Buttermilk on the Cusp Equals Divine

I had a full half gallon of buttermilk that had reached its sell-by date.  A cup went into breakfast biscuits, but that left a whole lotta buttermilk still to use.  I went searching through my recipe book, but then decided to just check the web. I'm so glad I did.  I found a wonderful recipe for a lemon buttermilk pound cake on Baking Bites.

This is a yummy pound cake with a very tender crumb.  I made only a few small changes to the recipe, like substituting lemon juice for lemon zest and using salted butter and less loose salt.  I also opted to omit the lemon glaze to reduce the sugar level and make it perfect for a breakfast on the front porch this morning.  We initially tried the cake hot from the oven, and it was absolutely divine served warm.

Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

slightly adapted from Bakingbites.com

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease (or spray with non-stick spray if using a non-stick pan) a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon juice, then beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined.

Combine vanilla extract, buttermilk, and oil.

Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat gently until just combined. Then add half of the buttermilk mixture, beating until just combined. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto wire rack to cool completely.  Top with lemon glaze if desired.

Please see Baking Bites here for the original recipe.

Printable version of adapted recipe.

Deliciousness

Deliciciousness -- that's what my daughter calls this super easy (so easy it's like cheating!) summer dessert.  I love these strawberry parfaits in warm weather.  Even though spring doesn't officially arrive until tomorrow, I've already made parfaits this season.

Cheat-y Strawberry Parfait

Store-bought pound cake (I use Sara Lee)
Strawberries, washed, capped and cored -- approximately 3-4 average sized berries per serving
8 ounces vanilla yogurt (per 3-4 servings)
Whipped cream

To make:

Slice pound cake into 1/2-inch slices, one slice per serving.  Cute each slice into eight cubes.  Place four cake cubes into each individual serving container.  Cut strawberries into halves or quarters, depending on size of berries.  Place a few berries on cake.  Top with a spoonful of yogurt.  Repeat layers.  Top with whipped cream.

It just couldn't be any easier.  You can adjust the amounts of berries and yogurt to suit your own tastes, switch up the flavors by using raspberries, or whatever you like.  Fast, easy, and delicious.  How can you beat that?

Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Poppies.  Poppy flowers are so beautiful, so fragile looking with their papery petals.  Yet they are also a little intimidating with their hairy stems and spiky leaves.  Perhaps that's why poppies have so much symbolism attached to them -- remembrance, sleep, and death.

For many of us, our first memory of poppies may be from The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion fall asleep in a magical poppy field.  In Greek and Roman mythology, poppies were used as offerings to the dead and possibly as symbols of resurrection.  Poppies are sometimes carved on tombstones for the same reasons.

illustration by W. W. Denslow from The Wizard of Oz and poppies on a tombstone in Illinois

Luckily, this lovely cake will not put you to sleep (or worse).  I believe the recipe came from The Nashville Tennessean newspaper years ago.  I seem to remember that it was supposed to be Emmy Lou Harris' recipe.  I have changed it only slightly from the original version.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup margarine, softened (can use butter)

3 cups flour (can replace 1/2 cup with whole wheat flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup poppy seeds

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 10” tube pan.  (Do not use vegetable spray; I tried this and the cake stuck.) 

Cream margarine (or butter) and sugar together.  Sift together dry ingredients.  Add dry ingredients and all remaining ingredients to creamed mixture.  Beat on low speed until moistened.  Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until mixture lightens and is relatively smooth (there will still be bits of margarine/butter).

Pour in tube pan and bake 45-50 minutes, until golden on top.  Cool in pan 10 minutes.  If desired, top with glaze.  (I always omit the glaze.)

Glaze:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Did you know that there are more than 120 species of poppies and that culinary poppy seeds come from the opium poppy?  Poppy seeds contain both morphine and codeine.  (Hmmm, can this be why I love poppy seed cakes and muffins so much?)  I have read that anywhere from two to four poppy seed bagels are enough to cause a positive drug test.  So you might not want to eat this scrumptious poppy-filled cake if you are subject to a drug test within seventy-two hours. Fair warning.








Printable recipe

Simple Pleasures

On this Labor Day weekend, I'm reminded that often the best things are the simple ones.  Being with family, a brat from the grill, and simple, old-fashioned cakes.

I've had a hankering for this pound cake for a couple of weeks, so I decided to make it for this weekend.  It's an old recipe from my mother, called simply "Wonderful Pound Cake."  Which it is!

Wonderful Pound Cake

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (can omit)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cup milk
2 1/4 cup sifted flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs




Preheat oven to 300 degrees.


Stir the butter or margarine to soften.  Gradually add sugar and cream together until light and fluffy.  (Beat about 3 minutes on medium speed.)  Add lemon peel, if used, and lemon juice.  Add milk and mix enough to break up creamed mixture.


Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix until smooth (about 2 minutes on low speed).  Scrape down at least once.


Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating 1 minute after each (low speed).  Beat additional 1 minute at the end.  Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.


Bake in greased and floured 9 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 2 3/4 loaf pan at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

And because a little chocolate never hurts, I also made this easy chocolate pudding cake!


Happy Labor Day!


Printable recipe for pound cake