Mum's Lemon Cake

This recipe is a family favorite in my husband's family, and now in ours. His mother would always have one prepared when we travel to England to visit her. I've tried for years to re-create the exact flavors and textures on this side of the world, but what I have come to understand is the ingredients make half the difference, and the preparation method makes up the other half.

One might think butter and flour are the same the world over, but that's sadly not the case. In the USA a lot of what is available cheaply comes from food-producing factories.  It's processed and packaged for manufacturing and distribution efficiency, not for quality of flavor. That's somewhat true in Europe as well, but I find the quality standards to be a bit lower in America for some reason. So when I suggest particular types of butter it's because I've tested this recipe with the cheaper alternatives and it's just not the same. Also, the types of wheat grains, and how they are milled will affect the flavor and texture of the cake tremendously.  The Sonrisa Farm stone ground whole wheat flour is my favorite because it's locally grown organic wheat, and milled at Falls Mill, an old water-powered stone mill about an hour away. It's the freshest flour you can buy, and has not had any of the natural oils stripped from the grains.  If you can't find the Sonrisa Farm flour, use a good quality fresh all-purpose flour like King Arthur, or whatever brand is available to you.

Mum's version. Hand written for me about 15 years ago.

Ingredients:

8 oz unsalted butter (European-style or cultured butter are best)
12 oz organic cane sugar
4 large farm-fresh eggs
6 oz Sonrisa Farm stone ground whole wheat flour
6 oz unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
5 oz milk
Grated rind (zest) of two lemons

Juice from 2 lemons
2 Tbs organic cane sugar

Lemon Butter Cream Icing:

8 oz unsalted European-style or cultured butter
1lb Confectioners sugar (make sure it is 10-x pure cane sugar, not larger grain beet sugar)
Grated rind (zest) of one lemon
Juice from one lemon
Pinch of salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare the cake pan by generously greasing with butter or shortening and dusting with flour or sugar. You can also use baking spray or parchment cupcake liners if making cupcakes.

You will need either a 3-inch deep, 8-inch diameter springform cake pan
or 9-inch springform cake pan
or a 10-cup bundt pan
or two muffin or cupcake pans for 24 full-sized cupcakes

In a stand mixer, whip 8oz of butter until soft. Add 12 oz of sugar and mix on medium speed until it is fluffy and light (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine slowly until smooth. Add the milk and lemon zest and mix until smooth for another 5 minutes, or until the batter has a light and fluffy texture.

If you do not have a stand mixer you can use a hand mixer, but the texture of the cake will change dramatically if you do not mix the cake for the required amount of time. So you may want to do some push-ups and arm curls for a couple of weeks before attempting to mix this cake, and then the icing for an almost non-stop 45 minutes with a hand mixer. Some of you out there are tough enough to prove your worth with this challenge, I'm sure. So I say, don't go without cake if you don't have a stand mixer. Just know what you are getting yourself into.

When the batter is ready, pour into the prepared cake pan(s). The baking time will depend on the size of pan that you use. deeper pans take longer, wider shallow pans cook more quickly.  And of course cupcakes are the quickest.  The average bake time is between 30 minutes for cupcakes, and over an hour for a deep cake tin.  You will know it is done by the smell, the golden brown top, and a bamboo skewer inserted into the center will come out completely clean. But do not attempt to open the oven and check if the cake is not golden brown and looks as if it is just beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. Some cakes can withstand a lot of bumping around, but this one is likely to fall in the center if it's not completely cooked.

While the cake is baking: dissolve 2 Tbs sugar in the juice of two lemons. Set aside.

Prepare the butter cream frosting by combining the confectioners sugar, butter, lemon juice and zest in a stand mixer and whip for about 10 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. If it's a hot day, place the frosting in the fridge until about 15 minutes before you are ready to ice the cake.

When the cake is finished baking, remove from the oven and pierce holes all over, then drizzle the lemon juice and sugar over the cake so the juice goes into the pierced holes. Let the cake rest and cool completely.

Once the cake is cooled to room temperature, remove from the pan and place on a serving plate. Cover with butter cream frosting, or slice in half and fill the center with a layer of butter cream before icing the outside.

Quick Pizza Dough

This is basically the same as Martha Stewart's recipe.  Just throwing it down (and up) to have it on here so I don't have to keep converting the yeast measurement, etc., preparation method.  Ok, well, it's actually not so much like Martha's, but I did look at her recipe for quantities before changing it completely.  Makes two medium/large pizzas.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs instant yeast (or 2 packets)
2 Tbs honey
1/4 Cup olive oil
2 Tsp kosher salt
4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Cups warm water

Method:

In a medium glass jug or bowl, mix the honey into the warm water, then stir in the yeast.  Let rest until the yeast begins to puff up like dough in the jug.  Meanwhile measure the flour and mix in the salt.  When the yeast mixture is ready, pour oil and yeast mixture into the flour and gently mix until it forms a shaggy, sticky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the texture is even and smooth (just a few times).  Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until the dough doubles in size.  (About one hour.)

When the dough has risen, punch it down and divide in two (or more if you want to make individual pizzas.)  Knead a couple of times, then roll out or toss in the air to stretch the dough to the desired size.

Happy 40th Birthday and the Secret Family Recipe

Here it is: The Rowe family Lemon Meringue Pie.  Apparently I have to have special clearance to share the recipe...Sorry to tempt you with the flaky shortcrust filled with a soft enough, yet firm enough lemon custard filling, and topped with spongy-sweet meringue.  The photo will have to do for now.

Happy 40th Birthday to the best husband and friend...who loves this pie, and does his best to pass on the love to the next generation with every opportunity.

No-Dairy Banana Crepes

I've tried dozens of non-dairy crepe recipes.  Never, until now, have I found one that has the right texture and taste.  My husband, who has been the breakfast chef at our house since we've had more than two children, was the inventor of the secret banana-egg-almond milk emulsion trick.  It works as a perfect buttermilk substitution for waffles, so I thought I'd try it with crepes as well.  Shazam...it's genius. The banana flavor is there, but not overpowering.  P.S. I only waited about 30 minutes for the batter to settle this morning.  It took me two and a half hours to make them all (because, of course, that's what happens around here on a Saturday morning) so the texture improved towards the end.  However, I love how these first few looked like eyelet lace, or moon craters. Sometimes bubbles in the batter = art.

Ingredients:

(Makes about 2 dozen crepes)

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
4 large or 5 small farm-fresh eggs
1 banana
4 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
Juice from one lemon
1/4 cup maple sugar or caster sugar (optional)

Method:

Put the flour, salt and sugar (if desired) into a stand mixer and stir until blended together.  In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, banana and almond milk with an immersion blender until the mixture is smooth and thick like a loose custard.  Pour the egg and milk mixture into the flour and mix on low speed with the whisk attachment for about a minute.  Continue to mix on low, adding the vanilla and lemon juice.  Mix for 20 minutes.  Cover the batter and let rest in the refrigerator for several hours. (You can also make the batter before you go to bed and let rest overnight.)  If you are in a hurry and choose to skip the resting part, the crepes will be spongy and have a dough-like texture.  They are still tasty, but not quite like a real crepe.

Heat  a skillet or crepe pan on medium-low heat.  (I like to use a 10-inch heavy bottomed stainless steel pan.) Use a very small amount of canola cooking spray for the first, then every other crepe.  When the pan is hot, pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the center of the pan, then quickly tilt the pan in all directions to allow the batter to spread thinly over the entire bottom of the pan. Let the first side cook until the crepe no longer looks wet and the edges begin to brown and curl away from the sides of the pan.  Flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds or until it slides easily in the pan.  The first crepe, like any pancake or waffle, will not look pretty. So don't beat yourself up if it takes several tries before they look just right. Part of the success with crepes is getting the pan to the right temperature, so play with the temperature until they start coming out golden brown.

Fill with fruit, maple syrup, Nutella, powdered sugar, or your favorite filling. Serve warm.

The Last Ginger Snap

I could not have posed a better photo if I'd tried.  I was trying to take a picture of my own fingers holding the last remaining ginger snap, in a "I'm holding on to a faded memory" sort of way...and just as the shutter snapped, my almost-two-year-old reached up to snatch the cookie away from me. (Yes, this is the same one who likes to steal pie crust.)  But it's poetic, really, that my overly-sentimental thought about history being "lost in the cobwebs so easily dusted away", would be overtaken by my little one physically grabbing my metaphor. Ok, little one, I pass the baton. You may have this little bite of family history.  I'll hold my sentimental proclamations about the passing of time, getting older, loved ones gone, the last cookie, etc. etc.  For now we will just eat a really good ginger cookie together, appreciating your great-grandmother who let me make them with her one summer, despite being out of season, just because it was my favorite, when I was not much bigger than you.

Grandma Avalon's Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbs) of butter
1/4 C. blackstrap molasses
1 C. Sugar
1 large farm-fresh egg

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Extra sugar for rolling

Method:
Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.  In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, egg and molasses.  Add the dry ingredients and combine well.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours.  With a scoop or spoon, portion the dough and form into 1-inch balls.  Roll in sugar and place on baking sheet, making sure to leave space between them, as they flatten out.

Bake at 350 degrees until firm (about 15-20 minutes for crunchy cookies, less time for softer cookies.)  Carefully transfer to a cooling rack.  Store in an airtight container once completely cooled.

Five-Farm Fritters

I had never tasted a rutabaga (or swede, as it's known in some places) until about a month ago. But as it usually happens, the power of suggestion won when a person in front of me at the farmer's market asked how to cook rutabaga.  My ears perked up as Letty described how easy it is to grate the rutabaga, mix it with sliced onion, flour, egg, salt, pepper, and fry it in a pan like potato latkes.  When it was my turn I bought two bunches of rutabaga and a dozen eggs.  They were, of course, a hit.  Each week I find myself making a larger batch in order to appease my hungry veggie-lover family.

These tasty fried treats are similar to potato latkes, only without the starchiness of potatoes. Rutabaga are in the brassicaceae family, which basically means they are cousins to mustard and cabbages. The greens and roots are edible, and the flavors are all similar to turnips, kohlrabi, broccoli, collards and cabbage...all of which are in the same family of plants.

This time of year brassica's are the highlight of farmer produce... which got me thinking as I made my way around the market.  What else could I put in these fritters?  I've played with the recipe several times over the last month, and this is the most recent version, using an assortment of goodies from last week's market.

Ingredients:
3 medium rutabaga, plus greens
1 fennel bulb
1 kohlrabi (purple or green), plus greens
1 yellow onion
1/3 cup Sonrisa Farm stone ground whole wheat flour (can substitute quinoa flour to make this recipe gluten-free)
2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 Local farm eggs
3 Tbs canola or olive oil, plus extra for frying
Garnish with Hoe Hop jalapeno pepper jelly.

Method:
Remove the greens from the rutabaga and kohlrabi, wash and set aside. Peel the kohlrabi and grate with a mandolin slicer, food processor or cheese grater.  Leave the skin on the rutabaga and grate.  Thinly slice the yellow onion and fennel.

Chop the leaves of the rutabaga and kohlrabi, removing the stems first if you don't want the coarse texture.

Place the vegetables in a large bowl, then add the remaining ingredients. Mix until combined evenly.  Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of a heavy skillet on medium to medium-high heat.  With a fork, scoop dollops of the mixture into the skillet, flattening somewhat with the fork or a metal spatula.  Let brown, then turn and cook the other side until browned.

Let rest on an absorbent cloth or paper towel to blot excess oil before serving.  Try with jalapeno pepper jelly or one of your favorites.

Pecan Shortbread Biscuits

Ok, I know we call them cookies in the USA. Sorry to anyone looking for a new twist on the fluffy buttermilk goodness commonly served with white gravy south of the Mason Dixon line.  Maybe your Appalachian mamaw made something like this, but she probably didn't call it a 'biscuit'.  However, I have Mrs. Beeton's to thank for most of this recipe, so I can't exactly call it a cookie, now can I?  Mrs. Beeton first started advising British homemakers on cookery and household management in 1860.  Among the chapters for recipes, first aid, and social customs, her first editions also included instructions on how to best manage household servants.  When I crack open my 4-inch thick "concise" version of her book of cookery, I sometimes wonder how I might adapt those original techniques...or modernize, perhaps, the idea of managing my servan--...I mean children.  Haha...I mean I want to manage my children better :-)  Maybe I'll just go bake some cookies with them...

Ingredients:
6 oz (1 cup) soft white or bronze chief whole wheat flour
3 oz (1/2 cup) semolina flour
2 oz (1/4 cup) caster sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup pecans, finely chopped or ground into a meal texture
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine dry ingredients, then rub the butter into the flour mixture until it forms a dough.  Knead gently if necessary to make sure there are not lumps of butter in the dough.  With a cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Leave 1 inch gaps between cookies.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and gently place them on a cooling rack, or let cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container.