Test Kitchen Needed for Limoncello Cake

The search is on for a test kitchen  person who would like to "try" the limoncello cake recipe that did not work very well for me.  I live in some altitude and would like someone at sea level to bake this cake.  The cake had great flavor but the texture was ALL wrong!  Or maybe, I expected too much?!

If you're up to the task, bake it and come back to comment with your results.    Here it is:

Butter and flour a pan (I used a bundt pan)

3 cups flour

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp lemon zest

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2/3 cup milk

3 Tbsp limoncello

1/2 tsp confectioner's sugar (powdered)

1 Tbsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Have your greased and floured pan ready.  Beat the eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer.  Add the flour, lemon zest, oil, milk and limoncello and stir with a spoon until combined.  Add the baking powder and confectioner's sugar and stir again until blended well.  Spoon the batter into the pan and bake about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cook completely, and place on a serving plate.  Dust with additional powdered sugar or make a glaze of lemon zest, confectioner's sugar, a bit of limoncello and milk or water.  Pour over the cake and serve.

Let me know how yours turns out.

Easter, Birthdays and an Engagement!

Easter has always been a joy to me.  It signifies the beginning of Spring, the stirring of dreams, a fresh beginning, flowers...everything that is good!  I could go on and on.  This year...a few surprises.   We celebrated Easter, of course, but also my dad's 83rd birthday!   How awesome is that?!




Oops, where's the 8!


I mentioned in a previous post that I'd be cooking the Easter meal along with creme puffs and limoncello cake.  Everything was going smoothly, the lamb roast was "resting" the artichokes just finishing up, asparagus a roasting and a rendition of Tyler Florence's scalloped potato gratin was in the broiler for the last 5 minutes.  And then, the news of the day, the month, okay, the year!  My son had proposed to his lovely girlfriend that morning and it became "official".  I can't begin to explain how HAPPY I was.  There was tears of joy...(I'm the one who sees a dead cat in the road and I can't stop crying!!  I know, that's weird, but I get emotional really easy)  I cried as my son drove away after getting his driver's license.  (Maybe I was scared!)  I cried bawled when we drove away from Monterey after helping him move there.  I'm just a big cry baby!!

So, after all the hugs and kisses, I started to smell that burnt food smell!  Oops, the potatoes should have been removed a while ago.  Oh well... I'll make them again, post them with a pretty picture.    They actually came out okay, just a little brown on top, and unless everyone felt sorry for me, the family must have liked them...they were devoured.

The limoncello cake was another story.  I don't have the origin of this recipe...it just showed up in my "to do" file.  It is going to need some revisions.  The taste was good but the texture was, shall I say, not fluffy at all.  If it were to sit a few more days, I could possibly make hockey pucks out of it.  Remember, I'm not a baker, I'm a cook!  I will post the recipe (as is) tomorrow and I'd love for someone living at sea level to try it.  Then, let me know if it works for them, please!



My son's first Easter with greatgrandparents.  He grew up too quickly!



Creme Puffs - First Edition

I've always wanted to try my hand in pastry making, especially creme puffs.  They're supposed to be easy to make....pretty strait forward, unless you  live in an altitude of over 5500 feet.  Baking recipes need to be tweaked here and there and I've never mastered those tricks, not even now as I give you my first edition creme puff.

My mother-in-law makes them on a regular basis, at least every Easter.  How hard can they be and hers always came out great until she attempted to make them for her daughter's wedding, in my kitchen at only 4200 elevation.  Of course, we were all disappointed when something went terribly wrong with the so called "easy" creme puff.  Enter into the altitude zone, not for the faint of heart!

I knew it would be a challenge going in but what did I have to lose?  A bit of butter, flour and a couple of eggs?  I went onto the internet to compare recipes.  I chose one which I won't name because the "hints" on how to bake a successful batch of creme puffs were inadvertently left out.  And it was probably the most important step.  I won't post the recipe (there are a million of those online) but I'll leave you with the "secret"...or one of them.   Pierce the creme puff as soon as the baking time expires to release the steam or they will look like this.

I salvaged these by putting them back into the oven to "puff" more and crisp up.  Hooray...we have creme puffs!

As soon as I perfect these I'll post the other secrets for high altitude yummy creme puffs!  Happy Easter to all!

Easter Dinner - Planning

What goes into the planning of my Easter Dinner.  Last year I decided to carry on a sporadic tradition of making a Czech delicacy, kolache.   One of my grandmothers would always bring these over for us to devour.  She'd make them with prune, apricot and a cheese filling.  Kolaches are not an easy recipe because of all the kneading and rising, etc, so I really appreciate her contribution to the Easter meal.

This year I'll be making most of the meal at my mom and dad's home.   Mom is STILL recuperating from her second surgery on her ankle/tendon and is non-weight bearing again.  My dad , I'm sure, is exhausted from being her caregiver and the family helps out when we can.  They've always been there for me, so it's the least I can do!   

Of course,  we'll have leg of lamb, real scalloped potato gratin, asparagus and baby "unfried" artichokes, if I can find them in this town.  I'm a little stumped on what to prepare for dessert, not that we need something sweet, but hey, it's Easter.  No peeps for me!  Am I the only one who thinks those are disgusting?!   I usually tried to trade them with my sister who loves them to this day!  Just give me chocolate.  So, it's surprising that every dessert I'm contemplating has not a bit of chocolate in it.

I think about cream puffs (not that I've made them before, but my mother-in-law whips those up every year).  Maybe, carrot cake, since my dad's birthday is the day after Easter, and that needs to be celebrated.  Then there's a recipe for limoncello cake that looks interesting!  Last, but not least on the list,  is a passion fruit chiffon pie.  My other grandmother used to make  a wonderful lemon chiffon pie on a regular basis.  I wish I would have gotten her recipe before she "left".  I remember barely being able to peer over the edge of the counter as she methodically threw in the ingredients.  It looked like magic to me at the time!

Whatever I decide to make....I know I'll be creating memories every time we sit down together and that's what it's all about anyway.  

Sugarless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't have a fondness for cookies?  Somehow, they transport me to my childhood.  Whether they were  Tollhouse chocolate chip made by my mother or snicker doodles or rice crispy treats at grandma's house, cookies were always a welcome comfort dessert. 

I stumbled across this basic recipe for applesauce cookies from delish.com and made several revisions.  Instead of the required nuts, I just poured in some mini chocolate chips.  Must eat chocolate......yummmmmmm!  That's my new meditation chant phrase!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1 cup quick oats

3/4 cup raisins

1 cup applesauce

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375.  Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  In another bowl put your wet ingredients, stirring well.  Blend the dry with the wet.

Spoon the dough  onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Cool and eat.  Makes about 3-4 dozen.