, sugar, milk and vanilla. Oh, and those candied glace cherries.
True confession here. I did run out of red cherries today and had to resort to using a few green ones. I could have left them out altogether, but I did want to be able to taste the results from having used the full amount.
It is a generous amount of glace cherries to be honest, which is just lovely. That means they are generously studded throughout with bits of sweet cherry.
I know that it might be difficult for some of you to get glace cherries. You can use maraschino cherries in a pinch, but do beware that they are a bit flimsier than glace cherries.
You will need to rinse them well, and dry them really well, and then be gentle in your handling of them. I always rinse and dry my glace cherries as well.
These are not quite as rich as scones made with cream and butter, but they are still really lovely. Light and crumbly and sturdy enough to spread with cold butter without tearing or breaking apart.
You can enjoy them warm of course, but the wonderful thing about scones is they are equally as delicious to enjoy cold as they are warm.
The same basic principles apply when making scones as when making biscuits. You will always need to use a gentle hand in order to keep them from being tough.
You also need to get as many cuts as you can from the first patting out as subsequent cuts will not be as perfect looking once baked as the first cuts will.
Also for straight sided scones, take care not to twist your cutter when cutting them out. Twisting the cutter seals the edges which prevents your scones from rising properly.
You will get a much higher rise if you stamp them out with a straight up and down motion. Also the re-pats and cuts will not be as tender, because once again . . . they are a fussy bread which benefits from the least amount of attention as possible.
I know my scones and have shared quite a few different recipes on here over the years for a variety of both savory and sweet scones.
Some of my favorites are: Honey and Date Scones (flavored with honey and studded with plenty of bits of dates), Cheese, Spring Onion and Bacon (studded with cheese, chopped spring onions and crispy bits of bacon. Great with soups or salads), Nan's Sugar Scones (a lemon soaked sugar cube is inserted in the center prior to baking, resulting in an almost lemon curd like filling), Irish Coffee Cake Scones (studded with dried currants and topped with a crunchy streusel topping), Three Ingredient Cheese Scones (yes, only three ingredients. Nice and cheesy.)
My favorite all time Classic Fruited Scones (the kind you will find on offer at most establishments and tearooms in the UK), these are scone perfection. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. If you click here you will get a list of all my scone recipes.
So you can see, I really love scones, and I was very pleased with the way these turned out. Warm or cold, with butter or without.
With or without jam or honey, even just on their own, these are quite simply really nice scones. I was very pleased with the outcome and I think you will be too! Enjoy!
Cherry & Vanilla Scones
Yield: Makes 10 (3-inch) scones
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 18 MinTotal time: 33 Min
Simple to make, studded with cherries and flavored with vanilla.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups + 2 TBS (500g) self-raising flour
- 1/3 cup (40g) finely granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (60g) cold butter, cubed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 120ml (1/2 cup) whole milk (may need more)
- 1 3/4 cup (200g) glace cherries, quartered
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with some baking paper. Set aside.
- Sift the flour and sugar into a mixing bowl. Drop in the bits of butter. Rub the butter in, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine dry bread crumbs.
- Mix the milk with the vanilla. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the milk gradually, mixing with a round bladed knife until you have a soft dough. You may need more or less milk. Stir in the cherries, distributing them as evenly as you can.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat out to approximately 1 1/2 inches in thickness. Cut into 3 inch rounds using a floured cutter and taking care not to twist the cutter.
- Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between each. Re-pat the scraps and repeat cutting until you have cut all your scones. (Bear in mind the most tender scones will be the ones from the first cutting, so do try to get as many from that as you can.)
- Brush the top of each scone with a bit of milk and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.
- Scoop off onto a wire rack to cool. Best served warm with some butter and jam.
Notes:
You can easily make your own self-rising flour. Just add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt to each cup (140g) of flour needed. Works a charm. This is what I used here today.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
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