Lemon Cake: The Lunar Chronicles

My tastes in books is very broad, I would give any book no matter the label a chance. However, I am prone to gravitate towards fantasy and science fiction. Even better if the two are mixed. Which is exactly what you get with the Lunar Chronicles.

The first book in the series is Cinder - based on surprise surprise Cinderella! Except she's a cyborg and a wanted fugitive. That's all I can say without giving too much away. I enjoyed it so much I couldn't wait to read what happened next in Scarlet. A story about a young girl who is looking for her grandmother and seeks help from a wolf. Marissa Meyer ties the two stories together very smoothly as she continued to do in Cress. The only title that might cause a raised eyebrow as it's the one name that isn't as obvious as the others if you haven't read the first two. Cress's story is based on Rapunzel and it's very cleverly done. The last but, not last title is Winter, which is based on no other then Snow White. Winter is the final book in the series and the fattest - probably due to the tying up of all the other stories as well as having a story for Winter.

In the end of the series they eat cake. I know it was a little bit random when Scarlet is like "Yo, everyone this has been a blast and so to celebrate here's a cake!" I can't say too much more without giving out spoilers and that's the last thing I want to do as this post is suppose to inspire you to read this series.

Anyhow, the cake Scarlet brings out is lemon. Therefore it made sense to me to make a lemon cake. Cake is a great comfort food and when mourning the end of a great series it good to have cake waiting for you. Just my option, but I dare you to deny it!

Lemon Cake

200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 lemons, zest
4 medium eggs
200g self-rising flour

Heat the oven to 175C and prepare two 7 inch or 18cm cake tins by lining the bottom of the tin and greasing the sides with butter. Beat the butter in a free standing mixer or with a handheld mixer, until soft. Add the sugar, salt, and lemon zest to the butter and beat together until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl beat the eggs together until just combined. Slowly add the eggs the butter mixture. It will probably curdle when it does that just add a tablespoon or two of the flour (from the amount above not extra). Once all the eggs are added sift in the rest of the flour and beat until just combined. Divide between the batter between the cake tins and gently smooth out. Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes. Cake should be a light brown and springy to the touch. If in doubt use the skewer test.

While the cake is baking make the lemon sugar syrup: 150ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (use the lemons from the zest and about another one or two lemons) and 150g caster sugar. In a sauce pan bring the lemon juice and sugar to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until the sugar dissolves and it thickens up a little.

When the cakes come out of the oven leave them to cool for a short while before soaking the tops of the sponge with the lemon sugar syrup. Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely before icing.

Lemon Buttercream
80g unsalted butter, room temperature
80g icing sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
40g lemon curd + 1 tbsp

Beat the butter until soft before adding the icing sugar. Beat the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy and lighter in color. Then fold in the lemon curd.

to finish the cake: Ice the bottom layer with half the buttercream and a tablespoon of the lemon curd place the other cake layer on top and ice the top layer with the rest of the buttercream.

*Recipe was adapted from Peggy Porschen's Baking Boutique.

Cranberries! Cranberries! Cranberries! {sauce, butter, sugared}

The only time I have used cranberries in my baking was for granola bars and I think once in cookies. They aren't a berry I tend to think of very much. I thought now, with Thanksgiving and then Christmas around the corner, it would be as good as time as any to change that.

Here are 3 ways I used fresh cranberries in preparation for my holiday dinners! 

Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without a side of cranberry sauce. When I was young, the very look of the stuff put me off even wanting to try it. It was a weird red jelly like subsistence that came from a can. And even weirder people ate it with turkey. My younger self thought that very odd. Since I have started cooking my own Thanksgiving dinners I have understood better what the side dish could really add to a turkey dinner! Or to a turkey sandwich... umnum! 

I thought this Thanksgiving I would try making my own cranberry sauce from scratch. It is a very simple process and the cranberries themselves contain enough pectin to thicken without having to add any gelatin.

Cranberry Sauce

454g fresh cranberries

400g sugar

450ml water

Wash and rinse the cranberries removing any smooshie cranberries or stems.

Weigh out the sugar and add the water into a medium saucepan and heat on a low/medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

Add the cranberries. Turn up the heat slightly and watch as the cranberries start to burst! Once they are all burst and the sauce is slightly thickened, then take off the heat and chill for at least 3 hours. I jarred the sauce in 4 old jam jars. It makes quite a bit, but all the more to share with friends and family! Or just half the recipe!

Instead of offering a side of cranberry sauce with your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner why not offer a slice of cranberry butter! It works great on any dinner roll or spread on turkey! Or even better for those leftover turkey sandwiches! 

This cranberry butter makes a great gift too! If you don’t think you will need as much as this recipe please feel free to half it. It will keep in the fridge for a week and frozen for about 6 months as long as it’s properly wrapped and stored.

Cranberry Butter

250g unsalted butter

150g cranberry sauce

Beat the butter and cranberry sauce together for a few minutes until fully combined. It may look like it won’t come together, but keep beating it, it will come together!

Another way to use fresh cranberries is to make them all sugary! It works as a great way to top pies and cakes and other baked treats!! This is a little sticky and I used light corn syrup, which isn’t readily available in the UK. If you have a big Tescos near you that has a world food section, they sell it there. It’s where I found mine. You could try using golden syrup, but it has a yellowy tint, so not 100% sure how it would work?

Sugared Cranberries

cranberries

light corn syrup

sugar, granulated

The amount of each depends on how many you need or want for the baked treat you are making.

Lightly brush with a pastry brush a cranberry with the corn syrup and then immediately roll in the sugar. Set aside or unto your baked good!

Up next week Creamy Cranberry Pie! 

Should Have Been Peach Bellini Cake

I call it the “Should Have Been” Peach Bellini Cake because it didn't really taste like peaches or champagne (aka Prosecco.) 

I didn't want to deceive anyone in calling it a 'Peach Bellini Cake' when it's not really one. 

I started with a vanilla sponge and had a Prosecco sugar syrup soaked in. Then I layered it with peach curd and a whipped cream dyed a peach color for effect

It so would have been a peach bellini cake if 1.) it tasted like peaches and 2.) one got a bit tipsy from the alcohol.

Which I guess I failed on both accounts.

In the end it was just a vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting and in that I totally succeeded.

There is always tomorrow. Or the next day to make this cake again, there is just a few things I will need to do differently.

Here is how I made it and in italics are my notes on how I will change it next time.

Should Have Been Peach Bellini Cake:

330g plain flour

320g caster sugar

1 ½ tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

175g unsalted butter, softened

3 medium eggs

190ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 180C and grease and line two 8in/23cm cake tins. Briskly whisk the dry ingredients together, before adding the butter and beating for a few minutes until it’s crumby. Throw the eggs in and beat until just incorporated. Last but not least add the milk and vanilla extract and beat on high for a couple of minutes until lighter in color and smooth.

Fill both prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes. Do the skewer test to make sure it’s cooked. Right away poke some holes in the top and using a pastry brush, brush the Bubbly Sugar Syrup (recipe below) over both cakes. Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Bubbly Sugar Syrup

60ml water

60g caster sugar

1-2 tbsp bubbly

Melt the sugar in the water before adding the prosecco to taste. If I were to do this again I would double it. To make sure the cakes were really soaked.

to finish:

Peach Curd recipe needs to be adjusted to taste more peachy

300 ml whipping cream

1 tsp of sugar

peach food color paste

Whip the cream with the sugar and coloring until it’s fluffy and can hold its shape. Place the first cake on a serving plate and layer the peach curd on it. Then layer about half of the whipped cream before topping with the second layer of cake and putting the rest of the whipped cream on top! Decorate with sprinkles or anything else.

I should have added peaches into the cake or the whipped cream to make it peachier or I should have added bubbly to the whipped cream? There are a few ways I could adjust this to get the results I set out to get.

notes: I made this cake for my Clandestine Cake Club meeting. We had a great time as a very classy cocktail bar!