Well, I have some exciting news! I have a New Year's resolution that I know you will love! BLOG MORE! Yes, that is one of my New Year's resolutions.
I love lemon. I am obsessed with it. I put lemon juice on my apples even if I am going to sit down and eat them as soon as I finish putting on the lemon juice. When I was reading the blog Orangette (I went way back to the very beginning of the blog) I found this recipe. Well, let me say that when I figured out that there was lemon zest and lemon juice in this recipe, lets just say I went a little nuts.Then it clicked. My first post of the New Year should be on this lemon cake.
It just so happened that I had 2 lemons in my fridge. Just enough for the fresh juice from 2 lemons needed for this. After I came home from the BC woman's basketball game against Virginia Tech with my cousins (which BC won 70-63), I made this cake. The batter took no time at all. Then I had dinner. After dinner, I glazed the cake. I got a little worried making the glaze because the glaze is so thin, it hardly looked like glaze but, it turns out the glaze was perfect. After I glazed the cake, I could not resist not having a piece then and there. So, I did. The cake was very tangy. VERY! But it was good. So, good I packed some in my lunch today. I thought it was even possible better, when it was a day old. Now I am sitting here having another piece now. I could not post about this cake without saying that this cake is a wonderfully, spongy yougurt cake. I think I might try the cake on its on and report back. Really. It might be the cake I make for birthday parties from now on. The cake could be made using many different variations (orange, raspberry, chocolate, etc.) Really, try this cake. It is a quick, easy, cake to make and it is so delicious!
Showing posts with label cakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cakes. Show all posts
1.06.2014
7.26.2013
When All Else Fails, I Revert To Food...
O.K. let me explain. So, the reason I have not posted recently is because June has been a crazy month. First, I had this ongoing project for social studies that my class had been working on since March! The project was on a national park, and my park was American Samoa National Park located in of course, American Samoa. Then, I got out of school really late due to all the snow days that I had. Lastly, my summer has been really hectic and crazy! So much for my effort to "post more this summer".
Back to the school project... At first I had no interest in learning about this park...and then I started uncovering tons of interesting facts! The park is located 2,600 miles from Hawaii and 4,800 miles from the closest US mainland. There are only about 4,000 visitors per year at my park which is nothing compared to the more than 9 million at the most visited park, the Great Smokey Mountains. Don't worry if you have never heard of the park before, neither had I! You should worry even less if you haven't been there, afterall, flights only go from Hawaii two times a week. I also found out about this very cool coral reef and crown of thorn starfish...more on that later!
Fortunately, this school project presented me with a chance to create something other than a written report. I was just about out of ideas ( it was afterall already the end of June!) on what creative art project I could do and my mother was insisting she would not be spending loads of money at Michaels with only 3 days to go in my elementary career. What could I do? ... Hmmmm, food anyone?
First, I wanted to do something with blue jello because almost 38 percent of this park is underwater. Then I realized that the jello would melt in between 8:50 and 1:30 (the time my school started at and the time that the projects were being presented at).
Then it hit me, why not bake a cake and do something creative with it. So, on June 19, I baked the cake. Then I made frosting, food colored it 2 different colors, food colored coconut, and frosted ice cream cones. The green frosting was my grass, with the coconut on top of it, the ice cream cones were frosted green, like trees. The almond flour (left over from my rum cake) was the sand on the beach. Then the blue frosting was my ocean along with blue sprinkles. Then I got modeling clay and made a crown-of-thorn starfish with a coral reef. The coral reef had a stomach on it because that is how the starfish eat the coral. These starfish are killing the coral reefs so I thought that it was important to display one.
So, do you wonder how the project ended? Well, most importantly, the cake turned out to be a big hit! I also learned that it's possible to do a great art project in 1 afternoon with 3 days left in the school year without spending loads of money at Michaels. Well...finally, I learned...
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, I REVERT TO FOOD!!!!
Back to the school project... At first I had no interest in learning about this park...and then I started uncovering tons of interesting facts! The park is located 2,600 miles from Hawaii and 4,800 miles from the closest US mainland. There are only about 4,000 visitors per year at my park which is nothing compared to the more than 9 million at the most visited park, the Great Smokey Mountains. Don't worry if you have never heard of the park before, neither had I! You should worry even less if you haven't been there, afterall, flights only go from Hawaii two times a week. I also found out about this very cool coral reef and crown of thorn starfish...more on that later!
Fortunately, this school project presented me with a chance to create something other than a written report. I was just about out of ideas ( it was afterall already the end of June!) on what creative art project I could do and my mother was insisting she would not be spending loads of money at Michaels with only 3 days to go in my elementary career. What could I do? ... Hmmmm, food anyone?
First, I wanted to do something with blue jello because almost 38 percent of this park is underwater. Then I realized that the jello would melt in between 8:50 and 1:30 (the time my school started at and the time that the projects were being presented at).
Then it hit me, why not bake a cake and do something creative with it. So, on June 19, I baked the cake. Then I made frosting, food colored it 2 different colors, food colored coconut, and frosted ice cream cones. The green frosting was my grass, with the coconut on top of it, the ice cream cones were frosted green, like trees. The almond flour (left over from my rum cake) was the sand on the beach. Then the blue frosting was my ocean along with blue sprinkles. Then I got modeling clay and made a crown-of-thorn starfish with a coral reef. The coral reef had a stomach on it because that is how the starfish eat the coral. These starfish are killing the coral reefs so I thought that it was important to display one.
So, do you wonder how the project ended? Well, most importantly, the cake turned out to be a big hit! I also learned that it's possible to do a great art project in 1 afternoon with 3 days left in the school year without spending loads of money at Michaels. Well...finally, I learned...
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, I REVERT TO FOOD!!!!
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| This is a picture of my project |
1.12.2013
Tasty with Tea!
For Christmas, my aunt (and godmother) gave me this fabulous new cookbook. All week long (while the rest of my family was skiing and I was sick) I was deciding on what to make. So the other day, my first day back to school, I new I had waited long enough. I ran in the door after school and I started to make the Rum Cake.
First you make Simple Syrup, then the actual cake. Finally, ( you can omit this part if you would like) you make Rum Icing. I am not a huge fan of rum, I cut down on it from the beginning, but soon realized I needed to cut down on it more. Don't be afraid to cut down on the rum if you are not a fan of it. Simple Syrup is basically equal parts sugar, and water, simmered just to dissolve the sugar. For the rum cake, if you have a traditional cast-iron Bundt pan, this is the time to use it. Those older pans, as well as newer pans marked "Original Bundt" or "Anniversary Bundt" with a 15-cup capacity, are what this recipe is made for. However, if you only have a smaller Bundt pan, it will work; just leave a 1/2-inch space at the top of the pan when filling it with batter, and bake the cake for slightly less time (if you like, you can bake the excess batter in a muffin pan, checking for doneness after 30 minutes or so). You'll need a 15-cup (10 1/2-inch) Bundt pan. Also, baking in a convection oven gives the cake a better crumb (but a standard oven yields fantastic results as well). I used a standard oven and it came out just fine. Don't omit the sugar from the pan, it adds a nice sugary flavor. One of the many problems I encountered while making this cake was the icing was very rubbery. Another was it took forever. I started this cake at 3:30 (right after school) and finished it at 7:45pm. I was exhausted!
I found the recipe in Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller (another of my favorite books). Overall this was a long, sweet treat.The recipe is to follow.
First you make Simple Syrup, then the actual cake. Finally, ( you can omit this part if you would like) you make Rum Icing. I am not a huge fan of rum, I cut down on it from the beginning, but soon realized I needed to cut down on it more. Don't be afraid to cut down on the rum if you are not a fan of it. Simple Syrup is basically equal parts sugar, and water, simmered just to dissolve the sugar. For the rum cake, if you have a traditional cast-iron Bundt pan, this is the time to use it. Those older pans, as well as newer pans marked "Original Bundt" or "Anniversary Bundt" with a 15-cup capacity, are what this recipe is made for. However, if you only have a smaller Bundt pan, it will work; just leave a 1/2-inch space at the top of the pan when filling it with batter, and bake the cake for slightly less time (if you like, you can bake the excess batter in a muffin pan, checking for doneness after 30 minutes or so). You'll need a 15-cup (10 1/2-inch) Bundt pan. Also, baking in a convection oven gives the cake a better crumb (but a standard oven yields fantastic results as well). I used a standard oven and it came out just fine. Don't omit the sugar from the pan, it adds a nice sugary flavor. One of the many problems I encountered while making this cake was the icing was very rubbery. Another was it took forever. I started this cake at 3:30 (right after school) and finished it at 7:45pm. I was exhausted!
I found the recipe in Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller (another of my favorite books). Overall this was a long, sweet treat.The recipe is to follow.
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