Lemon Cake with Lemon Icing

I don't discriminate--I love cake of all sorts. BUT I must say...lemon cake with lemon icing is the way to my heart (well, at least at the moment, it is!). This cake has the perfect balance of sweet-to-tartness that will tickle your taste buds. It's soft, not overly-sweet, and has a very soft crumb. Your family and friends will go nuts over this one!


INGREDIENTS:

6 EXTRA LARGE eggs (separate the egg yolks from the egg whites)

2 sticks (1 cup) of softened unsalted butter

2 cups of caster sugar (may sub for granulated sugar)

8 ounces of sour cream

3 cups of sifted cake flour

1/2 tsp of baking soda

3/4 tsp of salt

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp of lemon oil or lemon extract

The zest from 2 lemons

cream of tartar

FOR THE LEMON SYRUP:

1/4 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of water

The juice from two lemons

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE:

2 cups of sifted powdered sugar

2-4 Tablespoons of lemon juice
(I use about 1 1/2 lemons for this)

A bit of lemon oil

Pinch of salt

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

A 10-inch aluminum tube pan

a skewer or something to poke holes with all over the finished cake

softened butter to grease pan



INSTRUCTIONS:

PREHEAT OVEN TO 325 degrees F.

1. Butter your tube pan all over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Generously coat the whole pan with cake flour and then tap off the excess. Set this aside.

2. Sift your cake flour, salt, and baking soda together. Set this aside.
3. Separate your eggs; place your egg yolks into a small bowl.

4. In a large mixing bowl, add in your egg whites along with some cream of tartar and beat until stiff. Set this aside.

5. In your stand mixer, cream together your butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

6. "Stir" in your sour cream just until combined.

7. Alternate adding in your flour mixture and egg yolks until fully combined with your creamed mixture.

8. Add in your lemon oil, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.

9. Fold in your egg whites (by hand) just until combined.

10. Pour cake batter into your tube pan, give it a little jiggle to evenly disperse the batter, and bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes. Check after 1 hour for doneness using a skewer.

11. While the cake is baking, make your syrup. Place sugar and water into a small saucepan, bring it to a quick rolling boil, and remove from heat. Add in your lemon juice. Mix well and allow this mixture to cool down.

12. Make your lemon icing: place sifted powdered sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Add in your lemon juice. For thicker glaze, start off with only 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and add more from there. Add in a small squeeze of lemon oil. Mix using a wire whisk. Add more or less powdered sugar to control consistency. Cover until ready to use.

13. When cake is done, allow it to rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen up the cake from pan and set it on a wire rack.

14. Using a skewer, poke holes throughout the whole cake. Using a spoon, slowly pour the lemon syrup all over the cake.

15. Once the cake has cooled down, pour your lemon glaze all over the cake. Allow for glaze to set (about 15 minutes). ENJOY!



NOTES:


-For best results, use extra large eggs.
-To make caster sugar, place white granulated sugar into a food processor and pulse until smooth.
-Love pound cake? If you do not separate the eggs and just beat them in whole, the cake will be much denser and taste like a pound cake!
-If you do not separate the eggs, the cooking time will be a bit longer.
-Add a little lemon zest to the lemon glaze for a little kick!
-I highly recommend purchasing some lemon oil (I use the Wilton brand) if you can find some! I found mine from my local craft store, Michaels. If you really want to splurge, Lorann makes a good lemon oil, as well.

Green Tea Cake

This green tea recipe was VERY highly requested over the past few years. I was at H Mart (a Korean store) and walked past some green tea flavored Kit Kat bars and thought, "oh man, that looks so good!" Suddenly, I was dying to have something homemade with green tea in it!

Later that day, I rummaged through my cupboards and found my Matcha green tea powder and got cracking in the kitchen.

And the rest is history….

This cake is soft in texture and has a strong green tea flavor. You are more than welcome to reduce the amount of green tea powder in it, or even up the sugar instead.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups of cake flour

1 cup of caster sugar plus 1 TBSP

2 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of cream of tartar

3 large egg whites at room temp

1 large egg yolk at room temp, lightly beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup of sour cream + 1 TBSP

3 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup of milk

3 TBSP of Matcha green tea

1/4 cup of very hot water

green food coloring

FOR THE FROSTING:

Rich's ready made whipped topping or Pastry Pride

*you may choose to make your own frosting as well

OPTIONAL:

*add some strawberry slices as a garnish or layer it into the cake

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease the sides of a 9 inch aluminum pan with some softened butter and line the bottom with some parchment paper.

1. Into a large mixing bowl, sift together your cake flour, caster sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.

2. Take your hot water and mix it with your Matcha green tea powder. Mix until smooth.

3. Combine your vegetable oil, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, and egg yolk. Mix well.

4. Add the above wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Add your food coloring and green tea paste. Using a wire whisk, mix until just smooth. This should only take about 1 minute if you are hard whisking. DO NOT OVER MIX.

5. Add your cream of tartar with your egg whites and beat until stiff.

6. Using a flat spatula, carefully fold in your egg whites into the batter. Again, DO NOT OVER MIX. :)

7. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Do not over bake!

8. Once done, loosen up the sides of the cake with a knife and carefully slide your cake out onto a wire rack to allow to cool completely.

9. Frost and serve! :)



NOTES:

*Bring all of your items to room temp before using

*Make sure you hand mix to prevent over mixing of the batter--if you over mix, your cake will be dry

Below are some products that I absolutely LOVE:







The tutorial for this cake is kind of long because I cook and converse with my kids in it, to celebrate my 100th video on Youtube.:)

Fruit Filled Sponge Cake

[caption id="attachment_1394" align="alignnone" width="640"] 1/2 sheet fruit filled sponge cake[/caption]

 

FOR THE SPONGE CAKE:

8 eggs separated plus 2 more egg whites(8 egg yolks plus 10 egg whites total)

*separate eggs when they are cold and then bring them to room temp.*

1 cup plus 2 T. of cake flour

1 cup of caster sugar

1/2 tsp of salt

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

3/4 tsp of cream of tartar

2 T of orange juice(no pulp and not from concentrate) plus 3/4 T. of water

1/2 cup of vegetable oil(no substitutions)

2 UNGREASED aluminum layer cake pans OR 1 UNGREASED(2 piece) aluminum tube pan

 

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

*The following is not the same recipe as you've seen in the video. I've decided to omit the gelatin since so many people had problems with it.

3 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream

1 T. plus 2 tsp of vanilla extract

2/3 to 1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar(you control how sweet)

*REVISED*

So I've been making this cake A LOT lately and would like to share with you guys that I've finally discovered what that whipped cream frosting was that the bakeries use--it's called PASTRY PRIDE!! This is what I use now to fill and frost my cakes with!!

It's non dairy and ready to whip!! No need to add any additional flavorings, like vanilla extract or powdered sugar. There's also another one called "Frosting Pride" which is slightly thicker and sweeter but if you're looking for the "frosting" that tastes like whipped cream, than the Pastry Pride in the red box is the way to go. You can purchase these items at a Smart and Final store, Cash and Carry, and Costco sells them online although I'm unsure if they sell it in store. So, if you can find and purchase the Pastry Pride or Frosting Pride...I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DO!

FOR THE SIMPLE SYRUP:

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of water

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Into your chilled mixing bowl, add in your  heavy whipping cream. I have a shield that I can attach to my mixture so that it won't splash all over the place, but if your bowl isn't large enough or you don't have a shield, whip up in 2 separate batches. Just before your whipping cream starts to thicken, add in your vanilla extract and powdered sugar. I don't like it too sweet so you can adjust accordingly to your taste. Once done, put in fridge until ready to use. If you're using Pastry Pride, follow the instructions on the box.

2.Pour 1 cup of sugar into food processor and let it run for 30 seconds to create a fine granulated sugar. Set aside.

3. Take your cake flour and salt and sift over a large piece of parchment paper. Then, lift the parchment paper and pour it back into a sieve fitted over a large mixing bowl and sift again. Continue process 3 more times! Set aside.

4. Mix your oil/water/vanilla extract and orange juice together in a small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Beat your egg yolks with the caster sugar until it's pale yellow. Thick ribbon like streaks should be falling off of the beater back into your bowl. Set aside.

7. Beat your egg whites until foamy. Add in your cream of tartar. Continue beating until soft peaks. Switch to a balloon wire whisk and whisk by hand until stiff peaks.

8. Take your reserved oil mixture, give it a little stir, and then add it into your EGG YOLKS MIXTURE. Once mixed in, whisk in your flour mixture, a little at a time. Once thats fully incorporated, take a clean wire whisk and CAREFULLY fold in a little bit of your beaten egg whites and continue this with the rest of the egg whites. Work quickly and use as little strokes as possible. It's okay if you see tiny streaks of white. Don't waste too much time on that.

9. Pour into UNGREASED layer cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Once done, remove and invert cakes upside down to cool down on 2 racks fitted over two colanders.

10. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, boil 1/2 of water with 1/2 of sugar until it reduces to about half. It will start to thicken up slightly and it will change color. Pour mixture into a bowl over an ice bath and stir until thickened like syrup. The longer you leave it on there, the thicker it will get. Once to your liking, remove from ice bath and set in fridge until ready to use.

11. Chop up some fruit and divide them equally amongst 3 bowls and add in your reserved whipping cream into each bowl. Remember to leave a good amount for frosting the tops and sides of your cake!!

12. Once your cakes have cooled, take a serrated knife and cut into each one. Take your fruit filling and begin to assemble your cakes, one layer at a time. Frost the tops and sides and decorate with fresh fruit/berries of your choice. Drizzle tops with the simple syrup. Place in fridge until ready to indulge! Happy Eating!!

NOTES:

*I would highly recommend that you try the spongecake on it's own first before you attempt this cake. I actually prefer to eat this cake plain, with absolutely no other toppings, whatsoever! I like more cake then whipped cream, so if you wish, you may up the amt. of heavy whipping cream(just remember to adjust the amt. of powdered sugar/vanilla too). Remember, you have to use an ALUMINUM pan/angel food cake tube pan for this recipe. This spongecake contains no baking powder, so the batter needs something to cling on to while it's baking to help give it more height. If you use a non stick pan, your spongecake will not rise as much while baking. Once baking has complete, run a knife around the sides of pan, and also in the center of the pan to remove your cake.

*If you are baking this spongecake in an angel food cake tube pan, follow the same directions as stated in my video, except place batter in your tube pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
First, separate your egg yolks from egg whites while they are cold and bring them to room temp. I know there's some debate on whether or not it's safe to leave them out overnight, but I do anyways. :) Do the same with the orange juice.

BEFORE you attempt this cake, I recommend that you watch my video about what kind of pan to use and how to get a good crumb coat.:)

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

These carrot cake cupcakes are to die for! They are super moist and not too sweet. The addition of apple sauce in the batter make this cupcake slightly healthier than most. Because Halloween is approaching, I've colored some cream cheese frosting and piped some creepy spiders on top of the cupcakes. :)


Ingredients for the batter(makes about 2 dozen):

2 cups of all purpose flour(I recommend King Arthur Flour)
1 1/2 cup of sugar(use 1 1/4 cup if using sweetened apple sauce)
8 ounces of unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup of vegetable oil(no substitutions)
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of salt
4 large eggs
3 cups of grated carrots
1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts(optional)

Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting:

2 (8 ounce) packages of softened cream cheese
1 stick of softened SALTED butter
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar(or more if you like it sweeter)
tip #829 by Ateco to pipe the frosting(optional)
*You may want to double the frosting if you plan on piping spiders onto the tops.

For the spiders:

Black gel food coloring(I recommend Americolor)
2 piping bags
Tip #3 by Wilton
*You can also omit the tip altogether and just snip a tiny hole in the bag and then proceed to pipe out your spiders that way.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs, apple sauce and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until combined. Scrape the sides as needed but be careful not to over mix. Add in shredded carrots and pecans/walnuts, if using.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill your cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove cupcakes from the pan and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

While your cupcakes are cooling, make your cream cheese frosting. Add all of the above ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and beat until fluffy. Add more powdered sugar as needed. Reserve some frosting for the spiders. Add in your black food coloring and mix well.

Frost your cupcakes(I use tip #829 by Ateco in the tutorial). Then, using tip #3 by Wilton, pipe your spiders. Practice piping your spiders out on a flat surface first before piping them out onto your cupcakes.

Rosette cake

[caption id="attachment_1048" align="alignnone" width="640"] Piped using tip #1M by Wilton.[/caption]

This cake was a highly requested tutorial by my Facebook fans. I'm sure you've seen it before because there are TONS of different variations of it on the internet. But since my Facebook buddies asked for it...I gotta give them what they want, right?

[caption id="attachment_1051" align="alignnone" width="640"] Piped using tip #21 by Wilton.[/caption]

In my pink rosette cake(pictured above), I hand inserted dragees(pearls)into the cake after I was done. Keep in mind if you plan on doing this, you need to be more meticulous about your rosettes, making sure that they are evenly spaced out. If you insert your dragees into the cake and your piping is messy, then all you're doing is bringing more attention to the sloppy areas. Trust me, I've been that piper before! :)

You have to use a medium consistency frosting for this cake. That means: No whipped cream frosting, no non dairy whipping cream, and no cream cheese frosting. You might be able to use cream cheese frosting if you place it into the fridge to firm up before piping. Otherwise, it would be too creamy and your rosettes will not hold it's shape.

Best frostings to use for the cake: Italian meringue buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream, or good ol' American buttercream.

I have a good recipe for IMB that can be found here.

Keep in mind that different tips yield a slightly different result. Other tips that you may use by Wilton besides #1M and #21 are: #2D, #16, and #18.

Place your finished cake into the fridge to set your rosettes for at least 30 minutes.

Inspired by Amanda Rettke from Iambaker.net.

Watch the video below to see the proper technique!

Homemade Fondant

Whether or not you are an avid cake baker or just starting out, I'm sure you either LOVE fondant or HATE it. Some store bought fondants are plain DISGUSTING, so trust me when I say that I understand where you're coming from!

This homemade fondant is not only easy to make but equally DELICIOUS!! It tastes kind of like a cross between cotton candy, marshmallows, and candied unicorns.

What???

Have you not tasted candied unicorns before??


INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup whole milk
3 Tbsp of unflavored gelatin(or 4 envelops of Knox's Gelatin)
1 cup of light corn syrup
3 Tbsp of SALTED butter
2 1/2 Tbsp of glycerin
2 tsp of vanilla extract(you may use clear vanilla)
1 tsp of butter flavoring
1 tsp of lemon juice powder(optional)
3 1/2 to 4 pounds of powdered sugar
2 pinches of salt

Additional items needed:

Vegetable shortening
Extra glycerin(for kneading in, if necessary)
some corn starch
A stand mixer


INSTRUCTIONS:

Place your milk in a 2 cup measuring cup. Sprinkle in your gelatin and allow it to firm up or bloom(should take 3-4 minutes).

Place mixture in the microwave and heat on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir. If your gelatin does not become liquid, then continue to microwave using 15 second intervals until melted. Make sure to stir between heating cycles.

Put corn syrup, butter, glycerin, vanilla extract, butter flavoring, and salt into a large measuring cup. Add this into your milk and gelatin mixture. Stir.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes(or until butter has melted). Stir. Set this aside and allow it to cool to LUKE WARM.

Place 2 pounds of powdered sugar into your stand mixer. Add in your lemon juice powder if using.

Strain LUKE WARM mixture into your powdered sugar. Mix it by hand with a spatula until blended.

Fit your mixer with the dough hook and turn the mixer on to "stir." Slowly start to incorporate the rest of the powdered sugar, adding a cup at a time.

Your fondant is ready when it starts to pull away from the sides and starts to clump around the dough hook.

On a clean surface, add some vegetable shortening and then corn starch onto the counter to prevent sticking.

With some crisco on your hands, dump the fondant onto the counter and begin to work it into a smooth round ball. It will be slightly soft and you may use additional powdered sugar(or corn starch)AS NEEDED to form your ball.

Divide the dough in half and wrap them up tightly in some crisco coated saran wrap. Do not use a spray because that will form a crust. Repeat with a second wrapping, then repeat the same process with the other half of fondant.

Place in an air tight container and allow it to sit overnight on the counter.

The next day, knead only the amount required to cover your cake.

On a non stick surface, knead out some fondant. Interchange between a little glycerin and some shortening, just until soft and supple.

NOTES:

If you are positive that you are not going to color your fondant, then you can add 3 Tbsp of glycerin instead of 2 1/2 to start with. I like to control how much goes into my fondant and if you put too much then it will be too soft, not to mention that food coloring also contains glycerin. If you are unfamiliar with the texture of fondant, go out and purchase some store bought fondant to note the texture.

Do not use butter flavoring shortening. It does not taste good in this.

And no, you cannot taste the crisco in this recipe. :)

This recipe yields about 4 1/2 pounds of fondant.

Work your fondant in batches until nice and smooth.

If at anytime it appears too soft, just knead in more powdered sugar. If it appears too stiff, add in more glycerin.

The sugar and cooking process preserves the dairy ingredients, so there is no worry of spoilage.

Good tasting brands of commercial fondant: Fondx and Fondarific. I hear Satin Ice is good too.

Adapted from Michele Foster's Fondant recipe.

Watch the tutorial below!

How to make a basket weave cake

I decided to do a fun tutorial to celebrate Easter. Wouldn't you love to receive this pretty cake on Easter...or even just because?? I WOULD!! It's very difficult for me to try to explain in words, how to do the design...but I've attached a video below on how to achieve the look! Thanks for stopping by!!

Love,
Sav

You will need:
A cake with a good crumb coat
1 1/2 to 2 pounds of buttercream, medium consistency(plus additional if making flowers)
A cake board that fits underneath your cake2
Piping bags
A few couplers and rings
A flower nail
Parchment squares
Glue stick

Tips and templates:
Basket weave design: #21 by Wilton
Rope border: #18 by Wilton

To make roses, you need the rose template, tip #12 and #104 by Wilton. Also a piping bag filled with stiff royal icing fitted with a coupler and ring.

To make daffodils, you need the daffodil template, tip #3 and #104 by Wilton, and some cornstarch. Also piping bag filled with medium consistency royal icing or buttercream, fitted with coupler and ring.

To make violets you need the violet template with tip #59. May use buttercream or royal icing. If I use buttercream, I pipe directly onto the cake. If you use royal icing, you may wait for it to harden, and then place the flower on the cake. Use yellow frosting or royal icing and with tip #1, add two center dots.

To make apple blossoms you need the apple blossom template with tip #101. May use buttercream or royal icing. Use tip #1 with yellow frosting to pipe center dot.

To make primroses you need the primrose template and tip #104. Use buttercream or royal icing. Use tip #3 or tip #14 in yellow frosting, to pipe the center dot or star.

To make leaves use green frosting of your choice, using tip #352.

Notes:
You only need to use the parchment squares on the flower nail if you plan on doing your flowers ahead of time and need time for them to set. Place finished flowers on a baking tray to harden and then place them on the cake when ready to assemble. In the video below, I actually piped most of the flowers directly onto the cake and used the templates only as a demonstration. I did, however, used royal icing to pipe the roses and daffodils, waited for them to dry, and then placed them on the cake.