angel food cake with lemon curd and mascarpone cream

It's March right?  I mean, it sure feels like summer, but it's March... right? 

Josh and I were at the grocery store the other day, and when I saw the cover of the newest Canadian Living Magazine, I fell in love.  To jump ahead a bit, after tasting this... absolutely in love.  But more on that later.

My original plan was to buy an angel food cake mix.  I thought I'd save time that way because I had a few other things I wanted to bake today, but apparently the grocery store didn't agree with that plan.  What grocery store doesn't have an angel food cake mix?  So instead I bought a dozen eggs and 11 later the cake was on it's way.  

 I hit a road block when I realized we didn't have tube pan, but a bundt pan.  Completely different things, but I had a back up plan if I couldn't get it out of the bundt pan.  Thankfully it all turned out beautifully.

 Next step was the lemon curd, which I've never made before.  I should have cooked it a bit longer and let it thicken up more, but despite it being a bit runnier then it should have been, it did not interfere with the amazing lemon flavour. 

The icing on this cake wasn't icing at all but mascarpone cream.  I'm running out of words with this one.  The more I talk about it the more I want to eat more.  

  

It was absolutely wonderful and delicious and fresh, and worth the $3.99 I spent on the magazine.  

Angel Food Cake with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone Cream

from Canadian Living 

Angel Food Cake

 1-1/4 cups (300 mL) sifted cake-and-pastry flour 

1-1/4 cups (300 mL) granulated sugar 

1-1/2 cups (375 mL) egg whites, (10 to 12) 

1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice 

1 tsp (5 mL) cream of tartar 

1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt 

1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla 

1 cup (250 mL) quartered hulled strawberries 

Lemon Curd 

4 egg yolks 

1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar 

1 tbsp (15 mL) finely grated lemon zest 

1/3 cup (75 mL) lemon juice 

1/3 cup (75 mL) cold butter, cubed 

Mascarpone Cream 

4 oz (113 g) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature 

1/2 cup (125 mL) whipping cream, (35%) 

1 tbsp (15 mL) icing sugar 

1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla

Angel Food Cake:  In small bowl, sift flour with 1/2 cup of the sugar; sift into separate bowl.

In large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy; beat in lemon juice, cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form. Beat in remaining sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, until stiff glossy peaks form.

One-quarter at a time, sift flour mixture over top and fold in until blended. Fold in vanilla. Scrape into ungreased 10-inch (4 L) tube pan. Run spatula through batter to eliminate any large air bubbles; smooth top.

Bake in 350ºF (180ºC) oven until cake springs back when lightly touched, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn pan upside down and let hang on legs attached to pan, or on bottle, until completely cooled. Remove from pan. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 2 days.)

Lemon Curd: Meanwhile, in heatproof bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Set over saucepan of simmering water; cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat back of spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in butter, 1 piece at a time, until smooth. Strain through fine sieve into airtight container. Place plastic wrap directly on surface. Refrigerate until thick enough to mound firmly on spoon, about 2 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.)

Mascarpone Cream: Meanwhile, place mascarpone in bowl. In separate bowl, whip together cream, icing sugar and vanilla; fold into mascarpone. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Slice cake in half horizontally. Evenly spread lemon curd over cut side of bottom half; top with remaining cake. Spread mascarpone cream over top. Garnish with strawberries.

Yep, in love. 

lemon graham cracker dessert

  

This is probably one of my favourite desserts ever.  We used to have it a lot growing up, and I have a lot of memories of being the one making it.  Not only is it a favourite, but it's super easy.  Graham crackers, lemon pie filling, whipped cream, a simple water icing and melted chocolate... layer it and you're done.  It's that easy. 

Graham cracker layer.

Add lemon pie filling.

 

Another layer of graham crackers.

 

Whipped cream layer.

More graham crackers.

Spread a simple water and sugar icing over the crackers.

 

 

Lemon Graham Cracker Dessert 

from the big red book

1 box of graham crackers

1 box of prepared lemon pudding/pie filling

500ml sweetened whipped cream 

Enough icing that it adds a thin layer over top (icing sugar and water)

As much or as little chocolate of whatever kind you want, melted

You really can't screw this up.  In a 9x13 baking dish, start with a layer of graham crackers.  On the next layer, add the lemon filling.  It can be hot or cold, it really doesn't matter, and then more crackers.  Next add the 2 cups of already whipped sweetened cream and then more crackers.  Lastly spread the icing over the top and then drizzle the melted chocolate.  Refrigerate until cool and then dig in!

Notes:  We always used the lemon pudding and pie filling that you had to cook, not instant, but I'm sure instant would be fine.

We always used milk chocolate, but really, you can use whatever you want.

The best part about this dessert was that it always tasted better the longer it stayed in the fridge.  By the next day the graham crackers aren't cracker like anymore but soft.  So so delicious. 

chocolate cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting

My littlest sister Dawn had a baby!  And not just a baby, but a leap day baby!  There's really no better way to celebrate then with cupcakes.  Everything is said better when cupcakes are involved. 

 I get to meet her next week, and I'm so excited.  It will be worth the 10 hour drive with my own 31 week pregnant body... I just hope I can manage to not pee every half an hour like I usually do. 

Even though I wasn't there, and haven't met the little one yet, I felt inclined to bake my own celebration for the happy family.  I've had a thing for chocolate and coconut lately.

Classic (One-Bowl) Chocolate Cupcakes

from sweetapolita

Yield: 12 standard cupcakes

3/4 cup (90 grams/3 ounces) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (150 grams/5 ounces) white sugar

1/4 cup (30 grams/1 ounce) dark cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon (2.5 grams) baking soda

3/4 teaspoon (2.5 grams) baking powder

3/4 teaspoon (2.5 grams) cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) salt

1/3 cup (70 mL) buttermilk

1/4 cup (60 mL) brewed coffee or espresso, hot

3 tablespoons (45 mL) vegetable oil

1 egg, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a muffin/cupcake pan with your favourite cupcake liners.
2. In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift all dry ingredients.
3. Add all remaining ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed (you may need the plastic splashguard that comes with mixer) and pour into prepared cupcake pan until 2/3 full (or just less).
*Batter will be liquidy, and cupcakes will rise.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until toothpick or skewer comes out with a few crumbs. Try not to over bake. Carefully remove cupcakes from the pan immediately (it’s hot!), and place them on a wire rack until completely cool.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
from back to basics

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups sifted icing sugar
1/4 cup of sweetened desiccated coconut plus more for dipping

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and butter.  Add the icing sugar a bit at a time until until icing is smooth, and then add the 1/4 cup of coconut.

Ice the cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting and then dip the tops in more of the sweetened coconut.

It was a great solo celebration, and I just can't wait till I get to meet the baby and celebrate for real with the happy family!

Congratulations Dawn and Steve!

Lemon Bread

 Everything about today feels like spring.  It's 13 degrees in Fergus right now, the sun is shining and the snow is melting.  It just makes me so excited for spring.  With spring comes Easter, and while I know it's a bit early considering it's only the beginning of March, Easter and lemons just go together for me.  I've been meaning to make this lemon bread for a few weeks now, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to do it when it was blistering cold out and snowing.  Today though, today it just felt perfect.

Lemon Bread
from the big red book
yield: 1 loaf

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup white sugar

6 tbsp butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

pinch of salt

1 1/2  tsp baking powder

rind of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, flour, milk, salt, lemon rind, and baking powder and mix until smooth. 

Transfer to baking pan, and bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Topping:

 

Combine the juice of 1 lemon and 1/3 cup white sugar.

While still hot and in the pan, take a skewer and poke holes right through the bread and then pour the lemon juice and sugar over the top.  Let it sit for a few minutes before you take it out of the pan so the topping sets. 

Transfer to a cooling wrack and then enjoy!

Delicious.

Simply delicious.  Hope you enjoyed your day as much as I did!

rice krispie cake

I should have known better then to ask my brother in law what kind of birthday cake he wanted.  I also should have known I was going to get some crazy elaborate request when it took him 10 minutes to answer.  This is what he gave me.

Peanut butter ball cake with strawberries and chocolate.  

It was then up to me to figure out what to do.  Thank you to my mother in law for helping me brainstorm!

 

Peanut Butter Balls

from the big red book

1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth it doesn't matter)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup golden corn syrup

5 cups rice krispies

In a sauce pan, melt the peanut butter, brown sugar and corn syrup.  Add rice krispies and mix quickly.  While they're still relatively hot, cover your hands in butter and roll into balls.  These freeze super well.

In the case of the "cake" I opted to press the mixture into two 8" cake pans.  

Strawberry Rice Krispies

by back to basics

4 tbs butter

1 3 oz package of strawberry jello

1 250 g package marshmallows

5 cups rice krispies

On medium low heat, melt butter then add jello and stir.  Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Add rice krispies and press into two 8" cake pans.

To assemble the "cake" I started with the peanut butter layer, added a layer of chocolate frosting, then the strawberry layer and more forsting and then the other peanut butter layer.  I had an extra layer of strawberry rice krispies that I sent home with the birthday boy, but it could easily have been incorporated into the "cake".  Cover the whole thing in more chocolate frosting, and Shane's insane concoction of peanut butter balls and strawberry and chocolate was finished. 

By far this was the weirdest request for a birthday cake I've ever had.  He seemed to love it though, and that's all that really matters.  Happy Birthday Shane.

granola

There are a lot of granola recipes out there.  In fact, I think that a lot is a bit of an understatement.  My main goal in developing this partictular granola was to see if I could replicate what we used to buy from the St. Jacobs Market.  When we moved to St. Catharines I think we went through granola withdrawl.  It's taken about a year and a whole lot of experimenting with different quantities and oven temperatures, but I would say I've finally figured out exactly what makes it work.  To be totally honest, I don't have any idea if it's as good as the kinds from St. Jacobs it's been so long since I had them, but it's the best one I've made yet, and that's good enough for us.

Granola
by back to basics

2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups spelt flakes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw whole almonds
1 cup raw unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 250

Mix the oats and nuts together.  Add the oil and maple syrup and mix well.

Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir, then bake again for an additional 10 minutes.

Once it's out of the oven, add the coconut and enjoy!

Note: This recipe makes enough to fill a 2L container of ice cream.  That's what we use to keep it in and it doesn't last very long around here, so I usually make two batches.  I've tried just doubling the recipe, but it is inconsistent and doesn't turn out very well when doing it that way, so I tend to make one batch and then do the other.  I bake it in the oven at the same time on two cookie sheets, I just don't mix them together.

 The beauty of this recipe is how easily adaptable it is based on what you have on hand.  Don't have spelt flakes, use all oats.  Don't have all the nuts needed, or don't like those kinds? Add whatever nuts you have or like.  Don't like coconut? Don't add it!  It really is that easy and it really is delicious.

 Other ideas for additions:  raw pumpkin seeds, dried fruits, (if using dried fruit it's my personal preference to add it with the coconut after baking) dark chocolate pieces or cocoa nibs... really, if you like it, try adding it. 

good morning sunshine

I'm super excited about all the time I've been able to devote to this blog in the last couple weeks.  Without the stress of moving, and my job in the falls, everything seems to be falling into place.  The calm before the storm if you will, but even still I'm really excited about this storm, and the closer we get to meeting baby Grob the more exciting I get.  I'm trying to take advantage of all this free time I have while I can because come two months from now I'm sure I won't know what hit me.  

So for now, I revel in quiet Tuesday mornings where the only noise is the sound of the fish tank in the living room, and the only light comes from patio doors in the kitchen.  

When I saw this breakfast banana split on a blog I follow I just about started to drool.  It's so super easy too!

Breakfast Banana Split

 from bake at 350

1 banana

greek yogurt

sliced strawberries

nutella

chopped nuts

I really can't think of a better way to start off the day. 

Cheers to you Tuesday.