Cake #11 - Lemon and Almond Streamliner Cake

This is from one of my new favorite cake cookbooks - Vintage Cakes - in which author Julie Richardson takes historic cake recipes and updates them.  It has gorgeous pictures of the cakes (although not all of them, which just seems wrong - in this day and age it seems that every recipe should have a picture) and they're beautiful productions with a certain vintage coolness to their presentation.  Many of them have simple decorations, which befits my minimal aesthetic.

This particular cake, the first I've tried from the cookbook, is awesome.  The almond cake is made with almond paste and is moist and flavorful.  Richardson emphasizes beating the butter/sugar mix extensively and then showing restraint with the mixing as you add the flour and buttermilk.  I was a little concerned as I beat together the almond paste, sugar, butter, etc., as I could see little flecks of the almond paste, and the butter/sugar mixture seemed very grainy, even after 7 minutes of mixing.  But the final cake was silky and beautiful.

The lemon custard on top was delicious - tart and tangy.  It reminds me a lot of the lemon curd I make for my mother-in-law's amazing Lemon Sour Cream pie, but I liked Julie Richardson's method and it made for a smooth custard without the harrowing process of heating the whole mixture and constantly worrying about raising the temperature too fast and having it curdle.

The final product - lemon custard atop a delicate almond cake - is like my mother-in-law's pie atop a cake, which would be the only way to improve upon her pie!  I think, however, that this almond cake would be an incredible base for any number of toppings - a cognac spiked whipped cream or a chocolate ganache were the first to come to my mind.

It got eaten in quick order and was enjoyed by the dinner guests, from adults to boys and girls of all ages (including a 15-month-old who asked for more using baby signs!).

The slices, heavy on top with the custard, don't stand up well, so I resorted to serving them on their side.

One note about ingredients: I never buy buttermilk.  You can make a substitute by placing a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup, and then adding milk to bring it to one level cup.  Stir, let it sit for 5 minutes, and then use what is called for in the recipe.  I used to avoid recipes that called for buttermilk, but now I just make this replacement.

Lemon and Almond Streamliner Cake

Custard

Grated zest of 2 lemons

¾ cup whole milk

½ cup sugar, divided

4 egg yolks

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ cup lemon juice (from approximately 3 lemons)

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Cake

1¼ cup sifted cake flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

¾ cup (6 ounces) almond paste, at room temperature

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1.       To make the lemon custard, combine the lemon zest, milk, and ¼ cup of the sugar in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until just hot.  Meanwhile, in a bowl, thoroughly whisk together the egg yolks, the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, and the salt until well combined, then whisk in the cornstarch, then the lemon juice.  Slowly whisk a third of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture.  Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the hot milk and cook over medium-low heat, whisking steadily, until the custard begins to thicken and bubble for 1 minute (you will need to stop whisking for a moment to check if it is bubbling). 

2.       Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, adding the next once each piece has melted and been absorbed.  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard and place in the refrigerator to cool about 2 hours.  The custard is easiest to work with once it has set. 

3.       For the cake, center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9-inch cake pan, and line it with parchment.  Butter again and dust the pan with flour.  Tap out extra.

4.       Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, then whisk the mixture to ensure that the ingredients are well mixed.

5.       Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the almond paste, butter, sugar, canola oil, and vanilla on low speed until blended; gradually increase speed to high and cream until very light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes, stopping the mixer frequently to scrape the paddle and the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, adding the next one as soon as the previous one has disappeared into the batter.

6.       With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour.  After each addition, mix until just barely blended and stop and scape the bowl.  Stop the mixer before the last of the flour has been incorporated and complete the blending by hand with a rubber spatula to ensure you do not overbeat the batter.

7.       Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.  Rap the pan firmly on the counter to release any air bubbles.  Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake until the cake is a deep golden color and a wooden skewer poked in the middle comes out just barely clean, 42 to 45 minutes.  The cake might crack on the surface as it bakes; don’t worry, this simply provides a way for the cake to soak up more of the lemon custard.

8.       Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.  Gently invert the cake onto the rack, leaving on the parchment paper until you assemble the cake.  Flip the cake right side up and continue to cool the cake on the rack until it reaches room temperature.

9.       To finish the cake, remove the parchment paper and place the cake right side up on a flat plate.  Using a metal spatula, spread a thin layer of the lemon custard on the sides of the cake to seal the cake and give it a light shine.  Put the rest of the lemon custard on top of the cake, spreading it just barely out to the edge.  Use your spatula to make a swirly design in the custard on top of the cake.  Allow the assembled cake (or really, the lemon custard) to set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

10.   Bring the cake to room temperature before serving (this will take about an hour).  Any leftover cake keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

From Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

Cake #10 - Zucchini Cranberry Spice Cake with Orange-Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

My son sees an occupational therapist to help him with his diet.  He's been a picky eater since about age 2, with an easily tripped gag reflex.  Over the last few years, what he'll eat has been a pretty narrow selection of typical kid foods, with lots of anxiety over trying new things.  The therapist, who he sees once every two weeks, helps him practice accepting unfamiliar foods.  At one appointment, Nick mentioned that I'd been doing this cake project, and intrigued by Nick's enthusiasm for it, the therapist suggested maybe he'd help me make a cake that we could bring in.  Nick loved that idea, so I chimed in that we could try a fruit- or vegetable-based cake.  I offered Nick three recipes, and he chose this one.  He helped with every step and chose dried cranberries (instead of the raisins the recipe calls for) and suggested the flavorings (of orange extract and vanilla) for the cream cheese frosting as well.

The cake is delicious - my husband said he thinks this is his favorite so far.  I softened the cranberries in a little boiling water and then dried them off and dusted them with flour, but I think they still sunk during baking (it was harder to tell with this cake than with others).  The cake stuck to the pan, which left it with a terrible appearance before frosting, and it seemed to be a much smaller cake than others that have called for the same size pan.  It was also very crumbly.  But as I said, delicious.

The cardamom was very strong when we first tried the cake, but it mellowed over the next couple of days and I think the cake got noticeably better with time.

Nick had a few bites - it was hard for him to deal with the cranberries mixed in.  Without the dried fruit, he'd probably eat tons of it.

Zucchini Cranberry Spice Cake with Orange-Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake

½ cup butter

1½ cups packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1½ cups unbleached white pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped toasted nuts, such as almonds, pecans, or walnuts

½ cup dried cranberries (or currants or raisins)

Frosting

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 ounces cream cheese

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon orange extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Food coloring - optional

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

2.       In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light.  Beat in the eggs and mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom.  Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.  Fold in the vanilla, zucchini, nuts, and dried cranberries. 

3.       Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cake is golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert the cake onto a plate – tap the bottom of the pan to help release the cake, if needed.

4.       For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer.  Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until fluffy.  Add the orange and vanilla extracts and beat until smooth.  Add the food coloring, if desired.

5.       Once the cake has cooled, cover with the frosting.

From Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts by The Moosewood Collective

Cake #9 - Pineapple Banana Upside-Down Cake

I was pretty underwhelmed by this cake.  I even considered not including the recipe here, but it turns out I'd typed it up before I made it, so it seemed silly not to just cut and paste it over.  I'm not sure I'd ever had Pineapple upside-down cake before, and they look SO beautiful.  But this basically tasted like banana bread with pineapple slices on top.  Not something I'd make again.  But maybe I just don't like Pineapple upside-down cake.

Pineapple Banana Upside-Down Cake

Topping

20 ounce can unsweetened sliced pineapple, undrained

¼ cup butter

½ cup sugar

Cake

2 eggs

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup mashed ripe bananas

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1¼ cups unbleached white flour

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Drain the pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup of the juice.  In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter on medium heat.  Add the sugar and cook, stirring constantly.  When the sugar starts to turn brown, after about 3 minutes, remove it from the heat and continue stirring to prevent the residual skillet heat from browning the sugar unevenly.

3.       Carefully add the drained pineapple juice; the mixture will sputter somewhat.  Return the pan to low heat and stir to combine the juice and the caramelized sugar.  When the sugar has melted again and the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat.  Arrange the pineapple slices close together in a decorative layer on the bottom of the skillet; reserve any remaining pineapple.

4.       For the cake batter, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, buttermilk, bananas, oil and vanilla.  Sift together the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until smooth.

5.       Pour the batter over the pineapple slices and top with any reserved slices.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake in the skillet for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

From Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts by The Moosewood Collective

Cake #8 - Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake with Orange Chocolate Ganache Glaze

Nick and I were home Saturday night, while Jason and Lilah went to see Despicable Me 2.  After a swim in the pool, he and I made this chocolate cake based on what ingredients we had on hand.  For me, learning to bake was a lesson in precision and accuracy.  Learning to bake with my children has been a lesson in patience that I'm still learning.  Part of what I like about baking is that good results come from carefully following the recipe and building up knowledge about how to best perform all the steps.  Basically, baking gratifies the control freak in me.  I've spent the last 7 years trying to relax as my kids flipped flour out of the bowl as they stir, or starting cutting cookies right out of the middle of the rolled out dough.

[The whole rolled sugar cookie thing is a case in point.  As a married woman I never bothered making rolled out cookies at Christmas.  It seemed way too tedious, even as I heartily admired the beautiful cookies in the various Martha Stewart publications.  But then I had kids, and I felt obligated to make Christmas cookies with cookie cutters, so that they could be decorated with globs of frosting and insane amounts of sprinkles.  As anyone who has ever tried to make rolled out sugar cookies knows, it's tricky to get the dough the right thickness, and punch out the shapes, without the dough warming and getting sticky.  Then try to do that with two kids who don't seem to appreciate the need to move with ninja-like speed and intention.  Needless to say, my kids will remember making Christmas cookies as an occasion that caused their mom to bark out orders and swear.]

But Nick and I had a fun time making our chocolate cake together.  We worked together to read the recipe, get the ingredients ready, and follow the directions.  Some flour got flipped out of the bowl.  And Nick almost added a tablespoon of orange extract to the glaze, instead of a teaspoon, but I think we were both pretty relaxed about it.  (It was Nick's idea to add orange flavoring to the glaze, and it was delicious!)  I'm trying to be better, and a cake a week is giving me lots of opportunities to be more calm as my kids help me with something they know I love to do.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

For the cake:

1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup water

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

1¾ cups granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons baking soda

2 large eggs

½ cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the chocolate glaze:

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1½ tablespoons corn syrup (or agave nectar)

1 teaspoon orange extract

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup heavy cream

1½ tablespoons granulated sugar

1.       Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan and set aside.

2.       In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring, just until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3.       In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking soda. Add half of the melted butter mixture and whisk until completely blended. The mixture will be thick. Add the remaining butter mixture and whisk until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until completely blended. Whisk in the sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and the vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.

4.       Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a rack. Let cool completely before glazing.

5.       While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate glaze. Place the chopped chocolate and corn syrup (or agave) in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan and put over medium heat. Stir until the cream is hot and the sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.

6.       Generously drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Cut into pieces and serve.

Recipe from Bi-Rite Market's Eat Good Food by Sam Mogannam and Dabny Gough by way of Two Peas & Their Pod (http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chocolate-sour-cream-bundt-cake/)

Practice

We're constantly telling our kids about the value of practice.  You don't get good at anything unless you do it repeatedly.  A couple months into this cake challenge and I'm reminded of the truth of that.  I used to avoid making a cake if it required creaming butter and eggs - too much work - but after just a few cakes made that way, it already doesn't seem like such a big deal.  And I promised a co-worker in Phoenix part of the Orange Cornmeal cake, but on the eve of driving up, there wasn't much cake left.  In a few minutes I had mixed another one up.  It's a good lesson to be reminded of.

All Cakes Considered

Last weekend we were at a bookstore, looking for the newest "How to Train Your Dragon" book for Nick, and I naturally gravitated to the cookbooks, to see what cake and dessert books there were.  I was attracted to a title called "All Cakes Considered," which is the cookbook of NPR's All Things Considered producer Melissa Gray.  (It has a great subtitle - How to keep your co-worker happy, friendly, and fatter than you!)

Apparently, over the course of a year, she brought a cake to work each Monday morning for her co-workers.  I couldn't believe what I was reading...there was someone else as compulsive as I.  Except her project seemed much more charitable than mine.  I didn't start out to make cake for others.  Well, no reason to dwell on that part.  What was important was that I had found my people.  Or at least, my person. 

When I got home I looked up more information, and immediately found this story on the NPR website:

October 2009 Story about Cookbook release

It gives a recipe from the cookbook and talks about her pleasure in sharing her cakes with her co-workers who are universally buoyed by the childhood dessert.

At the bottom there's a link to an earlier NPR piece that gave me more nitty-gritty details about her process:

October 2006 Story about "The Cake Lady"

Here Melissa Gray, in her own voice, describes her weekly cake making, "Every week, I bake a new cake for my colleagues. Why cake? Because cookies are too juvenile. Why Monday? Because no matter how much you love your job, Monday is the day you look forward to least. A slice of cake makes it better."

She mentions that the cakes started coming to work with her because she was attempting to revive the family tradition of cake making that had gone by the wayside as her elder family members adopted low-fat and low-carb diets, and her husband was not much of a cake eater.  Nothing to do but bring the cake to her co-workers.  She also lists the guidelines for "The Cake Project":

"The rules are simple: a different recipe every Monday. No repeats. No mixes. No canned frosting. No margarine, no low-fat sour cream, no faux sugar. If a cake bombs, I rework the recipe and do a "re-cake" later in the week. Recipes can come from any source: family, neighbors, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, the food network and those spiral-bound collections that church ladies put out in every community."

Yikes, a re-cake?  I'm not sure I can do that.  Once my work week starts, I can't really commit to making another, better cake, can I?

She also lists the lessons she had learned in almost a year of baking, like eggs and dairy should be at room temperature; and measure precisely and follow recipes as written.  That's good stuff for beginning bakers.

And then it gives four more of her recipes, including the one that started Gray on her cake odyssey - Martha Washington's Great Cake, a cake with fruits, nuts, spices, wine, and brandy (yum!). 

It was super exciting to learn that someone else had done this already, and I'm looking forward to reading the cookbook.  I have a kindred spirit in the land of baking.

Cake #7 - Orange Cornmeal Cake

Here’s another prime example of why it’s great to do a cake every week.  As one of my friends says, “Cake is really just a vehicle for frosting.”  I have to agree with her.  If I’m gonna make a cake, I typically choose one with gooey, sticky, sweet, wonderful frosting.  However, this cake came recommended (by the husband of my frosting-loving friend) and it’s a winner. 

This is not a kid cake.  It’s a subtle cake, with some texture (from the cornmeal), and a delicious crunchy sugar topping.  It’s pretty and super easy to make.  It’s a one-bowl cake, requires relatively few ingredients, and bakes quickly, so could be whipped together before a party.  My husband and I have been happy with small slivers of the cake, so even though it’s not big, it could potentially feed a good sized group.  I think it would be delicious with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, but we’ve enjoyed it plain. 

It comes from Martha Stewart, so you can check out the related video on-line.

Orange Cornmeal Cake

½ cup olive oil (preferably a “light” kind, with mild flavor)
2 large eggs
½ cup dry white wine (I used a pinot grigio)
1¼ cup all-purpose unbleached flour
½ cup yellow or white cornmeal
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup raw sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
zest of one orange

1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.    In a bowl, mix olive oil and eggs. Blend in wine and sugar.

3.    Add flour and mix completely.  Add cornmeal, baking powder and salt, and mix completely.

4.    Add orange zest and mix completely.

5.    Pour into a nine-inch cake pan. Top with raw sugar. (Original recipe calls for using an eight-inch pan and granulated or sanding sugar for topping.)

6.    Bake for about 30-35 minutes.  Cake is done when it feels firm to the touch.

7.       Cool on a rack for 10 minutes in the pan.  Invert onto a plate and back onto a rack to cool completely (some of the sugar will fall loose from the cake).

8.       Serve with orange segments.  [And/or whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.]

Video demonstration for making this cake from Martha Stewart

Cake #6 - Fat-free (and Vegan) Carrot Cake

This is a yummy and chewy cake that more closely resembles a quick bread or breakfast bread.  I like it because with friends who are vegan, or friends needing to avoid dairy, this would be a perfect fit.  I must admit, after all these frosted, classic type layer cakes, this carrot cake was less flashy and more understated than what we'd become used to.  I didn't do either the powdered sugar or lemon glaze on top - perhaps that would have dressed it up a bit.

2 cups packed finely grated carrots

1½ cups packed brown sugar

1¾ cups water

1 cup raisins or other chopped dried fruit (I used cherries, raisins and apricots)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups unbleached white flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1.       In the saucepan, combine the carrots, brown sugar, water, raisins or dried fruit, and vanilla.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for at least an hour (and up to overnight). 

2.       In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Whisk or stir to combine thoroughly and set aside. 

3.       Preheat the oven to 300 degrees about 15 minutes before you are ready to mix the batter.  Generously oil and flour the bundt pan.

4.       Stir the cooled carrot mixture into the dry ingredients just until no trace of flour is left.  Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake until the cake feels firm to the touch and a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean about 1 hour. 

5.       Cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a rack, then invert onto a serving plate.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar or top with a simple lemon glaze (½ cup sugar and ¼ cup fresh lemon juice from about 2 lemons, heated in a saucepan, and stirred constantly until the sugar dissolves.)

From Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts by The Moosewood Collective

Bonus Cake - Red Devil Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

After the frustration of the Orange Layer Fairy Cake, I realized that after just four new recipes, I was already feeling uncertain.  Rather than break with my challenge to make a new cake each week, I decided I would add an additional familiar cake.  My go-to chocolate cake is one from Moosewood that calls for beets in the batter.  The cake is easy to make, consistent, and with a cream cheese frosting, is pretty beloved by all who have tasted it.  With choosy kids, this cake is a sure fire winner – or at least with my choosy kids it always has been.  My son even likes to brag to dinner guests that the cake has beets, so it’s a little bit healthy!  I served it along with Cake #5 – Strawberry Country Cake – at a dinner party.  Adults had strawberry cake, kids had chocolate cake, and then some adults had an extra serving so they could taste the chocolate cake too.  (Even people who hate beets, like this cake.)

Red Devil Cake

15-ounce can sliced beets

3 eggs

1½ cups sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups unbleached white flour

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously oil the 9-inch square or round baking pan.  (I think I usually line the bottom with a round of parchment to insure it comes out easily.)  I’ve used two eight-inch round pans to create two thinner layers.

2.       Drain the beets, reserving ½ cup of the juice.  In a blender, puree the beets with the reserved juice to make about 1 ¼ cups of puree.  Set aside.

3.       In a large bowl, beat the eggs well.  Thoroughly whisk in the sugar, oil, vanilla, salt, and beet puree until very smooth.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time, whisking until smooth.

4.       Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan. 

5.       When cool, slice the cake evenly into two halves.  Place half of the whipped cream or cream cheese frosting (below) on the bottom half.  Top with the other half (with rounded portion up) and frost with the remaining whipped cream or frosting. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

(makes enough for two layers of cake)

¼ cup butter, at room temperature

8 ounces Neufachatel or cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

½ teaspoon pure almond, lemon or orange extract (optional – I prefer almond, by far)

Cream the butter and cream cheese together with a food processor or an electric mixer until blended and light.  Beat in the vanilla and gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until the frosting is a good consistency for spreading.  If it’s too stiff, add a little milk.  If it’s too soft, add more confectioners’ sugar.  Add the extract, if using.

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts by The Moosewood Collective

Cake #5 - Strawberry Country Cake

This recipe is a major reason I started this cake challenge.  I had this cake at a work-related baby shower in 2003.  I created a cookbook for the expectant parents with recipes of all the dishes served at the shower, and I periodically remember this yummy cake, read the recipe, and then don’t make it.  I had always felt like if I was making a cake (which I used to only do four or five times a year) then I wanted a cake I knew how to make, I knew would turn out right, and was one of my favorites I had been craving.  I tended to avoid recipes with whipped cream as a frosting (not sure why) and I knew my kids didn’t think cake and fruit should be served together.  So year after year I didn’t make this cake.  I realized that the only way to take on some of these recipes I was interested in, but hadn’t been willing to try, was to make more cake.  My master plan worked, and I have to say, this cake is really delicious!  I will be making it again.

I think one of my reservations about the cake was that I didn’t think the whipped cream as frosting would last very well.  It lasted better than I expected, but it is a good cake to serve when most of it will be eaten right away – or the next morning, maybe, with coffee. 

Another quirky aspect of the recipe is that it makes two cakes, but then gives a recipe for frosting only one of them.  Since I was serving it with the Red Devil Chocolate Cake, I only made up one of the two cakes and put the other cake in the freezer. 

Strawberry Country Cake

 ¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks) at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 extra-large eggs at room temperature (or 4 large eggs plus one egg white)

¾ cup sour cream at room temperature

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon grated orange zest

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup cornstarch

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

For the filling for EACH cake:

1 cup heavy whipping cream (1/2 pint) chilled

3 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

2.       Cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix well.  Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda.  On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.

3.       Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops with a spatula and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature.

4.       To make the filling for one cake, whip the cream by hand or in a mixer until firm; add the sugar and vanilla.  Slice one of the cakes in half with a long, sharp knife.  Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter, spread with half of the whipped cream, and scatter with sliced strawberries.  Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream.  Decorate with strawberries.

From Barefoot Contessa Parties! By Ina Garten

Cake #4 - Orange Layer Fairy Cake with Chocolate Ganache

This is a combination of one of the Moosewood cakes and the chocolate ganache from Karen Krasne’s Extraordinary Cakes.  I guess I was feeling adventurous and decided I wanted to try something more involved.  I think I got a little ahead of myself, and ran into a couple of problems.  The final cake was fine (and is one of my colleague’s current favorite of the cakes I’ve made so far) but it was a frustrating experience.

Part of the trouble was slicing the cakes evenly.  I was trying to do it free-hand with a long serrated knife.  After that I read a suggestion to elevate the cake in its original pan, by using a small plate, or cardboard cake rounds.  Get the cake so that about half of it is up above the pan.  Then use the edge of the cake pan to evenly score the cake all the way around.  Then, keeping the knife even with the top edge of the cake pan, slowly cut through the cake.  This made much more even layers.

One of my favorite elements of this cake was the naming.  Since it wasn’t an existing cake from a cookbook, it needed a name.  I described the cake (an orange layer cake with chocolate filling) to my kids and asked for their help with a name.  My daughter, who is four and is currently obsessed with superheroes, immediately burst out with, “Autumn Cake!  Fairy Cake!”  She’s a creative soul who takes after her dad.  My son, who takes after his mother in his linear thinking, and logical approach to problem solving, suggested we call it “Orange Layer Cake.”  I loved how the name suggestions exemplified my kids and their way of thinking about the world, and decided to blend their ideas.

Orange Layer Fairy Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Cake

2 2/3 cups unbleached white flour

2½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, separated

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure orange extract

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel

1 cup orange juice

Frosting

1 cup butter, at room temperature

6 cups confectioners’ sugar

7-8 tablespoons fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons freshly grated orange peel

Chocolate Ganache

12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon Saint Germain liqueur

1.       For the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly butter two nine-inch cake pans, line with parchment, butter parchment and then dust with flour. 

2.       Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth and light.  Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla, orange extract, and grated orange peel and beat well.  Beat in the flour and orange juice alternately in thirds.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry.  Gently fold them into the batter. 

3.       Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when touched.  Cool the cake in the pans on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the outer edges of the cakes and invert them onto a rack to cool completely.

4.       For the Frosting: Beat the butter until light.  Add the confections’ sugar ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the orange juice and grated organe peel and beat well.  If the frosting is too stiff, beat in more orange juice.  If it’s too soft or if it curdles, beat in more sugar.

5.       For the Ganache: Place the chocolate chips in a medium, heatproof mixing bowl.

6.       Bring the cream to a boil in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes.  Using a rubber spatula, stir slowly and gently until the mixture is full combined and homogenous.

7.       Transfer the chocolate mixture to a food processor; add the Saint Germain liqueur and process to blend.  The ganache should be thick and shiny.  Allow the ganache to cool and firm until it is the consistency of pudding.

8.       To assemble: Slice each layer cake in half (see note above about how to slice layers).  Starting with one of the bottom halves, cover the cake with just less than 1/3^rd of the ganache, using an offset spatula.  Put the ganache covered cake in the freezer for a few minutes to set the ganache.  Continue coating each layer with just under 1/3^rd of the ganache, and freezing them to chill.  Do not cover the top layer with ganache.

9.       Starting with one of the bottom slices, place the cake on a cardboard cake round.  Top with orange frosting.  Add another slice, pressing gently, and then top with more orange frosting.  Add the third ganache covered slice, press gently, and add more frosting.  Finish by placing the top layer, and then frost the sides and top with the remaining orange frosting.  To decorate, place the left over ganache in a plastic bag, snip off a small corner, and then pipe the ganache in a concentric spiral on the top of the cake.  Using a toothpick, drag through the swirl, alternating moving in to the center or out to the edge, to create a spider web-like pattern.

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts by The Moosewood Collective

Cake #3 - Irish Whiskey Cake

This cake comes from Moosewood's Dessert Cookbook - I have almost all of the Moosewood cookbooks and I love them.  I especially appreciate that in the back they list which recipes are vegan, which is helpful for meal planning when cooking for vegan friends.

I had recently cleaned the pantry and realized we had an inordinate amount of dried fruit, which we were never going to use.  I picked this Irish Whiskey Cake recipe because it called for a lot of dried fruit.  It seems like it's probably a better winter cake than a summer one, but it was still delicious.

I didn’t use the almonds (I tend not to like nuts added to baked goods and ice creams as they lose their crunch), nor did I brush the cake with additional whiskey (but I think I would do that in the future), and I also didn’t dust the cake with powdered sugar.  My aversion to pastries with powdered sugar ranks up there with my dislike of glitter.  I know it seems un-American – or at least greatly lacking in a sense of fun – but I hate biting into something and finding myself covered in powdered sugar.

One more note – the recipe below is as it appears in the cookbook.  When I baked it all the dried fruit sank to the bottom.  Next time I’ll try dusting the fruit with flour before adding it to the batter.  Since then, I’ve read that a more acidic batter also helps keep fruit from sinking – it coagulates the eggs earlier in the baking process and holds things in place.  But it seems trying a dusting of flour would be easier than trying to reformulate the whole recipe!

Irish Whiskey Cake

2½ cups diced dried fruit (3 or 4 kinds including apricots, peaches, cherries, cranberries, raisins, prunes, or dates)

2/3 cup Irish whiskey, plus an optional 2 to 3 tablespoons

1½ cups butter, at room temperature

2¼ cups sugar

6 large eggs

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel

2 teaspoons almond extract

¼ teaspoon salt

3 cups unbleached white pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup toasted chopped almonds

2 to 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1.       Combine the diced fruit and 2/3 cup of whiskey in a saucepan.  Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, until the fruit has softened.  Set aside to cool.

2.       Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

3.       Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating until light.  Add the orange peel, lemon peel, almond extract, and salt.  Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the butter mixture in several additions, beating well after each.  Fold the dried fruit and the almonds into the batter by hand. 

4.       Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1¼ to 1½ hours or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate and cool for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove the pan and cool completely.  For a more pronounced whiskey flavor, brush the warm cake with the optional 2 to 3 tablespoons of whiskey.  Lightly dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar before serving. 

From Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts by The Moosewood Collective