~Bona Vita~

We enjoyed a lovely visit from dear friends a few weeks ago. They left us with fond memories and sweet gifts.  One of these was a terrific cook-book by Anne Byrn called “The Cake Doctor”.

It is a creative powerhouse that takes ordinary cake mixes and customizes them, one recipe at a time, into fabulous desserts.  The recipes all appear to be easy to read and to follow.

Yesterday afternoon, I decided that we needed a lemon cake to go along with the approaching warm summer evening. It sounded sweet, fun and refreshing. It was 4:15 and I was short on time. So, I rifled through my new cook book, believing Anne Byrn’s claim that her recipes were “lightning fast”.

I found a cake on pg. 76 called “Butter Layer Cake with Sweet Lime Curd”. It was not quite what I had in mind.  So, I started improvising…

To begin with, I do not like the skimpy layers that one cake mix produces. I worked with two white cake mixes.  I exchanged milk for lemon juice, deleted the vanilla extract in the cake and increased the eggs and butter.

I pictured the cake filled with a lemon curd. I simply replaced the lime juice in the recipe with lemon juice. It worked perfectly. My daughters, who actually had never experienced making lemon curd, helped me with this part of  the recipe and found it fast-paced but fairly easy. I think the color and texture of lemon curd always makes it such a rewarding experience to create. The girls were pleased with their finished product.

I made a Lemon Buttercream frosting that proved to be just the right balance of lemony sweetness to crown this cake.  My daughter thought the adjective “bright” best described the flavor.

The ”Cake Doctor” recipe that I began with claimed 10 minutes of preparation time, 29 minutes of baking time, and an assembly time of 25 minutes.  Our cake was not quite that timely. However, it was fairly quick and easy. The lovely, tasty result was worth every extra minute.

Luscious Lemon Cake

2    White cake mixes

1/2  Cup fresh lemon juice

2    Cups water

6    Whole eggs

12  Tablespoons melted butter

2   9-inch cake pans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare two or three nine inch cake pans by greasing the bottoms and sides with solid shortening and dusting them with flour.  Shake off any excess flour.  You may also utilize a cake-release product.  I have been quite satisfied with Wilton’s Cake Release.

Place the contents of the cake mixes, the lemon juice, and the water in a mixing bowl and blend on low speed until the mix is blended with the liquid.  Add the eggs, one at a time mixing after each addition. Pour in the melted butter. Mix on medium speed for two minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the pans.  Bake for 25-35 minutes.  If you are utilizing 3 pans, your layers will be thinner and will require less cooking time.  Watch your cake and do not let it over-brown.  It is done when the center springs back after you gently press it with a finger.

Cool the cake in the pans for ten minutes.  Run a table knife around the edges and release the layers on to a cooling rack.  Cool completely.

Lemon Curd

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup water

3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 Tablespoons butter

5 tbl fresh lemon juice

Combine the sugar and the cornstarch in a heavy saucepan.  Slowly whisk in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  This will take about 3 – 4 minutes. Continue to stir and boil the mixture for 1 additional minute.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Spoon about 1/2 cup of the mixture into the egg yolks and quickly combine.  Return the egg mixture to the pan and cook  for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  The final mixture will be thick and lemon colored.  Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the butter and the lemon juice.  Cool completely.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1/3-1/2 c. lemon juice

8   cups sifted powdered sugar

1/2  tsp  orange extract

16 tbl. (1/2 lb or 2 cubes)  butter

Cream the butter until fluffy.  Add 7 cups of the sugar and blend on low speed until the sugar is incorporated.  Add 1/3 cup of the lemon juice and the extract.  Beat on medium speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.  Continue to add the additional sugar and juice in order to reach a spreadable consistency. You are aiming for a light, fluffy frosting that is neither too stiff nor too thin.

Assemble the cake by placing a layer on a cake plate and spooning the lemon curd over the layer.  Leave a border of about 3/4 of an inch. Now, place the second layer on top of the curd. If you are working with a third layer, repeat the process.

Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the top with white sparkling sugar (India Tree).

Why bake a cake?  The thought of actually baking a cake from scratch can be daunting.  Let’s face it: every grocery and package store can fill your cake needs for any and all occasions.  So , why bake a cake?  It actually can be a delightful experience for you and your family.   Children are delighted with cakes you bake and decorate for their birthdays, customized with a theme they enjoy.  You can honor your husband with a cake made especially with him in mind.  Guests will always enjoy a beautiful, delicious cake for dessert.

So, how can you incorporate cake baking into your schedule without the time-consuming frustration of working with recipes as you try to perfect a lovely, moist cake?   The answer is the cake mix.  This little box found on every grocery shelf is packed with the power to turn you into a successful baker.   You simply need to learn to customize it.

I consider the cake mix as another blank slate.  Now, start thinking “outside the box”.  Consider substituting juice for the liquid. Add additional flavorings and always add an extra egg or egg white.  Fillings are a fantastic way to customize your cake.  You can work with lemon curds,  raspberry fillings and even chocolate creams to enhance the flavor of your cakes.  Simply butterfly the layers and fill with one of the above for a tasty treat.

A key point to  keep in mind is that you need to use at least two cake mixes for all of your creations.  One is just too skimpy.  The only exception to this is a bundt pan which will usually fill nicely with one cake mix.  I routinely use 9 inch cake pans for my layer cakes.  I utilize one cake mix recipe for each pan.  This makes a lovely full layer that you can easily butterfly.  You must vary the temperature of your oven so that the cake layers will bake evenly.  Unfortunately, there is no sure-fire way to determine the temperature of each individual oven.  You will simply have to experiment a little.  Lowering the temperature for a longer period of time seems to work the best.

Now for the frostings and glazes: here, I always work from scratch.  It isn’t difficult to perfect a terrific buttercream frosting.  You can, once again, vary your flavoring for a terrific taste.  I love to add almond flavoring to my frosting.  It tastes more sophisticated than typical vanilla flavoring.  I always pipe and decorate with a shortening-based frosting.  It is much easier to work with.  I tend to keep my decorating simple even for children’s cakes – two or three colors and a simple design.  It takes less time and it always looks terrific, not tacky.

Utilize paste coloring as they allow degrees of color that your typical liquid coloring can’t match.  One of my favorite cakes for little boys is a layer cake with a light blue frosting.  I then pipe it with white frosting and outline a sailboat or a car in white frosting on the top of the cake.  It looks lovely and you can, of course, add your personalized greeting.

The cakes that you make for your family and guests always add a special touch to every occasion.

Citrus Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

1     Spice Cake Mix (any brand will do)

1     Bundt pan, greased and lightly floured ( I utilize Wilton Cake Release as it leaves no residue on the cake)

Prepare the mix as directed on the box.  Substitute 1/2 of the water with orange juice.  Add an additional egg.  Bake following the times suggested on the box but always watching carefully to ensure that you do not over-bake the cake.  Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes.  After you have released the cake on to  a platter,  use a toothpick and puncture the top of the cake in several places.  Slowly pour the glaze over the cake allowing the glaze to infiltrate the cake.  This is delicious served warm.

Glaze

1      Cup of brown sugar

1/2  Cup  butter

1/2 Cup whipping cream

1     Teaspoon vanilla extract

1     Teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Mix all of the ingredients in a small heavy pan over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Lower the heat  and whisk until the mixture is smooth, 1 – 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.