Lemon Birthday Cake

Whenever birthdays roll around, I am always at a loss at what to bake. It's too easy to just reach for the boxed chocolate/vanilla/funfetti cake mix and call it good.  If I am to spend all the work in baking a birthday cake from scratch, I want one that tastes much, much better than the boxed mix variety.

Luckily, today I had plenty of time + the perfect cake recipe + the necessary ingredients on hand. Of course, testing this recipe for the first second time, I spent waaay too much time (~3.5 hours) and used waaay too many pots/pans/bowls. My kitchen sink is piled high with dirty dishes as we speak. Yet, hopefully I don't scare you away from making a real made-from-scratch cake! With practice, you and I can streamline the process and whittle down on time and pans used.

A few tips:

• I didn't have buttermilk on hand. For 1 cup buttermilk, I substituted 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice. White vinegar can also be used instead of lemon juice. 
• My cake layers turned out dome shaped, rather than flat. In the future, I would cut the cake layers to be flat, so assembling the cake would be easier and the finished product more presentable.

Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Icing
makes a 9 inch cake
modified from Nathan's Lemon Cake (www.myrecipes.com) and Ina Garten's Lemon Curd (www.foodnetwork.com)

Cake
Flour, for dusting
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon Curd (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
about 2 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup sugar
1/8 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Lemon Icing
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 9-inch cake pans by coating with cooking spray and dusting with flour. 
2. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking, soda, and salt.
3. Beat granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, beat well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar/butter mixture. Beat in 2 tablespoons of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. 
4. Pour batter evenly between the 2 cake pans. Tap pans sharply to remove air bubbles. Bake for 32 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool cakes completely. 
5. Lemon Curd: Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon zest in food processor; pulse until lemon zest is finely minced into sugar. Cream butter and beat in sugar/lemon mixture. Add eggs, lemon juice, and salt; mix until combined. Pour mixture into saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool or refrigerate. 
6. Lemon Icing: Combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and 1/4 cup lemon juice. 
7. Place 1 cake layer on a plate and spread lemon curd filling on top of cake. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread icing over top of cake. Store cake in refrigerator. 

Fit for a Wedding?

My baking MO is definitely cute individual-sized cakes- muffins, cupcakes, mini cupcakes, mini cheesecakes, individual tartlets. An added plus- they're perfect for gift-giving. Although, I basically ate the whole tray of these bomb.com cheesecakes myself!

I embellished the mini cheesecakes by creating two layers- vanilla and chocolate. Not only is the two-tone result gorgeous, the bit of chocolate cheesecake in each bite adds even more decadence!


Mini Black-and-White Cheesecakes (modified from allrecipes.com)
serves 12

1 cup crushed wafer cookies
2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. 
2. Combine crushed cookie crumbs and butter, then press a tablespoon into each muffin tin. 
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Then beat in sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until smooth. Divide cream cheese mixture into 2 equal parts. Melt chocolate chips until smooth, and stir into one part of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Evenly divide regular cream cheese mixture between muffin tins. Then evenly spoon chocolate cream cheese mixture on top. 
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until center of each cheesecake is just wobbly and outside of cheesecake is firm. Remove from oven and cool. Serve chilled with fresh fruit and powder sugar. 

More pictures... drooling may commence! 

Perfect Hardboiled Eggs

Having grown up with my mom boiling eggs to death, I set out early in my cooking career to find the perfect hard boiled egg technique. I'm definitely a "white of the egg" person, and can only stand eating egg yolks when they are perfectly yellow with a creamy, slightly soft center. The technique below has held up with repeat testing. And it's so easy, you will wish you thought of it first!

Say "ADIOS" to chalky, green yolks... the recipe is below!

Perfect Hardboiled Eggs (according to Lydia)

1. Place eggs gently in a single layer in a pot, and just cover the tops of the eggs with cold water. 
2. Bring water to a boil on the stovetop, then immediately turn off the heat and cover the pot for 10 minutes. 
3. Drain hot water, and run cold water over eggs for a few minutes. Peel and eat! 

Cookie in a Jar

Cranberry Hootycreeks. Where in the world did this name come from?! But it sure makes a pretty, festive gift! I made these layered cookie jars for my girls' group for the holidays!

Cranberry Hootycreeks (allrecipes.com)
makes 1 jar

5/8 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Layer the following ingredients in a 1 quart jar, in the order listed.
2. Attach tag with the following instructions: Cranberry Hootycreeks 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet. 2. In a medium bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until fluffy. Add the contents of the entire jar, and mix together by hand until well-blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. 3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Remove to cool on wire racks. 

Homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits

These cheese garlic biscuits are easy to whip up. I made them for an "American" dinner party and paired it with a prime rib a few months ago.

A few tips:

• Use whatever cheese you have on hand. I used a Mexican four cheese package. 
• Do not overmix the batter, or else the biscuits will turn out hard and dense. Unless you want hockey pucks on your dinner table, mix until the dough just comes together! 
• I chose to bake my biscuits in a muffin tin, but you can just drop spoonfuls of batter on a baking sheet. 
• You can play around with the baking temperature to find your ideal baking temp at which your biscuits with be golden brown and the cheese nicely melted. 

Cheddar Bay Biscuits (modified from allrecipes.com)

makes 12 biscuits

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

5 tablespoons butter

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare pans by greasing muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, garlic powder, and baking powder. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or 2 forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add in milk and cheddar cheese, stir until just combined. Do not overmix! Divide batter into 12 muffin tins. 
3. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until tops are lightly browned. Combine melted butter and minced, then brush garlic butter over hot biscuits. 

Who Needs Pick-Up Lines When You Can Bake

This banana bread recipe gets the title "best banana bread ever" since it's partially responsible for my 3 day weekend! Here's an important life lesson for all you boys and girls- when you need a favor, just remember that no one says no when you combine your request with baked goods!

"Here's a slice of homemade banana bread... and can I get Monday off?" 

"Do you like muffins, because these have your name on them! (Also, hope you mind me taking off early today.)" 

Think of it as a pick-up line, but more effective. 

Banana Oatmeal Bread - modified from allrecipes.com
1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3 bananas, mashed

1/4 cup milk

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. 
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars, then beat in eggs and vanilla extract until fluffy; add bananas and milk and mix well. 
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture until just mixed. Do not overmix batter. Fold in walnuts and dried fruit if using. 
4. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake for 50-60 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

Tackling Cake Pops

Cake pops are like the anti-wallflowers at a party. They are guaranteed to get oohs and ahhs. No one can resist tiny cute balls of cake covered with sugary coating and a variety of toppings. More fluff than substance, cake pops dazzle and awe just like a magician's tricks on stage.

But let me tell you, despite the little actual baking involved, those cake pops are tricky! I ended up making cake truffles (instead of pops) as I had no luck finding lollipop sticks at the grocery store. Cake pop making easily is a two-day affair: mix the cake batter, bake the cake, pulverize the cake (surprisingly therapeutic...), add frosting, form cake balls, melt the sugar coating, then it's the dip-swirl-sprinkle action for the last touch. You can also continue the process by coating the cake balls in crushed nuts, drizzling designs, add cute edible decor, and/or shaping the cake balls into different shapes. Phew! This may be my one-and-only cake pop experience! (Good thing the fad seems to be disappearing... except at bridal showers, baby showers, and girly birthdays.)

Tip: Freeze cake balls prior to dipping in coating. I wish I had known this sooner (I usually am so good at reading reviews prior to making the recipe too!) as my biggest problem was definitely the cake ball falling apart on me or sliding off the toothpick while dipping!

Cake Pops
1 package cake mix (18.25oz)
1 can prepared frosting (16oz)
Melting chocolate (wafers, bark, bar)

1. Prepare cake according to package instructions in any pan size. Once cake is done, crumble cake while warm into large bowl and stir in frosting until well-blended.
2. Melt chocolate in tall, narrow bowl or cup in the microwave. 
3. Form balls out of cake batter using melon baller or small spoon. Freeze cake balls until hardened. Dip balls in melted chocolate using toothpick or lollipop stick. Place balls in paper liners to harden.