cake

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How beautiful are these meyer lemons? Everything about meyer lemons, the fragrance, the lovely yellow color, and their sweet juice shouts spring and summer. Since these lemons have thinner skin than regular lemons, I wanted to use them up as quickly as possible, so I decided on a meyer lemon yogurt cake.

After some internet searching, I found the incredibly beautiful blog, Brooklyn Farmhouse and recipe for Meyer Lemon and Orange Flower Yogurt Cake which I used as the base for my cake.

I made a few changes, such as using both the juice and zest of three meyer lemons as I was not getting much juice out of the first two.

meyer lemons

And instead of orange flower water, I used a splash of limoncello which ended up heightening the lemon flavor and really making the cake pop.

 

limoncello

I am getting better at baking, and this recipe was definitely an easy one that I put together quickly. The batter was a pretty yellow, flecked with really bright yellow bits of lemon zest, and as a result of the yogurt in the recipe (I used Fage), it was custardy.

lemon cake batter

The cake took less time to cook than the 50-60 minutes recommended. I pulled it out at 40 minutes as it was browning around the edges. And it fell in the middle Sad smile And then when I tried to get it out a chunk of the bottom fell off.

meyer lemon cake

Rather than try to piece it back together, I decided I would “frost” the cake with honey lemon crème once cooled.

And then I ate the broken pieces Winking smile THIS was what I was hoping for when I made my maple yogurt cake, a custardy, moist center with a little bit of golden brown around the edges. This cake is fine all by itself but really came to life with a little of the honey lemon crème. The perfect tea time dessert, I can see this being served with fresh raspberries and cream, a glass of toasty Champagne, and a sunny afternoon.

meyer lemon cake

 

Meyer Lemon and Orange Flower Yogurt Cake, adapted from Brooklyn Farmhouse

Ingredients:

3 Meyer lemons
3/4 cup whole milk yogurt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon orange flower water
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Procedure:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour the inside of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan (or you can be lazy like me and spray with cooking spray).
  2. Grate the zest of the lemons (preferably with a microplane zester), taking care not to zest any of the bitter white pith underneath. Juice 2 of the lemons. (Use the juice of the third lemon for something else; maybe some lemonade?)
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, and orange flower water.
  4. Add the vegetable oil, Meyer lemon zest and juice, and the scraped vanilla bean seeds.
  5. Add the flour and baking powder, and whisk until just combined (don’t over whisk at this point, or the cake will be tough).
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (The cake may start to brown excessively on the top; if this happens, cover with foil and continue baking.)
  7. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack, remove the pan, and cool completely before slicing.

Tags: baking, cake, Food, meyer lemon cake, meyer lemons, recipe, yogurt cake

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I have been trying to bake once a week, and with an abundance of fresh maple syrup from Trader Joe’s and some from my aunt in Vermont, I decided on a Maple Yogurt Pound Cake from the site Not Derby Pie.

Maple Yogurt Pound Cake

The pound cake consists of only a few ingredients with yogurt and maple syrup being front and center. I absolutely positively love using Fage 2% Greek yogurt for everything from breakfast to dips, as a substitute for sour cream, and in baking. It is amazing, and every time I eat it again, I remember that no other Greek yogurt measures up for me.

maple syrup

Mixing up this cake was kind of fun. All of the wet ingredients, except for the oil, went together at once. And when I added the dry ingredients, the batter got REALLY thick.

whisk the eggs

maple syrup

I tried to get a good photo of the maple syrup without my hand, but I couldn’t. I just love the amber color of maple syrup.

maple syrup

Stirring the oil in last was part of the recipe instructions, and because the batter was so thick, it gave me quite the workout!

maple pound cake batter

My one and only loaf pan was occupied with green meatloaf leftovers, so I had to use a pie plate instead for the cake. The batter fit perfectly.

maple yogurt pound cake

In the end, this cake smelled SO good cooking, and it turned out of the pan so easily, thanks to the generous amount of butter I used to grease the pan. Considering most of my baking adventures end with something stuck in a pan, I am happy with this.

The flavors of the cake are great, but when we ate it last night, it was a bit dry. I had a glass of milk with it, but I am wondering if some sort of glaze or frosting might help make it less dry? I wouldn’t want anything too sweet because I do love the maple and vanilla flavors in this cake.

Any thoughts on how to jazz up a dry cake? Have you ever gone to Vermont during maple syrup season to harvest syrup and eat pancakes and do all sorts of fun outdoor things? I have always wanted to do this, but our schedule never seems to match up with the harvest.

Recipe from Not Derby Pie

Maple Yogurt Cake
inspired by Bon Appetit

1/2 cup maple syrup, preferably grade B
3/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Generously butter 8 1/2×4 1/2×2 1/2-inch metal loaf pan.

Combine syrup, yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest. Stir or whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir to incorporate. Add oil, and fold gradually until oil absorbs into the batter.

Place cake on baking sheet in oven and bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 5 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Turn cake out onto rack. Turn cake upright on rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap and store at room temperature.)

Tags: baking, cake, Food, maple syrup, maple syrup pound cake, recipe, yogurt

Pure Decadence

While the weather outside might be frightful, I love any excuse to have my husband home during the day. Even if he is working, it is nice to have lunch together and to be able to have dinner before 8:00, so yesterday I took the snowed-in opportunity to make an extra special dessert.

Snow in Boston

I had never made a flourless chocolate cake before, but since I am a huge fan of the dense, silky, chocolate-ness of flourless cakes, I decided to use my recent adventurous baking spirit to make my own.

Per usual, I started out by consulting a bunch of recipes and decided to use a flourless chocolate cake recipe from Epicurious because it required the least amount of eggs.

dark chocolate

I started by chopping some high quality dark chocolate, then melting it until glossy in a makeshift double boiler. I love how shiny the chocolate gets, and my husband said that he could smell it from across our condo.

chocolate and butter in a double boiler

Once the chocolate and butter were melted and combined, I whisked in the sugar, using slightly less than the 3/4 cup called for.

whisk together chocolate and sugar

Next in, the eggs, and finally, the cocoa powder which gave the batter a very thick consistency.

cocoa powder

I poured it into a greased pie plate, baked for 25 minutes, and voila, ended up with a perfect flourless chocolate cake without a single crack! Smile 

flourless chocolate cake

Yum yum yum yum! The cake was just as I wanted it to be, chocolatey but not sugary, rich and smooth, pure decadence. I served it with a sauce made of Trader Joe’s frozen berry blend, simmered with a little bit of water and sugar.

flourless chocolate cake

We didn’t have any ice cream in the house, but I could definitely see this with vanilla or coffee ice cream as well. This recipe was exceedingly easy; the most important part it seemed, was making sure the pan was fully greased and letting the cake cool enough before I turned it out of the pan. I am learning lessons from past baking mistakes! I will definitely be making this cake again; it would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day menu at home.

When it comes to dessert, do you lean toward chocolate? Or do you prefer more fruit-based desserts like pies and crumbles?

 

Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe from Epicurious.com

  • 4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-14478#ixzz1ArPVGmyM

Tags: baking, cake, chocolate, dessert, flourless chocolate cake, Food

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