Killer Flavour Combination - Lemon & Blackberry Part II

Warning: These pretty little cupcakes pack a major punch of bright, summery flavour. Any winterized taste buds familiar with root vegetables and bland stews may be in for a shock. 

My apologies for the delay in writing, these cupcakes were served up at my Grandmother's birthday nearly a month ago, oh how times flies. 

After promising to bring cake for the afternoon celebrations, I went back on my word and switched to cupcakes. Easier to assemble and transport than a large cake, they are also more fun to eat, less messy to serve, and conveniently packaged to send home as leftovers.

Relying on a simple lemon cake mix, I added an extra kick with a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice and zest in place of the same amount of water. Although I cheated this little bit, it was impossible to tell after topping the cakes with a generous portion of fresh blackberry buttercream (I used this recipe from Sugar Song Cakes which calls for thawed frozen berries).

The nod of approval, and confirmation that the cupcakes were in fact delicious, came from my grandfather. After being diagnosed with dementia a few years ago we had to move him into a care home last January. Although he doesn't recognize me or remember the relationship we once had, his face lit up after biting into the cupcake and that was all the praise I needed.



Sharing this over at: Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, Nap Time Crafters, and Just Us Four Blog

Lemon Strawberry Birthday Cake

Delicate pink layers of deliciousness

This past weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday and I was tasked with bringing the cake (after offering, begging, and finally insisting to bake something). In year's prior we've indulged in light and airy New York Cheesecake and Incredible Raspberry Trifle (one of my personal favorites), so this cake had a lot to live up to. 

After scouring the internet and second guessing myself a few dozen times I finally settled on the flavours I wanted to incorporate - lemon and berries - and found a few wonderful looking recipes online. Unfortunately I wasn't 100% sold on any one of the recipes so I did what any indecisive perfectionist would do and opted to mix and match components and make a brand new cake.

My inspiration...

Gorgeous strawberry layers! (via)

Triple Lemon & Blueberry Cake (via)

After finding fresh strawberries in my local grocery store (thanks California!) I settled on a strawberry puree filling with light and airy lemon chiffon cake and a whip cream/cream cheese icing. Little did I know what a wonderfully delicious cake was in the making...

Don't mind the poor winter lighting and distracting table cloth

Relying on the abundant positive reviews, I used this recipe for the lemon chiffon cake and used two nine inch round cake pans instead of the ten inch tube pan the recipe calls for (to get that classic birthday cake look). I also added two table spoons each of fresh lemon juice and lemon extract in place of some of the water for an extra oomph of lemon taste. 

Once the cakes were baked and cooled, I removed them from the pans and sliced them in half horizontally to create four layers. Not only did this allow me to use more delicious strawberry filling but also added some drama once the cake was sliced! And speaking of mind-boggling delicious filling, I used this recipe and process for both the strawberry puree filling and the whip cream/cream cheese icing.  

We didn't even wait to remove all the candles before slicing this beauty

It's always a bit nerve wracking to rely on a new recipe for a big event like a birthday, let alone three new recipes from different sources online, however the cake turned out incredible, better than I could have imagined, and I can't wait to make it again. Seriously, I cannot express how AMAZING this cake tastes!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Recipe Synopsis:
Taste: The chiffon is light with a hint of lemon, I may add more zest to the cake batter next time, while the icing is fresh tasting without being overly rich and sugary. This cake's light, fresh taste doesn't weigh you down, even after a generous piece.
Texture: With a nice crumble, the cake resembled a light angel food and the puree didn't make anything mushy or soggy, in fact the leftovers tasted better two and three days later. 
Wow factor: Although the simple white icing exterior wasn't overly pretty, this cake's beauty is in the inside and once sliced the four lovely layers steal the show.
Difficulty: Saying this cake is labour intensive may be an understatement as chiffon is already tedious without the addition of icing and filling. However, I'm no professional and was able to tackle it in a weekend so don't be discouraged from giving it a try. After making the cake a day ahead of time, I simply made the puree and icing and assembled everything the day of. 
Serve with: This cake is delicious enough to stand on its own (we had it after Chinese takeout and it was still great). It would be wonderful for Easter or Mother's Day as well as a perfect finish to summer bar-b-ques and fish/seafood dishes.

Due to the cream and strawberry filling, store the cake and any leftovers in the refrigerator and it will stay delicious for three or four days.

 

A Tale of Two Cakes

Ah, the infamous bake-off, Jon's Chocolate Mouse Cake versus my Turtle Ice-Cream Cake.

Unfortunately, after the cocoa powder settled, Jon was victorious and I was sent home to drown my sorrows in leftover ice-cream. 

Honestly, I voted for the Chocolate Mouse cake too - it was heavenly.

If you still want to make second rate ice-cream cake it's really quite simple - and gets rave reviews when served solo (Chocolate Mouse Cake on the side ruins everything). 

1. Start with a spring-form pan and either press a cookie crumb crust into the base or bake a brownie crust over a lining of parchment. 

2. Add softened ice-cream over the (cooled) crust; use any flavour ice-cream your heart desires. Put in the freezer to set.

3. Layer chocolate ganache, crushed candies, caramel, or any other tasty treat next. I use this fabulous recipe from Martha Stewart - it doesn't freeze too hard and the dark chocolate is just sweet enough. Return to freezer to set.

4. Top with more softened ice-cream, again any flavour you want. Freeze until solid. 

5. Finish it all off with anything fabulous you can think of - candies, shaved chocolate, drizzled caramel...

For more detailed directions check out this post from last year.

After all of that, the only thing left to do is serve it up and enjoy. Although easy to make, ice-cream cakes are definitely time consuming, the constant freezing time really accumulates. If you don't have 5-6 hours to dedicate to cake making, try cutting out the homemade ganache, limiting the number of layers, or splitting the process up between two days. 

Perfect for a hot night when only something cold will do!

Enjoy,

Calli

Easter Weekend - Baking Recap

Seeing as Easter has come and gone it's probably about time that I share my trials and triumphs in the kitchen over the long weekend. I made a dessert for Easter and, as any holiday is an excuse to bake in my house, I also tried a new scone recipe. Let's start with the scones...

I'm a huge fan, Starbucks' lemon-cranberry scones are most likely the reason so many of my pants are on hiatus in the back of my closet, and although I've got a pretty fantastic recipe of my own, I decided to try something new and incorporate fresh strawberries. I found a recipe to my liking for Fresh Strawberry and Vanilla Scones at Indigo's Sugar Spectrum and gave it a go!

I found that these scones came together a bit better than my go-to recipe, the batter was stickier and easier to form into a ball, however once out of the oven they were less flaky and a bit more chewy, the tradeoff for easier assembly. I also found the flavour was lacking a little bit, not as bright or tart as I'm used to, however with that being said I opted not to ice the scones so this may have made a difference. Overall, my go-to recipe is still a favorite however I'd be tempted to try these scones again with raspberries and lemon. 

Once the scones were cooled and consumed I set my sights on Easter dessert. I decided to go with another new recipe for Lemon-Blackberry Cheesecake from iVillage; the photo has peppered Pinterest and I just had to try it myself.

Unfortunately my cheesecake didn't come together as well as the photo - in defense of the recipe, I used low-fat cream cheese and an 8 inch spring-form pan, instead of the 9 inch called for in the instructions. I have plenty of excuses for these decisions but in the end the cake came out a bit jiggly in the middle and had more of a swirl pattern than two distinct layers. I think everything would have worked out, adjustments included, if I'd cooked the cake longer before adding the second layer, and again at the end - lesson learned. 

Although it wasn't perfect, the cheesecake still looked pretty - it didn't crack - and the taste was amazing! Honestly this cake is one of the best I've ever tasted, which is a lot. The blackberries aren't overly sweet and the lemon adds just enough pucker. It's very rich but not over-the-top like chocolate cheesecake often is. I will definitely make this cake again, with full-fat cream cheese, after I buy a new 9 inch pan.

Looking back it was a pretty successful weekend for baking. Although it wasn't perfect, I was able to try two new recipes which always present their own challenges, and a bit of excitement at the unknown.

Enjoy!

Calli

Pucker Up - Lemon Cream Butter Cake

Lately I've had it bad for lemon. It's occupied my mind continuously and lemon water wasn't getting the job done. I needed something creamy, cakey, and delicious.

I just so happened to have a whole bag of lemons sitting in my fridge, waiting to be used, so I decided to try a new recipe - the lucky winner was this recipe for Lemony Cream Butter Cake from blackjack bake house.

The recipe is right here, so I won't re-post it but I highly suggest giving it a try. It's an easy to make, casual dessert, and although everything is cooked at once, it comes out as two layers; a soft lemony cake on the bottom and a creamy cheese cake-ish layer on top.

Worth noting - I used low-fat cream cheese and it was still delicious!

Needless to say, this curbed my craving. Also, my boyfriend loved it and he isn't a huge lemon fan.

Enjoy!
Calli