Happy Birthday(cake)!!

 

  It was my sister-in-law's birthday so I offered to bake a cake. I wanted to try a new recipe and I found a good one for a yellow cake. I always wish for my made-from-scratch cake to have the same tender crumb of a cake mix but without the weird flavors that come with using a mix. I have to say that this one is pretty darn close. It is certainly more dense than a mix, but it has a nice crumb and good flavor. I thought of spreading some homemade raspberry jam in the middle and frosting it with a vanilla buttercream, but them decided a chocolate buttercream was a better choice for a fall cake. So here it is. I actually think my favorite part of the entire cake is the edible "Disco Dust" I found at a specialty shop. The photos really do not do it justice...it is really fun! I recommend you get some and try it for yourself.

 

Yellow Cake

4 cups plus 2 TBS. sifted cake flour 

2 tsp. baking powder 

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 sticks softened butter

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 cups buttermilk (or two cups milk with 1 tsp. vinegar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two nine-inch cake pans and set aside. Sift flour together with baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla, turn down the mixer to slow speed and then add eggs one at a time, being sure to mix well after each. Mix in buttermilk just until blended. Don't worry, the mixture at this point will look a little curdled. Then slowly add the flour mixture in three parts. Divide evenly between the two pans. Lightly tap each pan on the counter a few times to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake for ~30 minutes until cake is done when a tester is inserted. Take out of oven and place pans on a wire rack for ten minutes before removing from pans.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

makes about 4 cups

1 1/2 sticks softened butter

4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

5 TBS. milk or cream

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate(chopped)

Melt chocolate in top of double boiler and stir until smooth. Take off heat and set aside to cool. In mixing bowl, mix the other 5 ingredients together until smooth. Then pour in chocolate and mix until on high speed until thoroughly combined. You may want to add another tablespoon or two of milk if it seems too stiff. This frosting will spread nicely and then "set up" a bit while the cake stands, so do not be afraid to have the frosting kind of soft to start out.

I flipped each layer of my cake upside down to frost. The top is so moist, the crumbs are easily pulled off by the frosting. This method seems to work well and the cake is nice and level when you are finished. Find some "Disco Dust" and sprinkle liberally on top for a fun finish.

This cake is best served with a cup of coffee or a tall glass of milk.

Enjoy- 

yours in baking-

p

Madeleines and Tea

    This past summer, I splurged and bought a madeleine pan. It was a bit of an investment ($35 for a very nice one), but I had always wanted to make them and the pan moved me one step closer. A few weeks ago I had a Julia Child themed dinner party and I quickly baked some madeleines in the afternoon to serve as one of the desserts. I was amazed at how quickly they came together, but I was not entirely happy with the texture. They had a nice buttery orange flavor, but were a little dry and not as delicate as I would prefer. So when I woke up this morning and I knew I had an extra hour today because of setting the clocks back, I thought...it is time to try again. I also promised some of my students who read some Julia Child books for my summer reading project last summer that I would bake them some madeleines, so I had added incentive!

    I  did some online research and found a different madeleine recipe that uses fewer eggs(which although they do hold together the little cakes, can have a tendency to dry them out). They were in the oven ten minutes later and I must say, were much better this time. What I am really waiting for is to get my friend, Eric's recipe. He grew up in France and his madeleines are superb. But until then, these will do. Maybe you want to splurge for a pan and give these a try. You won't be sorry you did.

Madeleines

1 cup sugar

5 eggs

1/2 cup butter( melted)

1 tsp. vanilla

the zest of one ornge( or lemon)

1 1/2 cups cake flour

2 tsp. baking powder

confectioner's sugar (for dusting)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix together your sifted flour and the baking powder and set aside.

Beat eggs in a large bowl until pale yellow in color. Mix in sugar, butter, vanilla and zest until well blended.

Fold the dry ingredients into your egg mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Be sure to mix evenly but do not overmix or your cakes will be too chewy.

Drop by tablespoon into each greased madeline mold. There are 12 in a pan. 

Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the top of each puffy little cake springs backwhen you touch it and the edges look G, B and D. (Golden, brown and delicious.)

Turn your cakes out onto a wire rack to cool and bake the next batch of 12. 

Sprinkle your cakes with a little powdered sugar and enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

yours in baking-

p