the fresh perspective...

Tomorrow is Easter and ARE YOU READY?!  What have you got planned? A lot of dinners? Chocolate egg hunts?  Sleeping in?  Well whatever it is you'll be getting into this weekend, enjoy yourself and be safe. I'll be attempting my first lemon bundt cake for my Easter celebrations and I thought I'd post the recipe.

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 1/4 cups (560 ml) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cup (430 ml) sugar
• Grated zest of 2 lemons
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) buttermilk (see note)

Icing

• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice, approximately

Preparation

1. With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Generously butter and flour a 2.5 litres (10 cups) Bundt or tube cake pan.

Cake

2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. At low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the lemon juice and buttermilk.
4. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let cool. Unmould from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Set aside on a baking sheet.

Icing

5. In a bowl, combine the icing sugar and lemon juice. If necessary, add a little juice or icing sugar so that the frosting is just runny. Pour over the cooled cake so that the glaze drips over the sides.

That's the fresh perspective...

...thanks for the recipe Jocelyn...

magic monday - cupcake edition

As spring draws near, it seems as though our tastes all migrate towards the light and pretty. Don't we all want to try and hurry mother earth along just a tiny bit with our lipstick, clothing, or food choices? I know that as soon as March hits, my kitchen becomes less of a soup-factory, and more often than not, cupcakes, pies and cookies line the counters. I'd love to share one of my favorite spring treats, cardamom cupcakes with rosewater frosting. Cardamom and Rosewater are a flavour match made in heaven, and cupcakes are the perfect catalyst for such a combo.

Cupcakes: 1c unsalted butter, softened 1 ¼ c sugar 3 tsp ground cardamom 4 eggs 2½ c all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease up your cupcake pans, or get your cupcake liners in place, whichever you prefer. I find cupcake liners a bit wasteful, but there's something about peeling that liner to expose a soft, fluffy cake that just can't be beat.

In a medium bowl, (or the bowl of your electric mixer if you're so inclined) At about medium speed, beat together butter, sugar, and cardamom until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat the whole thing well once more. Sift in flour and baking powder in batches, until just combined. Fold in your milk with a spatula, or mixer on low.

Once it's all combined, spoon the mixture into your cupcake pans, at about halfway full in each cupcake hole (is there a proper term for that? if there is, please let me know. cupcake hole doesn't have a great ring to it)

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden. Test the readiness of your little treats by skewering one  (toothpicks work well here). It should come out clean when they're ready. Cool on a wire rack. (VERY IMPORTANT)

While those chill out, you can get started on....

THE ICING!!! 3 c. icing sugar 1 c. butter, softened 2 tbsp. milk 3 tsp. rosewater 1 drop red food colouring (optional)

In a bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add in icing sugar, about ½ c. at a time, until just combined. Beat in milk, rosewater, and food colouring if desired.

After the cupcakes have cooled sufficiently, **Remember, if you haven't cooled your cakes long enough, that lovely frosting will slip right off into a big melty mess** FROST AWAY!!

Now, I iced the cupcakes above with a piping bag and star tip, but feel free to just slather it on in a haphazard fashion. I promise they'll taste JUST as good.

xxo pascale