Vanilla Poppy Seed Loaf

I made this cake but did not add poppy seeds.  I used some raspberry sauce and and cream cheese for a swirl instead. It was quite good.  I think this cake is very versatile.  

Vanilla Poppy Seed Loaf

Makes 6 small loaves or 2 large loaves

3 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2-1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

¾ cups cooking oil (safflower or canola)

¾ cups melted butter

1-1/2 cups milk

1-1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Mix the eggs, butter, oil, milk and vanilla together.  Add to dry ingredients and stir to mix.  Do not over mix.  Pour into buttered mini or large loaf pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes for muffins and 30 to 35 minutes for mini loaf pans.  Large loaves will take 50 to 60 minutes.

Warm Butter Glaze

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

¼ butter

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Add sugar and butter to small sauce pan.  Add water.  Cook over low heat until sugars melt.  Do not bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Poke holes in muffins/loaves.  Spoon the warm butter glaze over cakes.

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything Blog by Thibeault’s Table

But original recipe came from Jean Welbourne of The Not So Desperate Housewives

Chocolate Pound Cake

I made this cake for a friend of mine whose birthday is coming up.  Her birthday is the same day as my dad's. I did way too much baking for everyone else this month and did no baking for myself!  I did a taste-test of this cake because it was one of the first cakes I baked in my new oven.  I wanted to make sure it wasn't overcooked.  I was actually going to make another one but I had to make the cookies and coffee cake for my dad so I talked myself out of it.  It looks like a good cake to make again. Maybe I can do it as a "marble" loaf instead of all chocolate.  I wouldn't have made something so plain except that I was told she would prefer this type of cake to anything with frosting or glaze.  I hope she likes it!

Chocolate Pound Cake
makes one 8 x 4 x 3 inch Loaf

¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

3 tablespoons boiling water
3 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups sifted cake flour (~125 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (175 grams)
13 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (cut into pieces)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter or spray with vegetable spray, an 8 x 4 x 3 inch loaf pan.  Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cocoa powder and boiling water until thoroughly combined.  Let cool to room temperature.

3. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.  Set aside.

4. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and sugar) and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended.  Add the butter and half of the chocolate/egg mixture.  Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about one minute to aerate and develop the cake’s structure.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg and strengthen the cake’s structure.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.  Bake for about 50-60vminutes total or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  About twenty minutes into baking, cover the cake with a lightly oiled piece of aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning.

6. Remove the cake from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about ten minutes.  Remove the cake from the pan, reinvert, and cool completely on a lightly buttered wire rack.  Top with a light dusting of powdered sugar, if desired.

7.  Will keep, well wrapped, several days at room temperature, about one week when refrigerated, or it can be frozen for two months.

www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolatePoundCake.html

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook 

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

The Wet Ingredients

The Flour

The Dry Ingredients

Mixing the Wet Ingredients into the Dry

The Blood Orange Segments

The Greased Pan

Adding the Orange Segments into the Batter

The Cake Batter in the Pan before Baking

A Blood Orange with Top and Bottom Removed

Badly Supremed Orange

Honey-Blood Orange Compote

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
just after it came out of the oven

A slice of cake with compote
and whipped cream

This recipe came to me from The New York Times, Good Appetite column.  The recipe itself was created by cookbook author, Melissa Clark. She has co-written many cookbooks and has recently authored a cookbook under her own name called "Cook This Now."  After making the cake, I saw this same recipe on my favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen.   It was posted on that blog last year.  I guess I'm a bit behind the times.

I did not know what supreming an orange meant before I made this cake.  I saw no need to learn about it until I read the recipe.  You might say I taught myself how to "supreme" an orange by watching this video on www.youtube.com.  The video helped me understand what I was supposed to do.  Too bad I didn't watch the video before I started the process.  This cake is not difficult to make except for "supreming" the orange.  Once you learn how to do that though, it is easy.  I'm here to tell you that I made a few mistakes with this cake.  Here goes:  I left out the 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, I put the wet ingredients into the dry instead of the other way around and I left the membrane on the blood orange segments I put into the cake. I was surprised that the cake still rose nicely even without the baking powder.  I don't know if I'll try making this cake again but at least I learned how to "supreme" an orange! The oranges that I did a fair job supreming are the ones I used for the Honey-Blood Orange Compote.  The honey I used for the compote is orange blossom honey from a local family-owned business called The Bee Folks.

Even with my mistakes, this cake tastes yummy.  

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Time:  1 hr. 20 mins. Plus cooling

Ingredients:

Butter for greasing pan

3 blood oranges

1 cup sugar

Buttermilk or plain yogurt

3 large eggs

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Honey-blood orange compote, for serving (optional) (see note)

Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions:

1.        Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9-by-5 –inch loaf pan.  Grate zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with sugar.  Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar.

2.       Supreme an orange:  cut off bottom and top so fruit is exposed and orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Cut away peel and pith, following curve of fruit with your knife.  Cut orange segments out of their connective membrane and let them fall into a bowl.  Repeat with another orange.  Break up segments with your fingers to about 1/4 –inch pieces.

3.       Halve remaining orange and squeeze juice into a measuring cup.  You will have about ¼ cup or so.  Add buttermilk or yogurt to juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether.  Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well.  Whisk in eggs.

4.       In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Gently whisk dry ingredients into wet ones.  Switch to a spatula and fold in oil a little at a time.  Fold in pieces of orange segments.  Scrape batter into pan and smooth top.

5.       Bake cake for about 55 minute, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean.  Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.  Serve with whipped cream and honey-blood orange compote, if desired.

Yield:  8 to 10 servings.

Note:  To make honey-blood orange compote, supreme 3 more blood oranges according to directions in Step 2.  Drizzle in 1 to 2 teaspoons honey.  Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir gently.

 Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I saw this in a www.gojee.com email.  It was on their "top three" list last week.  It looked absolutely delicious.  I read the recipe carefully (ha) and noticed that the Gojee chef  had gotten the recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs "Smitten Kitchen".  I didn't think about the recipe too long before I decided that I had to try it.  I mentioned it to my son.  He thought it would be a great cake to make on Martin Luther King Day.  Of course, I agreed right away.  He did most the work but I separated the eggs, assembled the cake and put it into the oven.  I guess you could say I acted as his assistant on this cake.  It was nice to have someone to bake with.  After he mixed up the cake and I put it into the oven I dove into the Smitten Kitchen blog post about this cake. I read the recipe carefully again and (thankfully) noticed a note at the bottom of the blog.  Apparently, when Smitten Kitchen originally posted this recipe back in 2006 an ingredient (salt) was inadvertently left out. Obviously, when the Gojee chef copied the recipe from Smitten Kitchen it was before they made the correction to the recipe because my version from Gojee does not contain any salt.  The cake tastes and looks great anyway.  Maybe it has a different consistency than if it did contain the salt.  I don't know, but we will definitely be making it again. According to the Smitten Kitchen post, this was her mother's "go to" cake recipe that everyone requested during her childhood. So it seems that this recipe has been around for a long time. The chef at Smitten Kitchen is Deb and her husband Alex is her assistant.  They are great!  Their blog is fantastic so check it out.

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Chip Coffee Cake

From www.smittenkitchen.com via www.gojee.com

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 stick butter at room temperature

1-1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, separated

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups (16-ounces) sour cream

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

To assemble:

2 cups or 12 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate bars
1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. In the bowl of the mixer, whip the egg whites until they are stiff. Take out of the bowl and set aside. 

2. Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla.

3. Alternately mix in sour cream and then dry ingredients into butter mixture until both are used up and the batter is smooth and very thick. In a medium bowl, beat eggs whites until stiff, then fold into batter.

4. Spread half of the cake batter into a greased 9-x-13 pan.   Sprinkle with the half of the cinnamon and sugar and half of the chocolate chips (1 cup).

5. Dollop remaining cake batter over filling in spoonfuls. Use a rubber or offset spatula to gently spread it over the filling and smooth the top. Sprinkle batter with remaining cinnamon-sugar and remaining chocolate chips. With the palm of your hand, gently press the chocolate chips a bit into the batter.  

6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes rotating halfway through. When the cake is done, a tester will come out clean. Cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

P.S.  These are my own crappy pictures.  I did not steal them from anyone else.  Why would I?  I got a wonderful new camera last year for my birthday (thanks honey) but I still need to learn how to use it.

Lemon Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake

This is a recipe that has been posted on at least 7 or 8 other cooking blogs that I found.  It was not always reviewed positively but for the most-part, people liked it.  Actually, there was only one blog post that said this cake was too sweet. It is really more like a sweet or dessert bread than a coffee cake.  I am thinking that this recipe would be perfect with cinnamon-sugar for the holidays.  I am not very experienced at baking with yeast so I found some ideas on how to help the dough rise.  One of the other bloggers put her dough on top of a heating pad which was an interesting idea.  I also saw one that said she heats her oven up a tiny bit (like set to 150 and then turn off 15 minutes before she is done making the dough so it's just warm) and let the dough rise in there.  The oven becomes a draft free, warm place.  Don't be scared off of making this recipe because it has a lot of steps.  Please don't be scared of using the yeast.  If I can do it, anyone can.  Really!  


I am amazed to say that my son absolutely loves this cake.  I have a feeling that I will be making it again and again and again.  


Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake

From Flo Brake

Baking for All Occasions

Makes a 9″x5″ pan

Sweet Yeast Dough:

About 2-3/4 cups (12-1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1-3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (2-1/2 fluid ounces) whole milk
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) water
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Lemon Sugar Filling:

1/2 cup (3-1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (3 lemons)
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Tangy Cream Cheese Icing:

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup (1-1/4 ounces) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1.    In the microwave heat the butter and the milk together until the butter melts. Set aside to cool slightly. While it is cooling Mix two cups of the flour with the yeast and the sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Then add the water to the milk mixture and stir in the vanilla extract.

2.    Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixer and stir until combined. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the eggs one at a time, mixing each egg until it is combined. Add another ½ cup of the flour and the salt and mix till combined.

3.    Sprinkle the dough with 2 tbsp of flour and knead it with the dough hook for 3 minutes. The dough will be sticky but should become soft and smooth from the kneading.  Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.

4.    Make Ahead Tip: If you want to make the dough the night before you bake it just gently deflate the dough after its first rise, place back in the bowl and cover it with plastic. Stick it in the fridge overnight (it will continue to rise, but at a much slower rate. Plus you get added flavor in the bread from the benefit of a slow, cold rise) The next day take the dough out and bring it to room temperature before proceeding with the next steps. I like to cover my dough with a damp piece of paper towel and stick it in my oven at the lowest temperature until it is room temp.

5.    Mix the sugar, lemon zest, and orange zest. It will draw out the citrus oils and make the sugar sandy and fragrant.

6.    Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan or spray it will baking spray

7.    Forming the loaf:  Deflate the dough with your hand. Flour a work surface and roll the dough into a 20″ by 12″ rectangle.  This part is a lot easier with a ruler on hand!  Use a pastry brush to thickly coat the dough with the melted butter.

8.    Use a pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or a sharp knife to cut the dough crosswise in five strips, each about 12″ by 4″ (it might not be this exact size, but try to make the five strips be equal sizes). Sprinkle 1-1/2 tablespoons of the lemon sugar over the first buttered rectangle and gently press the sugar in. Top it with a second rectangle, sprinkling that one with 1-1/2 tablespoons of lemon sugar as well. Continue to top with rectangles and sprinkle, so you have a stack of five 12″ by 4″ rectangles, all buttered and topped with lemon sugar.  

9.    Slice this new stack crosswise, through all five layers, into 6 equal rectangles (each should be 4″ by 2″.) Carefully transfer these strips of dough into the loaf pan, cut edges up, side by side. it might be a little roomy, but the bread will rise and expand after baking. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes.

10. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes and then check to make sure that top isn't browning too quickly. If it is, just cover the top of the loaf with tinfoil and continue baking. My loaf took a little over 40 minutes to bake completely. When done, transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.

11. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing. Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth, then add the milk and lemon juice. Stir until creamy and smooth. Spread over the warm bread (you might want to put some plastic wrap or parchment paper under the bread to catch the drips).

12. Serve the coffee cake warm or at room temperature. To serve, you can pull apart the layers, or you can cut the cake into 1-inch-thick slices on a slight diagonal with a long, serrated knife. If you decide to cut the cake, don’t attempt to cut it until it is almost completely cool.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Ricotta Pound Cake

I had a hankering for some chocolate cake on Monday, which happened to be Halloween.  I think it was a backlash from all the non-chocolate desserts I have been baking lately.  This recipe looked interesting to me on a few levels.  I had some left-over ricotta in my fridge.  I also wanted some chocolate.  But mainly, the recipe looked like it could be delicious.  It turned out that I did not have quite enough ricotta for this recipe so I opened a half package of cream cheese that had been sitting in my cheese drawer for a few days and used that up as well.  I probably shouldn't do stuff like that but I can't help it.  I have the need to use what is in my fridge.  So, sue me!  At first, when D tried the cake he said it had a "funny taste".  In fact, he said, all my recent cakes and baked goods have it.  I realized that it is the "eggie" taste that comes from pound cakes.  When you use more than two eggs in a recipe, they tend to have that taste.  The next day, the cake tastes great.  My mom loved it.  She praised it to the heavens.  And this is from a woman who does not really love chocolate all that much.  So try this cake if it appeals to you or if you have some extra ricotta in your fridge that needs to be used up.  I didn't have the Dutch processed chocolate, so I used a substitute of 3 tablespoons of regular chocolate with 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda as recommended on many websites.  It seems to work just fine.  

Chocolate Ricotta Pound Cake
makes one 6-cup fluted cake mold

4-1/2 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder (or 3 Tbsp Dutch-processed + 1-1/2 Tbsp black cocoa)
4 Tbs boiling water
3 eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups All-Purpose flour (~220 grams)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
13 Tbs butter, at room temperature
1 cup ricotta (300 grams)
1 cup sugar (210 grams)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour the cake mold.  Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix together the cocoa powder and boiling water until thoroughly combined.  Let cool to room temperature.
3. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.  Set aside.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
5. In a mixer bowl, cream together on medium to medium high the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Add the egg mixture and dry ingredients in three stages, alternating wet and dry.  Mix until combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 40-50 minutes total.  About twenty minutes into baking, cover the cake with a lightly oiled piece of aluminum foil.  Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and let cool, turning the cake out onto a wire rack after about ten minutes.  Let cool completely.  Top with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Orange, Lemon and Meyer Lemon

Meyer Lemons, Meyer Lemons, Meyer Lemons....  I have been hearing about them on blogs for a long time.  I never really knew what they were.  I never saw them in any grocery store or market in Maryland.  I have lived in New York City and never saw them when I lived there.  I figured they must be some special type of lemon only available on the west coast.  I turned out to be wrong about that.  I went into my favorite grocery store of all time, Wegman's, the other day.  What do you think I found but a bag of lovely Meyer lemons.  I found out that they are a hybrid of oranges and lemons.  They seem to be "in season" around December or January.  That didn't stop me.  I still grabbed up a bag as quickly as I could. These Meyer lemons really look more like an orange to me but no one asked me!  I thought it would be really fun to make a Meyer Lemon Cake.  When I found this recipe it looked perfect.  I have never used Meyer lemons nor have I ever baked an olive oil cake.  It was an interesting experiment.  It made a very tasty moist cake.  I found the recipe on a blog called "Healthy Green Kitchen."  I won't tell you that I used all organic ingredients, because I didn't.  I used what I had in the house.  I'm sure using organic ingredients is a much better idea but ...  anyway try this cake!  You will absolutely love it.

Recipe for Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Adapted from the recipe for French Style Yogurt Cake in A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg.
Serves 8.

ingredients:

For the cake:
*1 1/2 cups white spelt flour (or use all purpose unbleached flour or almond flour if you need it to be gluten-free)
*2 teaspoons baking powder
*pinch of sea salt
*2 teaspoons candied Meyer lemon peel (or use Meyer lemon zest or regular lemon zest)
*1/2 cup plain organic yogurt
*1 cup organic sugar
*3 large eggs, preferably organic and free-range
*1/2 cup fruity olive oil (melted butter would work, too)

For the syrup:
*1/4 cup organic powdered sugar
*1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice (or regular lemon juice)

For the icing:
*1 cup organic powdered sugar
*3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice (or regular lemon juice)

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 inch springform pan with olive oil, and flour the bottom of the pan.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the candied lemon peel or lemon zest and mix well.

3. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs and olive oil. Whisk well to combine. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk again to combine

4. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I suggest you start checking after 25 minutes: you do not want to overbake it.

5. Cool the cake for 15 minutes and then remove the sides of the pan. Prick the cake all over with a fork, whisk the syrup ingredients together, and then drizzle the syrup all over the cake. The syrup will seep into all those fork holes you just made, and this is a very good thing.

6. Allow the cake to cool for another 30 minutes or so and then whisk the icing ingredients together. Using a offset spatula (or a spoon), cover the top of the cake with the icing. You can serve the cake immediately, or wait 45 minutes to 1 hour and the icing will harden.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Easy Ice Cream Cake

Here is the recipe for the second ice cream cake I made for my son's friend.  It is very easy.  My son did help me with it.  It is a great cake to make with kids.  If you make it without a kid, you will have to spread some flour on the counter and rub some on your face, sprinkle some water on it to make it look like you worked really hard.


Easy Ice Cream Cake
Prep Time:  10 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Servings:  16

Ingredients:

16 ice cream sandwiches
1 (16 ounce) container frozen non-dairy whipped topping
1 (12 ounce) jar chocolate fudge topping, room temperature
1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy, grated

Directions:

1.  Place 8 of the ice cream sandwiches side by side in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Spread evenly with half of the hot fudge toppings, then half of the whipped topping.  Repeat with the remaining sandwiches and toppings.  Sprinkle with grated chocolate bar.

2.  Cover and freeze for at least 1 hour before serving.  Keep unused portion covered and frozen.

Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

This recipe is from Rachel Ray's Magazine website.  I made it for my son's friend.  We were away during his friend's birthday party so we decided that making an ice cream cake or two would be nice.  Actually, we asked him what kind of cake he would like and he said "ice cream cake."  Making an ice cream cake in this weather is much better than having to crank up my oven and bake a cake.  The other cake I am making with my son's help  It is the one with the ice cream sandwiches.  I will post that recipe tomorrow.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM CAKE

By: Silvana Nardone

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream
• 12 ounces (1 package) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 12-ounce marble pound cake, such as Entenmann's brand, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
• 20 chocolate wafers, such as Nabisco brand, plus 4 crushed wafers
• 1 pint chocolate ice cream, softened

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil over medium-high heat. Put the chocolate chips in a heatproof medium bowl and pour the boiling cream over the chocolate. Let sit until the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Stir the mixture with a fork for about 2 minutes, until the ganache is smooth.
2. Line a nonstick 9 x 5 x 3¾-inch loaf pan with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap, allowing a 4-inch overhang on all sides.
3. Pour half of the ganache (1 cup) evenly into the lined pan and spread to cover the base. Cover the ganache with a single layer of tightly packed cake slices; be sure the layer is flat and even. Working quickly, spread the vanilla ice cream evenly over the pound cake. Cover the ice cream with a layer made of half of the chocolate wafers. Spread the remaining ganache evenly over the wafers, then top the ganache with another layer, using all of the remaining wafers, and place the cake in the freezer for about 30 minutes to chill and firm up.
4. Remove the cake from the freezer and spread the chocolate ice cream over the wafers. Top with another flat, single layer of tightly packed slices of pound cake, trimming 1 or 2 slices to fill in the gaps (there will be a few slices left over). The cake may be slightly higher than the pan. Cover the cake completely with the plastic overhang and freeze until firm, at least 5 hours or overnight.
5. To loosen the ice cream cake from the pan, open the plastic wrap and invert the pan over a flat serving platter. Remove the plastic wrap. Scatter the crushed chocolate wafers over the ice cream cake, then slice and serve immediately.

Mardi Gras King Cake

I meant to post this cake last week for Mardi Gras but I did not have a chance to do it.  I ate King Cake at a Mardi Gras event and I would love to make this next year for Mardi Gras.  It looks quite good.  The person who posted it on food.com said that she gets constant requests to make this cake.

Mardi Gras King Cake

Ingredients:

Dough

1/4 cup butter
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 (1/4 oz.) envelope active dry yeast
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
2 eggs
6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Cream Cheese Filling

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened (16 oz. total)
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Colored Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 drops green food coloring
2 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops blue food coloring
2 drops red food coloring

Colored Sugars

1-1/2 cups white sugar

2 drops green food coloring

2 drops yellow food coloring

2 drops blue food coloring 

2 drops red food coloring

Directions:

1.  Cook first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts. Cool mixture to 100 degrees to 110 degrees.

2.  Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl.  Let stand 5 minutes.   Add butter mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until smooth.  Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.

3.  Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Kneed  until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees).

4.  Using an electric mixer, mix cream cheese until smooth.  Add egg and blend well.  Add sugar, salt and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

5.  Punch dough down.  Divide in half.  Turn 1 portion out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll to a 28 x 10 inch rectangle.  Spread half each of cream cheese mixture on dough.  Roll dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at long end.  Place dough roll, seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bring ends together to form an oval ring, moistening and punching edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and cream cheese mixture.

6.  Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 20 minutes or until doubled in size.

7.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.

8.  Decorate with bands of Colored Frosting and sprinkle with Colored Sugars.

9.  COLORED FROSTING:  Stir together powdered sugar and melted butter.  Add milk to reach desired consistency for drizzling.  Stir in vanilla.  Divide frosting into 3 batches.  Tint 1 green, 1 yellow, and combine the red and blue food coloring to make purple frosting.

10.  COLORED SUGARS: Place 1/2 cup sugar and drop of green food coloring in a zip-lock plastic bag.  Seal bag then shake and squeeze vigorously to evenly mix color with sugar.  Repeat this process with 1/2 cup sugar and yellow food coloring.  For purple, combine 1 drop red and 1 drop blue food coloring before adding to remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Blood Orange Cake

This recipe was printed in the Baltimore Sun and was adapted by Carol Mighton Haddix from the “Booze Cakes” cookbook by Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone. The recipe originally called for Champagne.  I used this recipe "as is".  I did not have to change anything.  The only thing that I did not do was decorate it with orange peels.  I think it would have been cute but instead I made the icing and the cake a bit more orange than red by adding a few drops of  yellow food coloring as well as the red.  Everyone seemed to enjoy this cake but I will say that it is quite sweet.  Enjoy!


BLOOD ORANGE CAKE
Makes: 9-inch Layer cake – 12 servings


Ingredients:

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar  (reduced to 1-1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg whites (3/4 cup egg substitute)
A few drops of red food coloring, optional
2 cups blood orange soda

Frosting:

2 cups blood orange soda
1-1/2 sticks (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Few drops of red food coloring, optional
Grated rind from 2 oranges or orange peel curls, optional

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with mixer until light and fluffy, 3- 5 minutes. Add vanilla. Beat in egg whites one at a time. Mix in food coloring.

2. Beat in flour mixture and soda in three alternating additions, starting and ending with flour. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9-inch pans. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges to loosen cake; invert cakes onto wire rack. Cool.

3. For frosting, heat the soda in a sauce pan over medium-high heat to a boil; cook until reduced to ¼ cup, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Beat butter and cream cheese in a bowl with a mixer, 1 minute. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, reduced soda, vanilla and food coloring. Beat until smooth and creamy, adding more confectioners’ sugar if too thin. Place one cake layer on a cake plate; spread half of the frosting over the top. Add top layer; cover with frosting. Sprinkle top with grated orange rind or orange peel curls, if desired.

Mocha Cake with Coffee Icing

This cake was easy to make and very tasty but I will tell you that if you are planning to use the Coffee Icing Recipe below that came with the cake, you will need to double or even triple it to make enough to cover the entire cake.  I had to resort to using a premade cream cheese frosting.  It was good anyway but next time I make this cake, I will definitely double the icing!  The recipe is from the Baltimore Sun Paper. 


MOCHA CAKE WITH COFFEE ICING


SERVES 12

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (sour milk may be substituted)
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 cup hot water


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, melted butter, eggs, buttermilk or sour milk, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Dissolve instant coffee in 1 cup hot water and add to mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.

3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then turn out onto racks to cool completely before icing.



Coffee Icing

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
3 to 4 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Beat together confectioners’ sugar, butter, coffee and vanilla until smooth. Add more liquid or sugar as needed to reach proper consistency.

Place 1 cake layer on serving dish and frost top. Add second layer on top of first and frost top and sides with remaining frosting. If desired, drizzle some melted chocolate over top of iced cake and allow it to drip down sides.

Moroccan Orange Cake

I may have mentioned before that D took a cooking camp this summer at a wonderful cooking school in Frederick, Maryland called The Cooking Studio Frederick.  The camp was called Culinary World Tour. The kids were introduced to Moroccan food as well as several other yummy cusines.  D loved the Moroccan Orange Cake.   The camp instructor put on a simple orange glaze on the cake which is probably what he really loved most.  I don't have the recipe for it but it is just powdered sugar and orange juice.  This cake is quick and easy to make and very delicious.   I squeezed my own juice but I'm sure you could also use orange juice from the grocery store.  If you are using store-bought o.j., you can also sometimes find orange zest in the baking aisle of your grocery store with the spices. 

Moroccan Orange Cake
by http://www.about.com/

Prep Time:  10 mins.
Cook Time: 40 mins.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1-1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder (WOW)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
zest from 1 or 2 oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a tube pan.  If using fresh oranges, zest and juice them.
• With an electric mixer or by hand, beat together the eggs and sugar until thick.  Gradually beat in the oil.
• Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt, and then the orange juice.  Beat until smooth, and then mix in the zest and vanilla.
• Pour the batter into your prepared pan, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake tests done.
• Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 7 to 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake

Almost two years ago, in March of 2008, I posted a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cake that I had gotten from an old Lang calendar. I just found a similar recipe for Chocolate Chip Cake in the Cake Doctor cookbook by Anne Byrn that I have owned for years. I decided to try the Cake Doctor recipe because I didn't have sour cream in my fridge. I am hoping for great results. The cake is in the oven as I write!

Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake

Vegetable Oil Spray for misting the pan
flour for dusting the pan
1 bar (4 ozs.) German chocolate
1 package (18.25 ozs.) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ozs.) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean
4 large eggs
1 package (6 ozs. or 1 cup)semisweet chocolate chips

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly mist a 10-inch tube pan(or 3 8-inch loaf pans) with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Break the German chocolate bar into four pieces. Grate the bar using a food processor or a hand grater until the bar is finely grated. (If you are using a food processor, insert the steel blade and drop the chocolate pieces into the processor one at a time.) Set the grated chocolate aside.

3. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine, fold in the grated chocolate, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should look well blended, and the chocolate chips should be evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan (or divide it equally among the loaf pans), smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

4. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 58 to 60 minutes for a tube pan (50 to 52 minutes for loaf pans). Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes for a tube pan (5 minutes for loaf pans). Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that it is right side up. Allow the cake to cool completely, 30 minutes more, then serve. (Cool loaves out of the pan, on their sides.)

5. Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw, the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

CAKE WEEK - Hummingbird Cake

I love the name of this cake. It sounds so interesting. I have no idea where the name comes from. The best guess is that the cake is so named because it comes close to the sweetness of the nectar that hummingbirds love to feed on. I have been looking at this recipe since the beginning of summer. It definitely seems like a summer cookout type of cake. I haven't tried making it yet. With my recent track record, I'm a little nervous to try it. Maybe next summer! I did do some reading on the Internet about how this cake came into being. The recipe was published in the February 1978 issue of Southern Living Magazine and afterwards it gained widespread popularity. I also learned that the recipe was submitted by a Mrs. L. H. Wiggins of Greensboro North Carolina. It consists of two or three layers of cake full of chopped pecans, crushed pineapple, and mashed bananas that are filled and frosted with a delicious cream cheese icing. Someone out there needs to try making this cake and report back to me!

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

Ingredients:

· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 cups granulated sugar
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 2 teaspoons baking soda
· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 3 eggs, beaten
· 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
· 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
· 1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
· 1 cup chopped pecans
· 2 cups chopped firm ripe banana

Cream Cheese Frosting:

· 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
· 1 cup butter, room temperature
· 2 pounds confectioners' sugar
· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
· 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into mixing bowl several times. Add eggs and salad oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple and 1 cup pecans. Stir in the bananas. Spoon the batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes,or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting: Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Frost the tops of all 3 layers, stack and then frost sides. Sprinkle top evenly with the 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans.

The Creative Cook

Cake Week - White's Fudge Cake

I made this cake on Saturday for a BBQ. Almost everyone liked it. I can discount the boy who said it was "nasty" because I found out that he doesn't like chocolate. My friend told me it was just "so so" but the next time I talked to her she changed her tune. She said she had eaten a piece the next day and it tasted much better to her. Everyone else who ate it, absolutely loved it. My recommendation is to use a large tube pan because my 10-inch bundt pan wasn't big enough to contain all of the batter for this cake. I also think that I will increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees. It wasn't completely done when I took it out of the oven at 300 degrees after the one hour and 20 minutes or more it was in there.

White's Fudge Cake
Makes a 10-inch Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 4-ounce bars sweet baking chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup chocolate syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 cups mini-morsel chips
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons shortening

Cream butter in a large mixing bowl,gradually adding the sugar. Beat well on medium speed of an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Combine buttermilk and soda, stirring well. Add to creamed mixture alternately with flour, beginning and ending with flour. Add melted chocolate, chocolate syrup and vanilla. Mix well and stir in 1 cup of mini-morsels.

Pour batter into heavily greased and floured 10-inch bundt pan (or tube pan). Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert cake immediately onto a serving plate and let cool completely.

Combine 4 ounces white chocolate and 2 tablespoons shortening in top of a double boiler and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and drizzle mixture over the cooled cake.

Next, melt remaining 1/2 cup of mini-morsels and 2 teaspoons shortening in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, let cool and drizzle over white chocolate. Garnish with chocolate and white chocolate leaves.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Cake Week -- Golden Cake with Fudge Frosting

I made a few cakes over the weekend. I brought them to the BBQ's we attended on Saturday and Sunday. I made this cake yesterday. It was good but the almond flavoring was pretty strong. I like almond flavor but some of the kids said it tasted "weird". The adults all seemed to like it, though. I will try making this cake again and leave out or reduce the almond flavoring. I also made this cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan and baked it for 45-50 minutes. It was really good. I will tell you that I didn't make the fudge frosting. I didn't have enough butter in my fridge to make it so I used a container of Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge frosting. No one seemed to mind. I will definitely try to find a pourable fudge frosting recipe like the one on the Entenmann's Golden Cake with Fudge Frosting. There was a review on a website that talked about a recipe for this frosting. The author said her frosting "sets like fudge." Why, oh why didn't she go ahead and post the recipe in the comment section. I don't think that was very fair or nice. I tried to email her but apparently you have to be a "premium" member of the website to be able to email the other members. I am going to keep looking for that recipe. It would be worth my time if it is really that good!


Chocolate Fudge and Golden Layer Cake
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand
Cook Time: 30 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 12 to 16 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup milk (whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat)

Instant Fudge Frosting

3 sticks butter (12 oz.)
4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (no need to sift)
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tablespoons vanilla
6 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together 3 times and set aside.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix until blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each addition until blended. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix.

With the mixer running at low speed, and working in alternating batches, add the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, mixing just to combine after each addition. Mix until just smooth. Pour into 2 cake pans. Bake until risen, golden, and firm to the touch, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pans.

For the frosting:  Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse to incorporate, then process until the frosting is smooth.

Once the cakes have cooled, place 1 layer on a serving platter and cover the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top of that but bottom-side up, to create a nice flat top. Press down to secure the layer. Frost the top and sides using a swirling motion. Or if you want it to look more professional, do a crumb layer of frosting, chill, then do a topcoat.


The Creative Cook

ZUCCHINI WEEK - Zucchini Cake

Zucchini Cake -- This sounds odd but think about how yummy carrot cake can be. So maybe vegetables in cake isn't really that odd. Is it still healthy if you use the zucchini in cakes or muffins? I don't know but I think it should be.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1-3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c "sour" milk (1/2 T. white vinegar added to 1/2 c. milk), or yogurt, or buttermilk
2-1/2 flour
1/2 cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 salt
1/2 cinnamon
1/2 cloves
2 c. shredded zucchini

Cream together the butter, oil, and sugar. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and milk. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Stir in the zucchini. Spoon the batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Blueberry Week

When I first saw this recipe, I couldn't imagine blueberry and key lime tasting good together. After baking and tasting this cheesecake, I found out that they really do compliment each other. The lime cuts the sweetness of the blueberry and it meshes very well together. I will tell you that my cake did crack. Wait, it was more like a crater that formed in the cake. It really doesn't matter because of the blueberry topping but I did some research and you can make a kind of plaster to fix the cake, you can also use the water bath cooking method. I really should have done that but I wasn't sure how to execute it. I will try it the next time I make a cheesecake that isn't being covered with fruit. I found an excellent website called Baking 911. This site explains how to repair all types of cheesecake problems. It is worth checking out.

I made this cake for my mom's birthday. She loved it. My brother-in-law also said he loved it. I'm still waiting to hear from my nephew. I have a few pieces stashed in the freezer for some other taste-testers.

BLUEBERRY KEY LIME CHEESECAKE
Serves 12
Active: 30 min.
Total: 5 hrs. (includes cooling)

Crust

10 shortbread cookies
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Filling

3 bricks (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp grated lime zest
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 drop liquid green food color (optional)

Blueberry Topping

¼ cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp water
3 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp lime juice

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8 x 3 inch springform pan with nonstick spray.

2. Crust: Process cookies in food processor to make fine crumbs. Add butter; pulse to blend. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes or until set. Cool on wire rack.

3. Filling: In large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and sour cream. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl and beater once or twice. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth and creamy; pour over crust.

4. Bake 60 minutes or until cake is almost set and center still jiggles slightly when touched. Remove to a rack; cut around outside edges of cake to loosen from sides. Cool on rack 3 hours (cake will sink as it cools). Cover and refrigerate up to several days.

5. Topping: In a small saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and water until blended. Add 1 cup blueberries; mash berries well with a potato masher. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a full boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Stir in lime juice and another ½ cup blueberries. Spread on top of cheesecake; top cheesecake with remaining 1-1/2 cups blueberries. Refrigerate until serving.

July 7, 2009 Woman’s Day Magazine

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Lemon - Cornmeal Cake

I made this recipe last week for D's first Boy Scout Court of Honor. He received his "scout" badge. It was a very nice event. Everyone seemed to enjoy this cake. There wasn't any left over for me to take home so I guess that is a good sign. If you like lemon cake, this is a really good recipe for you to try. I found this recipe in the March 3, 2009 issue of Woman's Day Magazine.

Lemon-Cornmeal Cake

Baking Spray (cooking spray with flour)
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp each baking soda and salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt, stirred to loosen

Sugar Glaze

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. You'll need a 10-cup decorative tube pan or a 12-cup Bundt pan coated with baking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, and salt.

2. In a large bowl beat butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice with mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until blended. With mixer on low, alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk until batter is smooth.l Scrape into prepared pan; level top with spatula.

3. Bake 55 to 65 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the sugar glaze: Whisk glaze ingredients in a small bowl just until combined (sugar will not be totally dissolved). Invert cake from pan onto rack; place rack over a baking sheet. Brush glaze all over the hot cake until absorbed (sugar crystals will be evident). Cool completely. Transfer cake to a serving plate and cover. Let cake rest several hours, or overnight, before serving. Store cake covered at room temperature up to 4 days. Cut into thin slices to serve.

Tip: Use lime zest and lime juice for a zesty alternative.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook