Baking 2015: Lemon Pudding Cake

 

The completed cake.

For our Father's Day BBQ, I wanted to make a light dessert that was relatively easy to create. A few weeks ago I saw a Lemon Pudding Cake recipe in the NY Times- I've never made, or possibly even tried a pudding cake, so I was intrigued. As the weekend approached, I found a different recipe for Lemon Pudding Cake on Allrecipies, and decided to try it. It was summer perfection: a lemony pudding on the bottom, and a light sponge-like cake on the top. The recipe was easy to follow, did not require much effort, and was a hit with the fam. To dress it up, I might add a small dollop of fresh whipped cream and a small handful of seasonal berries next time.

 

 

Separating eggs, grating lemon rind, squeezing lemon juice.

 

 

Egg whites being beaten to peaks- this seemed to be the key for the sponge cake top.

 

 

In the oven surrounded by a bath of hot water, which also seemed key.

 

 

The completed cake- pudding and sponge cake. So delicious. 

Baking 2015: Orange cake

 

Orange cake!

This week's baking project was a seasonal Orange Cake. The cake itself was fantastic- fluffy and moist with a lovely citrus flavor. The glaze and candied fruit topping, however, didn't work out as well. The recipe called for making candied orange peels, which were too sticky for my taste. They looked neat as a topping, but the texture didn't please the palette. The glazed topping was similarly too sticky, to the point where it was hard to slice. So, I peeled off the topping and candies and we ate the cake with a bit of whipped cream instead- this was actually quite tasty. I tried this cake because I wanted to make something seasonal for January, and I would try a different recipe next time. Part of the baking challenge is to try new things, and this type of cake was new to me. I learned that candied fruits aren't my thing (though I might try them in making a panettone next holiday season), that glazes are finicky, and that orange cake is delicious.

 

 

Making candied fruit- pretty and a lovely flavor, but not so great in the texture department.

 

 

Cake in the oven.

 

 

The altered, improved orange cake. 

Baking 2015: Baguettes

 

Oh la la!

 I made baguettes! 

The ease of baking these little beauties was quite a surprise. It took very little time and very little effort, but the results were fabulous. I used a recipe found on Food 52- all told, while there is a great deal of waiting time, I probably put about 20 minutes of work into making these. There was the initial ten-minute kneading, and after that not much else. They were fluffy on the inside and crusty on the outside, which I learned is possible due to the steam from ice that I included in the oven. The ingredients were simple and on hand. As part of my baking challenge I wanted to try more yeasted baked goods, and the simplicity of these has inspired me to try more as the year goes on. If you've never tried to bake bread, this is a great recipe to start with, and a new staple in our house.

 

 

Fluffy, delicious, and shockingly easy. Perfect as a snack or with soup. NOMZ. 

Baking 2015: Oatmeal Rasin Cookies

 

Baking challenge 2015 continues- this time with Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. They were chewy and hearty, and as per usual, I cut the sugar down from what was called for. I liked that the recipe didn't call for refined sugar (just brown sugar), but I still think most American recipes are too sweet. These cookies were also quite heavy on oats and raisins, really being barely held together by the other ingredients, making them feel less indulgent than other desserts.

Baking 2015: Banana Bread

 

Baking project 2015 continues! The second week of the year brought travel, so I whipped up a quick Banana Bread for the road. I reduced the sugar and added some shredded coconut, and for fun dropped in a quarter cup of chocolate chips. A perfect road trip and pre-skiing snack!

Baking 2015: Cranberry zucchini muffins

 

Since mid-November I have been baking at least weekly. This wasn't something I was trying to do, but between the long haul of Thanksgiving-kiddo birthday party-holiday cocktail party-Christmas-New Year's a great deal happened in our kitchen. I've decided to try and keep the momentum and make it a goal to bake once a week for 2015. Although brownies were the last of the baking projects for 2014, made on New Year's Eve, this year started out with something a little healthier- Cranberry zucchini muffins.  These are quick to whip up, and the zucchini adds a good deal of moisture, as well as balance for the tart fresh cranberries.

 

 

Wet and dry ingredients.

  

 

Popped up muffins right after coming out of the oven- this allows the steam to release and the muffins to stop baking.

 

 

Saturday breakfast!