Velvety, Lemony, Perfect!

Hello everybody! I can't believe another month has gone by! Where are days going? How can it almost be March? Wasn't it just Christmas? I feel like time is just escaping right in front of me! I am almost 35 as well!!! What in the world? Wasn't I just the age of my friend's daughter? How dare she be 18? How dare she have her prom in April? Wasn't I just 18? Anyway... I guess it's just starting to hit me! like... really hit me!

But... in Mexico we say "Las penas con pan son buenas" which translated means "Even pain is good if there's bread" and of course we have these weird expressions for everything in Mexico... and I guess if you pay attention to that "saying" you'll understand why we, Mexicans, are sooooo into food! Like... really into it! It's almost like a cult! LOL!  And there's obviously always truth in those popular sayings... Everything "feels better" when you eat! (therefore so much obesity I guess!) ... So... let's make the pain of getting older go away if just for a second with a little cake!

It's time to reveal the "Cake of the Month" ... we, The Cake Slice Bakers are baking through the "Great Cakes" book (by Carole Walter) ... this book has turned out to be quite a disappointment for some... I've actually enjoyed baking from it! and hubby has not complained at all either... It is a very old fashioned book... but there's a certain enticing beauty to old fashioned recipes! This month the cake that won our poll was

Lemon Velvet Squares 

They were... delicious! SOOOOOOOOOOO delicious! At least... we truly, deeply loved them! For the very first time we all REALLY loved a lemon cake/dessert! It wasn't overly lemony at all... and the lemon glaze that Mrs. Walters suggests to go with this cake is just the perfect way to top this very perfect, subtle, delicate, beautiful cake!

Since the recipe has already been published online I will share it with you today as well:

Lemon Velvet Squares 
(slightly adapted from "Great Cakes" by Carole Walter Recipe)
Yield: ( about 8-10 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I use aluminum free)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated navel orange rind
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice(or you can even use the "Simply Orange" juice which is all I had)
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, for garnish(or make a simple lemon glaze by creaming together 2 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature and 1 cup of powdered sugar and then just add 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp. hot water -add a few more drops if too thick-, 1/2 vanilla extract and blend until it is pourable and smooth.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°; butter a 13x9 inch baking pan. 
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. Cut the butter into 1" pieces and place in the large bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
4. Add in the lemon and orange rinds and soften on low speed.
5. Increase to med-high and cream until smooth and light in color, about 1 ½-2 minutes.
6. Add the sugar gradually and take a total time of about 6-8 minutes to blend it in well (scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally).
7. Add in eggs, 1 at a time (add the next one as the previous one has completely disappeared but don't overmix), scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
8. Decrease speed to low; in a small bowl, combine the water, lemon juice, and orange juice.
9. Add the dry ingredients alternating with the liquids, dividing the flour mixture into 3 parts and the liquid into two parts, starting and ending with the flour.
10. Mix just until incorporated after each addition; do not worry if the batter appears to curdle, it should smooth out after the flour is blended inches.
11. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 10 seconds longer. 
12. Spoon batter into prepared pan, smoothing with the back of a spoon.
13. Center the pan on the oven rack and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown on top, springy to touch, and begins to come away from the sides of the pan. 
14. Remove pan from oven and set on a cake rack to cool.
15. Just before serving, place powdered sugar in a fine mesh strainer and dust the top of the cake (or pour the easy lemon glaze that I mentioned in the ingredients section); cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

© Paloma K.

Baking... a cheap therapy!

Hello everybody! It's time for us, The Cake Slice Bakers, to reveal our cake of the month... This month's selection was delicious ... unfortunately I didn't have much opportunity to enjoy the "eating part" of it...

So... on Thursday 5th my dad had a heart attack... he was rushed to the hospital and I, living far away from my parents, felt the anxiousness of not being able to do anything and long hours of waiting since the heart attack was really major and we wouldn't know if my dad would make it... I found about this on the 5th almost at midnight...

So, on the 6th, while not knowing what was going to happen I baked... I hadn't planned yet to bake the cake that day... but ... to avoid eating my already non-existent fingernails I started to bake... I know I should've prayed more... but even praying made me feel a knot in my stomach and throat... and would cause lots of intense sobbing and having two little ones at home with me... I still had to try to make things "normal" for them... So... I baked... I went ahead and grabbed the ingredients for this cake which is thankfully very easy to make and I even followed the advice of our fellow baker Anabel from Oven Delights and used some almond extract in the batter of this cake which I think was really "the" thing that made it extra special.

On Friday night we had friends over who enjoyed the cake with us and stayed until 1 in the morning just being supportive and talking with us (as I avoided to have time to think because I felt like I wouldn't take it) and on Saturday morning I took the rest of the cake to a friend's house for her and her family to enjoy as we left to see my dad in the hospital, which unfortunately didn't happen because he couldn't have any strong emotions due to his state...

Today... as I type this... he's been released from the hospital after two weeks being there... he is recovering and I am so thankful for it! He will continue to recover at home and I pray that the next cake I bake will be in a celebratory atmosphere!

So... Thank you for reading... I wish you all Merry Christmas and highly suggest you try this cake... Unfortunately, given the circumstances I didn't even take pics of the process of making it and just managed to get a picture of one of the squares... this cake is better while still slightly warm ... Remember: We are baking from "Great Cakes" book by Carole Walter. Hopefully you'll get the book and try this recipe!

So... here's my pic:

© Paloma K.

First Cake - New Book! Applesauce Spice Cake

Hello everybody! Today I am excited to make some revelations...

We are now baking from a New Book at "The Cake Slice" (like us on facebook here) ... it wasn't easy to let go of the amazing book Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson but it had to be done... We choose a different book every year and then we vote on a cake each month... so... I am about to reveal our new book that we'll be using from now until October 2014... ready? - Drumroll -

We all vote each year for a different book and this one was a winner based on the reviews, etc.... When I (and some of my fellow bakers) received it ... I must say we were a bit disappointed to see that it doesn't have many pictures, the whole "look" of the book, especially the way the recipes are put together seems very old fasioned... BUT... we are not giving up on it... I think there must be a reason why this book has pleased so many people for so long and Carole Walter is definitely known for her desserts and wonderful cakes... So.. our first Cake is the "Applesauce Spice Cake" and here's my experience with it:

 

1. Making this cake was a delight, the batter was rich and fluffy, the aroma of the spices and the apples flooded my kitchen! I couldn't wait to have a taste of it!
2. The book specifies that the baking time for this cake is from 55-60 minutes. Thankfully I was in a hurry so I kept checking on the cake, which was ready at about 34 minutes (and actually looking a bit too browned)
3. I got scared it could be overbaked (nothing better to ruin a cake than overbaking it!) so I didn't want to leave it in the pan for the recommended time to cool off because I knew it would continue "cooking" with the heat IN the pan so I forced it out of the bundt pan right away which resulted on big (BIG) pieces of cake getting stuck to the pan! I wanted to ... CRY!

   

   Doesn't look as bad as it could've looked -sigh-

4. I managed to get the pieces unstuck and kind of put them back on the cake, making it look as "good as possible" it still didn't look pretty but the delicious Brown Sugar Glaze on top of it definitely helped things. 
   
5. We loved the cake! Just loved it... Especially hubby! I decided to go for cubed granny Smith apples which I think was key to add some freshness/tartness to this cake, the grated lemon rind also helped brighten the rest of the flavors.

 Want a slice?

I also want to mention real quick that we have new members in our group (and even 2 returns)! We accepted people that would join and I am so excited to see how they enjoyed this first cake! If you'd like to join us stay tuned! We'll be opening another window of opportunity in the middle of our baking year around February/March and then another one at the end (around September).

© Paloma K.