baking

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Meyer Lemon Yogurt Cake

March 26, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 19 comments

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

Irish Brown Bread

March 17, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 9 comments

Goes great with this  Guinness Beef Stew recipe!

I tweeted that it was ugly, but the end result was authentically perfect. With today being St. Patrick’s Day and having an Irish husband, I may feel a little extra pressure to make something as close to home as possible. Earlier in the week I made Irish stew, and we eat Kerrygold butter and cheese like it’s going out of style, but I thought a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast of brown bread and Kerrygold butter would be a nice start to the day. Too bad I was like a total zombie this morning and slept liked I was drugged until 9:00! I literally could not open my eyes this morning and kept drifting back to sleep which never ever happens.  Still, the sentiment was there, and I think he took some bread to go.

The recipe I used was from Food and Wine and could not have been easier. The entire recipe is at the bottom of the post, and I would highly recommend making it if you are into wheat breads.

King Arthur Flour

Any good bread starts with good flour, and I used King Arthur All Purpose and Whole Wheat Flours. Ever since our trip to King Arthur, I have only purchased their flour.

The recipe also called for buttermilk. I didn’t have any in the house, and it was absolutely pouring, so I made my own using the milk called for in the recipe and a few spoons of white vinegar. It works like a charm.

buttermilk

The other wet ingredient was one egg, whipped up in a little cup. Side note, I got these little cups at Crate and Barrel years ago, and I love them.

egg

I first mixed together all of the dry ingredients, then slowly worked in the milk and egg. The dough was kind of a mess and took me a little while to get it into one piece. I was a little sad at this point. But I went ahead and made the cross in the bread for whatever reason the Irish do this.

P.S. I looked it up, and here was what I found:

There are several theories as to the significance of the cross in Irish soda bread. Some believe that the cross was placed in the bread to ward off evil (the devil) or to let the fairies out of the bread. However, it is probable that the cross is used to help with the cooking of the bread by allowing air circulation so that the bread rises better.

Obviously it’s for the fairies. Glad I know that now, and I am glad I put the cross in so that we didn’t eat them. Smile

brown bread

I wished for a little bit of luck, put the loaf into the oven for 50 minutes, and out came this:

brown bread

It’s kind of bumpy, but it actually is pretty close to what you would see by the dozens in an Irish bakery

Irish brown bread

When my husband got home, he was absolutely delighted. A man who probably wouldn’t notice if I moved the furniture to opposite sides of the house noticed that I remembered to put the cross in the bread Smile

Irish brown bread

Even more exciting, it had that nice crust on the outside and was cooked all the way through. I was a little worried that because of the thickness it would be doughy in the middle. Not so!

I love baking recipes with just a few ingredients like this. It was a great rainy day activity!

But it’s not raining anymore! It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in Boston. Our windows are open, and I am going to try to jam work/job hunting into the evening and maybe a little over the weekend in order to take advantage of the sunlight. I need Vitamin D!

Is it beautiful out where you are? What’s on tap for the weekend?

Irish Brown Bread from Food and Wine, Recipe by Cathal Armstrong

  • ACTIVE: 10 MIN
  • TOTAL TIME: 1 HR
  • SERVINGS: makes one 8-by-5-inch loaf
  • MAKE-AHEAD
  • STAFF-FAVORITE
  • VEGETARIAN
  • FAST
Ingredients
  1. 3 cups whole wheat flour
  2. 1 cup all-purpose flour
  3. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  4. 1 teaspoon salt
  5. 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  6. 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter an 8-by-5-inch metal loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk both flours with the baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the egg; stir into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until a rough dough forms.
  3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. Form the dough into a loaf and put it in the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the bread has risen about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan. Once unmolded, the loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let cool to warm or room temperature, then slice and serve.
Serve With

Irish farmhouse cheeses.

Tags: baking, bread, brown bread, Food, food and wine, Irish recipes, recipe, Vegetarian

Maple Yogurt Pound Cake

February 16, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 14 comments

Thank you for all of the comments on my new blog design! Have you entered the blog redesign giveaway? I am really excited about it, so please do check it out!

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

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