Not Your Typical Birthday Cake- Lucious Lemon and Raspberry Cake

This week was Jared's birthday.  To tell you something about him, let me just say...we're a bit different when it comes to food.  When we met and got married he was very into Body For Life.  He ate things like tuna on rice crackers and rarely ate dessert.  Soon after we got married he was somewhat banned from the kitchen.  If he thought there was butter in something he wouldn't eat it, but if he didn't know...  I on the other hand could dedicate an entire blog to my love of butter.  I'm proud to say that I have slowly worn him down over the last eight years.  But in a surprise turn of events, last week Jared got out the Body For Life book and announced that he was going to go for it again.  So when his birthday came up a few days ago I wasn't sure what he'd want.  I knew he want something that appeared to be really healthy.  So he asked for a lemon cake, and this is what I came up with. 

But really when you compare it to a typical cake, it's much lighter.  The Recipe only uses 1/2 C veg oil, which keeps it moist.  And if you use light whipping cream, you can cut some calories there too.  Although I of course prefer Heavy Whipping Cream.  :)

This turned out really delicious and the only thing I would change would be to use more raspberries.  The lemon cake isn't as heavy as a pound cake but not quite as light as an angel food cake. 

Lucious Lemon Cake

1 3/4 C Cake Flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C veg oil
6 egg yolks
1/2 C lemon juice
1/4 C water
1 T lemon zest
6 egg whites
1/2 t cream of tartar
3/4 C white sugar
Whipping cream
Powdered sugar
Raspberries

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Stir to combine and get any lumps out.  Add the oil, yolks, juice, water, and zest then mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they start to thicken.  Then slowly add the white sugar and beat until thick and shiny and stiff peaks begin to form.  Fold egg whites into the batter. 
Pour into a prepared pan ( I love Pam for Baking with flour).  I used a typical angel food cake pan for this, but you can experiment with others if you like.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Keep an eye on it towards the end, you do not want to overbake this.  If it's overbaked, it will be dry and you want to be sure this cake is nice and moist because it's not going to be covered with frosting.  Cool on wire rack completely. 

Once the cake is cool, beat the whipping cream for the layers.  A good rule of thunb for whipped cream is to use about 1/4 C of powdered sugar for each cup of cream.  I used two cups of cream and beat until nice and thick.

Cut the cake into three even slices.  Place the bottom layer on your cake plate and top with about 1/3 of the cream.  Then cover this with raspberries.  Don't worry about making things look perfect.  I really like the rustic look of this cake.  Add the next layers and repeat until you've added the top layer.  I like to leave it here, but if you prefer you can top it with a little more cream and raspberries. 

Blogging and Pie

My friend Rachel has mentioned my blog to me a couple of times recently and it's made me think...hmmm I should do something about that.  I just looked at my last post and honestly didn't realize it had been since February.  Life has been interesting lately between my mother passing and our move, and I just haven't had room in my life for other things. Of course I've been baking, just not blogging about it.

As you can see I'm playing around with the template a bit.  I didn't really like how dark it felt before and wanted to change it up.  I'm still not done, so more changes to come.  I should really just make up my mind already and stick with it!

So I have a few recipes that have been on my mind.  First off, for the fourth of July I made a raspberry pie.  I usually make a mixed berry pie because that was my mom's favorite, but I decided to be crazy and do just raspberries.  Radical, I know.  Most berry pie recipes are very similar, but I wanted to try out a recipe I found online that used brown sugar instead of the traditional white sugar and I thought it turned out really nicely.

As a decorative tip, to make pretty or interesting cut out top crusts, it's really easy to use a refrigerated (gasp!) roll-out crust and go to town with your cookie cutters.  I thought it looked really cute.

Raspberry Pie
3 C Raspberries
3/4 C Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch

Use your favorite pie crust recipe (mine is technically a tart recipe) then place raspberries in the crust.  In a bowl mix together the sugar and cornstarch to get out all the lumps.  Pour evenly over berries.
Now from here you can leave it untopped, add a second full crust, or play around with cut-outs.
Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
I like to let my pies sit for at least a few hours so it gets a little more set up.  I don't like to eat it too runny.  And of course it's not complete without a healthy dose of freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Although this pie is not mixed berry like my mother loved, it's still a tribute to her in my way, by using her favorite pie plate and topping it with hearts.  It's a Pie O' Love.  Miss you mom!

Lemon Custard Berry Tart

I know this is a deviation from my usual intensely chocolate desserts, but there were all of these beautiful berries on sale at the grocery store, so I felt inspired. We had a BBQ to go to at one of Jared's professors homes and he had said I would bring dessert, so this is what I decided on. The picture doesn't do it justice, it was so pretty I didn't want to eat it! But it was delicious and pretty easy. I've decided that pastry dough like pie crusts and tart crusts are so much easier if you have a pastry cutter and use wax paper to roll it out on (one piece on the counter, one piece on top). So here's a very summery recipe to give a try.

Tart shell

1 1/4 C flour

2 T sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C butter flavored shortening

4 T cold butter

3-4 T cold water

After rolling out the dough and placing a in a tart pan with a removable bottom, line the crust with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes at 425, then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Lemon Custard Filling

1 large lemon (you want 1 tsp lemon peel, and 2 T juice)

6 T butter

1/3 C sugar

1 T cornstarch

4 large egg yolks

1 C heavy cream, whipped

Berries for topping

In saucepan over medium heat, heat butter, sugar, and cornstarchuntil it thickens and begins boiling. Boil 1 minute.

In small bowl, beat egg yolks, then pour in a little of the hot sugar mixture and stir well. Then pour the eggs back into the saucepan with all the sugar mixture, stirring quickly. Return to simmer and cook, stirring constantly for 1 more minute, until it coats the spoon well. Remove from heat and stir in lemon peel and juice. Refrigerate until very cold, about an hour. Then fold in whipped cream. Pour into tart shell and top with berries. Done!

Sunday Cookies

At the beginning of January I was called to teach Sunday School to the 12-13 year olds. There are about 12 of them and they're a fun group, but I quickly discovered that they need a little additional motivation to participate and answer questions. So I started baking cookies each week and they get one if they answer a question, read a quote, etc. It certainly does the trick, plus it's one extra excuse each week for me to bake. So I decided to share three of my favorite cookie recipes, two were a big hit, and one...was not so big a hit. But I'm still sharing it because it's one of my favorites (and my mom's), but I guess it's more of a grown-up's cookie than a teenager's cookie.

A few thoughts on the way I make cookies...

In the past few months I've been trying out dark brown sugar a lot more and loving it. I don't know why I never tried this before, but I love the rich molasses flavor. The only thing about it is that the dough is a little darker, so it's harder to tell by sight when the cookies are done, because they're just going to be more brown. So be careful not to underbake them.

Another thought about cookies...I like a softer cookie, chewy but not crisp. In order to get this I tend to take them out right when the edges are getting brown, then leave them on the pan for a while until they're getting cool. Then I remove them to a wire rack. I think the texture is what makes the difference. If you prefer a crisper cookie, leave them in a little longer, obviously.

Also, I only bake cookies at 350 degrees. I know most recipes say 375, but I think this makes the outsides cook too quickly. I just think they bake more even at a lower temperature, this goes for cakes too.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are sooo good and Jared's favorite. I don't remember where I came across a version of this recipe a few years ago, but they're really great and I only had to tweak the recipe a little bit to get it where I wanted it.

1 C butter, room temp

3/4 C dark brown sugar

1/4 C white sugar

1 package (small) instant vanilla pudding mix

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 bag chocolate chips (I do half milk, half semi sweet if I have both on hand)

Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in pudding mix until well mixed. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and chocolate chips and mix well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes.

These would be great with nuts, but as I'm allergic to walnuts and pecans, I haven't tried...

These also make great big cookies, try a 1/4 C measure or large cookie scoop.

Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my absolute favorite cookies right now. This is also probably my most asked for recipe. My mom got this from a college roommate forever ago. With this recipe I am very brand loyal for the margarine and peanut butter, I have noticed a real difference when using other brands, I don't know why. Also, be sure to use milk chocolate chips, if you use semi sweet or dark, it overpowers the peanut butter flavor.

1 1/2 C (3 sticks) margarine (Imperial) don't use butter, they'll be too crisp

1 1/2 C chunky peanut butter (Skippy)

1 1/2 C white sugar

1 1/2 C brown sugar (sometimes I use dark)

3 eggs

3 3/4 C flour

2 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 t baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

milk chocolate chips to taste

Beat margarine, PB, sugars, and eggs. Blend in flour, soda, powder, salt, and chocolate chips. Spoon onto baking sheet (this recipe traditionally says to refrigerate, roll into balls, etc, but I skip all that and just use a cookie scoop and put it right on after mixing and it works great).

Bake 350 degres 10 - 12 minutes. Makes 9 dozen.

I usually bake half the recipe, and refrigerate the rest to bake a couple days later.

Tart Cherry and Oat Cookies

I was so excited to discover a great bakery, or should I say 'dessert boutique' while wandering around German Village a few months ago. I've really missed all my favorite bakeries from Portland, so I was so happy to find a replacement in Columbus. I don't usually go for this sort of cookie (meaning one without chocolate), but I tried it out and loved it. So I started searching for a recipe I could make at home. These aren't an exact replica, but they're very good and my mom loves them. These were not a big hit with the twelve year olds, but I still stand by them. The base of this recipe is so good, you could take out the cherries and replace it with chocolate chips or something else.

1 stick of butter

1/2 C dark brown sugar

1/4 plus 2 T white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 C flour

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 C oats

3/4 C dried tart cherries, chopped

Beat butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Combine flour, soda, powder, salt, and oats. Mix in well. Stir in cherries. Bake 350 degrees 11- 12 minutes. yum! This only makes two dozen, so you might want to double it.