Lemon Poundcake Shenanigans

 JENN McKINLAY: Social media can sure feel like a giant cesspool, but every now and then a little gem comes along that entertains me and reminds me that there are some seriously funny people out there. So, last week as I was harvesting lemons and trying to figure out what to do with them, I came across a dude called Afroman and his song about a deputy who was searching his house and paused to eyeball his mama's lemon poundcake. Naturally, Afroman wrote a song about it.

Now, the stars (read Sheriffs) who were featured in Afroman's video which was posted three years ago, took offense to the video and sued Afroman for defamation. This was where it came across my radar because the court case was bonkers! You can Google the case to find out what happened as there will be no spoilers here! But I will say Sheriff Poundcake's ex-wife was Afroman's lone witness. 

In any event, the whole thing gave me a hankering for lemon poundcake, so I made one! 

Here's the recipe, inspired by Seasons & Suppers but tweaked a bit:

Loaf:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

  3/4 cup white sugar

  3 large eggs, room temperature

  2 Tbsp lemon zest,1 large lemon

  1 Tbsp lemon juice

  2 tsp vanilla

  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  1/4 tsp table salt

  1/4 tsp baking soda

  1/4 tsp baking powder

  1/3 cup Greek yogurt

  Glaze:

  1 cup icing/confectioners' sugar
  2 Tbsp lemon juice or whatever amount achieves desired consistency

• Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan.

  2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light colored and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla.

  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. With mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the Greek yogurt.

  4. Scrape into prepared 8x4-inch loaf pan and level batter. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

  5. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a knife along the edges to loosen and remove from pan. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.

  6.  While loaf is still a little warm, prepare the glaze in a small bowl, adding enough lemon juice to make a pourable glaze. Drizzle on top, allowing it to drip down the sides a bit. Cool completely, then slice and enjoy.

• So, who else watched the Afroman court saga? Or more importantly, who loves lemon poundcake?

Celia Wakefield's Lava Cakes

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: As many of you know, our dear Celia is in treatment for cancer, which means at times she's not feeling up to writing. (I often feel that way, and I don't even have any health excuse!) We're just after Valentines Day, and Fat Tuesday will be here in just a few days, so I went back into the archives to bring up a rich, indulgent, chocolate recipe, perfect for rounding out a romantic interlude or celebrating before the start of Lent. 

I hope you'll enjoy this rerun, and be inspired to tackle these delicious Lava Cakes. I'm sure Celia will be popping into the comments if she has the energy, so feel free to leave her a message!

 

 

You may remember Celia's delicious, impressive and easy summer dinner. Her lava cakes are the same way. It's a scrumptious 'restaurant' kind of dessert, but it turns out the only special thing you need to have on hand is not that special - individual ramekins. I got a set of six for $6 at Dollar  Tree, and you can probably find deals as good at the Christmas Tree Store. (Why do they have so much stuff unrelated to Christmas? I have no idea. But I've found it's a great place for low-cost glassware and, surprisingly, lamps.)

Celia suggests doing each step all the way through, and don't try to do more than one  thing at a time. To that I can add, focus, focus, focus. The second time she made this when I was a dinner guest, I was in the kitchen "helping" (ie, we were both talking nonstop and enjoying rather stiff drinks) and the inner part of the cake didn't remain gushy. This is a recipe that demands strict attention to the measurements and mixing. Celia is British, so she even includes grams for our Canadian and continental readers.

Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes For Two

These Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes for Two are the perfect small batch dessert! These lava cakes are incredibly easy to make and ready in less than 30 minutes. I found that the mix would fill three ramekins and still be a good size. This recipe can be doubled for 6 people.

 Prep Time10 minutes

 Cook Time  10 -14 minutes (at 10 minutes start checking)

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup (60 grams) unsalted butter
2 ounces semi-sweet or bitter chocolate chips

1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour - spoon out then level
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Spray two or three 6-ounce ramekins well with nonstick cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.

Cut the butter into pieces, and add with the chocolate to a large microwave safe bowl (Pyrex or other glass works well).

Microwave in 30 second increments, making sure to stir well after each increment, until melted and smooth. (Do not over cook, recommend taking out after 30 seconds and working the chocolate into the butter with a spatula. It’s a better result for the chocolate).

Whisk the powdered sugar  into the chocolate / butter mixture until well combined.  Mix the eggs and vanilla together, then fold gently into the chocolate mixture until  combined.

Fold in the flour and espresso powder gently; do NOT over mix the batter. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared ramekins.

Bake at 425° for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are firm and the center is slightly soft (the center should look soft and won’t rise). 

Remove from the oven and allow to stand for a minute. Cover the ramekin with a small plate or bowl and invert. Careful, the ramekin is very hot. Add whipped cream or ice cream, serve, and enjoy!

Dancing (and baking) Sugar Plums

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I hope the rest of you are feeling as pleased as I am - presents purchased, decorating sorted (Virginia's doing it) meal planned and festive outing in the works. If you've been very good this year, you undoubtedly deserve some sugar plums this holiday - plus, making them is a delightful activity for you and your friend or nibling or grandchild.

 

Good morning everyone and I wish you all the Compliments of this Happy Season! Julia has again invited me to talk about food and my living experiences here in Sudbury. In fact I have moved, with the help of friends enough furniture down from Maine that I fear I won’t recognize my home when I next visit. But let’s get on what has been happening not to mention making some delicious Sugar Plums.

 

“While Visions of Sugarplums danced in their heads”

 

 

My Social Media has been full of Nutcracker related photos and stories beginning with the adorable photos of Debs with her granddaughter at their local performance of the Nutcracker and how much they had enjoyed the performance looking at their smiles. Another friend who is of grandfather status wrote about attending his 1632nd performance of his granddaughter who has two leading roles this year. One as the Mother Ginger first child and the second as the porcelain doll in a beautiful costume which made it into our local paper. I think she isn’t even thirteen yet. But she is totally committed to her life as a dancer. I wonder  she will pursue this dream into adulthood? But I think I would give her grandfather the longevity prize for faithful attendance. There is something rather awe-inspiring watching a group of children completely devoted to their art.

 

I had that pleasure this past week as a group of middle schoolers from a local prep school came to bring the musical holidays to my assisted living space. I can’t get out to go to the many holiday concerts as Victor and I did in the past, so this was a special treat. I have to admit I did wonder if we would be treated to a performance of the dreaded Christmas pops but that was not the case. I sat and listened to trios, quartets, an eight handed piano piece. I loved watching these teen kids finish their performance with a rousing rendition of the Trepak dance from the Nutcracker which they played with considerable brio. What a joy to see their dedication to serious music. I was asked if I played an instrument.My short answer is No! But I have another response which is my truth -My role is to be an audience to whichever muse calls to me.  As I told the young musicians, “Every performer needs an audience”, to which they agreed.  So whatever activity appeals to the child in your life I believe it is most worthwhile to help them achieve it. 

 

But it is time to address our main topic - Christmas Food. Last year I introduced you to the sugar plums that we can eat while dancing should one wish. As I wrote last year I found a recipe hiding among my many food notes with the heading “Sugarplums”, Courtesy of Eleanor Watson.

 

“Goodness, Eleanor Watson one of the best loved and remembered people in Limerick, Maine. We were invited to her Christmas gathering the first year we moved here. She lived in a beautiful old house, pre Victorian I think. Would that make it Empire, Revolutionary or Federal? I’m not much good on the history of architecture. However there were open fire places with burning logs to warm us, a colonial kitchen and rooms filled with antique furniture which she showed off to me seeing my interest. She is another person I miss and wish I had asked her for stories. But on the kitchen table, along with her delicious food, was this gift of a recipe card for the taking”. 

 

Julia and I agreed that one can never have too many sugar plums in ones life. So I offer you sugar plums to make and share with friends, to enjoy through the Holidays or as I love to entertain on Twelvth Night these make an excellent addition for dessert

 

Now I had never made Sugarplums before last year, but with a food processor anything is possible. Eleanor said her recipe made a hundred pieces of deliciousness, but as Julia and I found Eleanor’s quantities made many more than one hundred.so I recommend you half the recipe unless you are making gifts for a crowd. I also did a little research online and adding or omitting ingredients seems to be par for the course. I plan to measure the total liquid which will give me an idea of how much liquid is needed for the amount of dry ingredients. I plan to add some dried cranberries and cherries too. This recipe doesn’t have any spices in it so I will add a little of my favorite spices as well. 

 

SUGARPLUMS - Courtesy of Eleanor Watson

 

1 lb. chopped figs

1 lb. chopped dates

1 lb. chopped raisins - I am using golden raisins or sultanas (their English name)

1 lb. currents - I am omitting as couldn’t find them but will add cranberries and cherries here

 

Chop all finely in the Food Processor - set aside

 

1 lb. chopped blanched almonds

1 lb. chopped unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts (I will not use pistachios but make the weight up with other nuts.)

1/2 lb. chopped walnuts

1/2 lb. chopped pecans

 

Chop nuts in Food Processor - set aside

 

1/2 lb. shredded coconut

1/2 lb. crystallized ginger

Juice & grated rind of 1 orange

Juice & grated rind of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp - good sherry***

1 oz.    - orange or peach brandy

 

Granulated sugar for rolling - let the deliciousness commence.

 

MY UPDATED RECIPE

 

I am weighing my dried fruit based on the total amount in Eleanor’s recipe which is 4 pounds of fruit. My measurements are not exactly halved as I changed them while I was prepping.

 

My ingredients*** are:

2 3/4 lb. mixed dried fruit -approximate weight

1/4 lb. figs

1/4 lb. dates without pits

1 1/2 lb. Mixed raisins and golden raisins (sultanas)

1/2 lb. cranberries

1 oz + dried orange slices (optional)

1/4 lb. cherries

 

1 1/2 lb. Mixed nuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans - I used what I had. Just check none of the nuts are rancid not freshly purchased . (Nuts are best stored in a freezer).

8 oz shredded coconut 

4 oz.    crystallized ginger

1 tsp. cardamom 

1/2 tsp. each nutmeg and mace

 

Juice and grated rind of one orange and one lemon = about 1/3 cup, just enough to moisten

1/4 Cup Cointreau or other liquor

 

I shall make some with extra fruit juice as not everyone likes alcohol but I shall do some with Grand Marnier or Cointreau added in place of the sherry and fruit brandies. 

 

METHOD:

 

Measure all the ingredients but keep the fruit and nuts separate, see below. If you don’t have a scale I suggest you buy the fruits and use the measurements on the bag to approximate the amounts. I don’t think an extra oz or so will hurt the recipe

 

Put the nuts, coconut and crystallized ginger together with any spices you like in the Food Processor and pulse several times to chop finely

 

Scrape into a bowl

 

Add and pulse the dried fruits and grated orange and lemon rind in the FP. 

Add the chopped nuts and pulse to mix

 

Even though I have a 12 cup bowel on my FP and my Ninja cup is a little smaller, I had to half the quantities again before being able to mix the fruit, nuts mix and liquid together. This is where a digital scale comes in handy as you can place an empty bowl on the scale, adjust the weight back to zero then add ingredients. To finish I had two bowls weighing about one and a half pounds each to role into the sugarplums.

 

Depending on your quantity, now is the time to divide in half before mixing together and adding in the liquid through the funnel. I added a little at a time until the mix gathered on the blade. I don’t think it should be too wet.

 

Now for the fun part. Set up a plate with sugar on it and a plate with waxed paper to place the candies. Wet your hands and take a melon sized amount or slightly larger and roll into a ball, then roll in the sugar for that sparkle and set on a plate. If giving as gifts pack into a wax paper lined box with wax paper between the layers of sugarplums. I bought mini cup cake holders, which was a good way to present the sugar plums. 

 

The final note: allow to sit in the fridge or a cold place for several days for the flavors to blend and add to the joy of eating a sugarplum. Plus, it’s Gluten Free!

 

I have simplified Eleanor’s process by adding the spices, coconut and ginger to the nuts, and grating the rind onto the pile of dried fruit

 

Did you make sugar plums last year or since you got the recipe? Do please let me know how they turned out.

Olivia's Fancy, a Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Ladies and gentlemen, our own Celia Wakefield, with an absolutely irresistible spring dessert.

 

 

 

Wishing everyone a very happy May, filled with growing things and the expectation of summer ahead. Of course many thanks to Julia and everyone who continues to make me so welcome on JRW. I do appreciate you all.

 

What has been happening in my world and in Maine? Right now, I am in Sudbury staying with my daughter and son-in-law and ‘helping’ as they combine their full time work responsibilities with selling their house and moving to a new build. This is fascinating to watch and these are the differences I see between selling our New York home in 1999, yes that is a long time ago, and house sales today. 

 

I have just watched through the window… a young man spend an hour putting up the realtor front yard sign. There was hole digging, centering the post, steadying the post, that took quite a time, painting the post, attaching hangers to the post and finally - the sign was hung. Now we await the photographer. (Oh dear the photographer just touched the post and he is not pleased to have wet white paint on his hands). If the photos are uploaded before today I will add them with the link.

 

 

Yesterday the Stager arrived, let’s call her Nicole. She was a real whirlwind, dragging in bags and bags of soft furnishings including more pillows than I could count and fake greenery in pottery bowls. What is it with pillows? I spoke with her while she “Martha’d” my bedroom.

 

I may have coined “Martha’d” back in 1999 as I tried to create the look of spaciousness, cleanliness and warmth in our tiny Cape. There were no stagers in Chappaqua NY in the summer of 1999, but with famous folk moving in later that year perhaps that’s how stagers got into our little town. A friend told me she had stagers set up her house about six years after we left, and she sold within the month. Oh dear, what does that say about my staging skills? Well I still have my old copy of Martha Stewart Entertaining, so I’m sure that helped.

 

To return to Nicole, I watched her work over my room leaving it bare boned down to a bed, two side tables with lamps and one corner table also with lamp. Are you wondering where were my clothes? In a baseboard cupboard together with everything else being hidden from view. Don’t we all have those spaces? Or rather, they become the spaces like Harry Potter’s Room of Requirement. The space that’s filled with all the stuff we can’t wait to throw away but might need some day. 

 

She added six pillows on the bed and a white comforter with lots of wrinkles couldn’t stop myself from trying to smooth out. This is all about controlled living. Nicole told me that the colour palette felt ‘coastal’ and the realtor told me that the new color for house staging is ‘gravage’ = gray / beige.

 

By now you’re asking where’s the food? Where’s the recipe? After Nicole had completed her makeover it was unanimously agreed that cooking would mess up the kitchen, so we went out to eat at a local place which focuses on Italian food and desserts in particular. My daughter was in the mood for dessert after the day and she was focused on the BIG gluten free chocolate brownie served with ice cream, fresh cream and chocolate syrup. It was large enough to serve three and Olivia remarked it was better than a margarita at a busy days end - but she still shared with us.

 

My recipe is not this identical brownie but is a flourless chocolate cake which is quite delicious as tasted and tested by Olivia, Ken and Julia. I think I will rename the recipe -

 

Olivia’s Fancy chocolate cake

• ¾cup/168 grams unsalted butter, cut up, plus more for greasing the pan
• 1cup/173 grams bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
• ½cup/50 grams unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
• 4large eggs
• 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving

 

 

Prep:

This cake can be made in one bowl with a little planning. I make it using the microwave method of melting the chocolate in a glass bowl that is large enough to incorporate all the ingredients in the recipe as they are added.

 

Take butter and eggs from the fridge to bring them up to room temperature. This helps the baking ’magic’ work best.

 

Generously butter an 8 inch springform pan all over the bottom and sides. You may line the pan with foil if preferred but don’t forget to butter it. I found just buttering my pan worked well.

 

Measure out the ingredients and heat your oven to 350 degrees.

 

Melt the chocolate chips either by putting them in a glass container and melting in 30 second bursts in the microwave until the chips look soft or melt in a double boiler over hot water.

 

Add the butter to the melting chocolate and stir gently to mix well together.

 

Add the cocoa powder and stir till smooth.

 

Add the granulated sugar and mix till incorporated.

 

Add the eggs one at a time and beat well into the mix.

 

Stir in the vanilla and scrape the batter into the pan.

 

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the cake shows some cracks and looks dry on top.Then test doneness when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some crumbs attached.

 

Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a rack, then remove the pan carefully. 

I haven’t tried to freeze the cake before cutting but it is mentioned as a way of getting clean slices which can then be warmed in the microwave before serving with ice cream and cream to make up Olivia’s Fancy.