The Cake Slice Bakers - April 2013: Lemon and Almond Streamliner Cake

A few quick things:

1. It’s been almost a month since I posted. I wont say it again, but you all know why. Luckily I only have one more week of regular school and then it’s finals week. Unluckily enough, I have two exams next week (Chemistry and Physics) and a Calculus quiz. Then I have my three hardest finals back to back at the start of the week, a three-day break, and then my two easiest finals.

2. I have been reading a lot lately. Reading has now become my way of relaxation because I don’t have to wait for butter to soften, or eggs to come to room temperature or wait for something to finish baking. With baking there is too much down time where I could be doing something productive but I’m not. In the past month and a half I have read (in no particular order) Vampire Knight volume 16 (it’s a very addicting manga), Zodiac (I love true crime… or any kind of crime stuff for that matter), The Notebook (I have watched the movie over a dozen times so I figured I would see how the book was. It was pretty good and a very quick read), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (An amazing book which took me two days to read. The first day I made it through 60 pages and the next day I sat on the couch for four hours straight, not moving until I finished), and now I’m reading The Help (it’s really good so far. I like the way the author formatted three points of view into the book).

3. It’s been snowing like no other back home. And even though I love looking at snow, I’m so happy that I’m not in Colorado. Here it’s been at least 70 degrees every single day for the past few weeks.

4. It’s the 20^th, which means I get to share another marvelous cake from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson. The lemon custard topping is sooooo tart (but in a very pleasant and refreshing way). Not to mention the custard is this pretty bright yellow color that reminds me of spring. So if you’re in one of the states that gets a second winter, make this and it will feel like spring. You don’t even need the cake because I wanted to eat the custard out of the bowl with a spoon all by itself. However, the cake is also so moist and perfect along with the lemon custard. It’s so soft and melt-in-your-mouthy. It’s not dense, but it’s definitely not airy.

5. I made some changes to this cake: I never use all the frosting or custard called for in a recipe, so I halved the custard recipe. I used homemade cake flour instead of regular store-bought cake flour because I don’t want another container of flour lying around. I reduced the amount of butter from 10 tbsp. to 8 tbsp. because I did that the last time, and the cake still turned out beautifully.  Instead of using a round cake pan, I used an 8x8 inch square pan because that’s how I roll. All these changes are reflected in the recipe below. To see the real recipe check out here or visit the rest of the memembers’ cakes.

Lemon and Almond Streamliner Cake

Adapted from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

Makes one 8x8 inch square cake

Ingredients

Custard

¼ cup + 2 tbsp. milk

¼ cup sugar (divided)

2 egg yolks, room temperature

¼ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. cornstarch

¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

Cake

1 cup + 2 tbsp. unbleached all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. cornstarch

½ tsp. salt

6 oz. almond paste

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

3 tbsp. canola oil

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature

Directions

To make the custard: combine the milk and 2 tbsp. of sugar in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until just hot. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, remaining sugar, and salt until combined. Whisk in cornstarch and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in about a third of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook on medium-low to medium heat, whisking until the custard thickens and starts to bubble. (My mixture was kind of foamy, so it was hard to tell when it started to thicken, but it eventually did.) Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl and mix in the butter until it has completely melted into the custard. Place a piece of plastic wrap right on the surface of the custard. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F and line an 8x8 inch square pan with foil. Grease foil with cooking spray.

To make the cake: sift together the flour and cornstarch a few times. Whisk in the baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the almond paste, butter, sugar, oil and vanilla and mix on low speed. Increase the speed and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, adding the next as soon as the previous egg has been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Decrease the speed to low and gently add the flour in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Stop the mixer and mix batter with a rubber spatula to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Place on the center rack and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Gently invert the cake onto the wire rack. Take off the tin foil and flip cake over to cool completely to room temperature.

To finish the cake, cut the cake into squares (I cut mine into 9 pieces). Dollop a spoonful of the chilled custard onto each piece of cake. Allow the cake and custard to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bring cake to room temperature before serving. (it really is best eaten at room temperature, so do some laundry or call a friend while you wait for the cake to warm up)

Cake Slice Bakers - August 2012: The Ultimate Lemon Roll

It's cake time! And by cake time I mean that it's time to share this month's cake baked to you from the Cake Slice Bakers. Well, I'm actually a little late, it being the 21st and all, but more on that later. 

I know I've been on a hiatus for a little while, and I probably will go back to that after I share this post. But it won't be for long. I'm just trying to settle in and get used to things. It's only my fourth day in my new "home" and I think I'm already starting to miss the normality of my home back in Colorado. 

Even though I haven't been posting anything recently, I did manage to make this cake a week before my road trip (my dad and I drove 1,700+ miles just so you know!). This month's cake happened to be a lemon roll cake. Now I've never made any sort of roll cake in my life, ever, so this was new and exciting for me, and dare I say it a dern good success! But when I think of lemons, I think of Spring, not Summer, but because this was the cake that won, I was obligated to make it, and I'm so very glad I did.

This cake is called the "Ultimate Lemon Roll" for a reason. It is super duper tart and lemony and so, so delicious. The cake is light and springy, not too lemony, but just right. The filling, which I halved from the original recipe (the amounts I used are listed below), was super creamy and really sour, but a good kind of sour. It was like eating a lemonade milkshake. Granted, the filling was very loose and sort of squished out at the sides, but it was great nonetheless. My entire family liked this cake! Even my mom, who never goes back for seconds on anything I make, went back for seconds, and I think she wanted to go back for thirds, but was shy about asking. She thought it was a beautiful cake, and joked around saying it should be her birthday cake. I'll have to see about that, because her birthday is in November and if August doesn't scream "lemons!" then I don't think November will either. And even if she wanted it, I wouldn't be able to be there to make it. One of the downfalls of going to a different state for college, right?

Anyways, the reason this post is a little late is because my apartment's internet decided to disconnect. We were finally able to get a guy to come in and fix the internet today, and I'm so glad I'm not paying for the maintenance because all the guy did was unplug something and then plug it back in. Yay for college taking care of that stuff. Anyways, enjoy this cake, it is really fantastic, especially if you love tart lemons!

The Ultimate Lemon Roll
Makes one 11 inch cake roll
Slightly adapted from The Cake Book

Lemon Silk Filling
Ingredients
3 large egg yolks, room temperature*
½ cup + 2 ½ tbsp. (233 g) sugar
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
¼ cup heavy cream

*I suggest holding on to at least one egg white because you will need it for the cake.

Directions
Set a sieve over a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a medium saucepan until blended. Stir in the lemon juice, salt, and butter over medium heat. Whisk the mixture constantly until it thickens. (I have an electric stove and used the 4.5 setting) The custard should leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it. Strain the mixture through the sieve and into the waiting bowl.
Set the bowl containing the custard in a larger bowl filled 1/3 full of ice water. Be careful when placing the bowl with the custard into the bowl with the water; you don’t want the water to splash into the custard. Stir the mixture frequently until chilled, about 15 minutes.

Whisk the heavy cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form. You can use your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; you can use a regular hand mixer; or you can chose to strengthen your arm muscles and do it manually. Stir a spoonful of the whipped cream into the lemon mixture and beat. This will lighten up the custard. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. This filling can be made two days in advance,

Lemon Chiffon Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
1 ¼ cup (125 g) sifted cake flour*
½ cup sugar (96 g)
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 large eggs, separated
¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, strained of the pulp and seeds
¼ cup canola oil
1 tbsp. water
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg white
½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ cup (48 g) sugar
*Sift the flour first, then scoop, measure, and level out.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease the sides and bottom of an 11 ½ x 17 ½ inch jelly-roll pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and set aside. Place a sheet of parchment paper (roughly the size of the pan) on a clean work surface. Dust the top with confectioners’ sugar.
Sift together the sifted cake flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk the mixture until well blended and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, canola oil, water, and vanilla extract until well combined. Gradually fold in the flour mixture one quarter at a time. Mix until just blended.

In the bowl of a clean electric mixer fitted with a clean whisk attachment, beat the 4 egg whites and the cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until the egg whites are stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula quickly beat in one-quarter of the egg whites into the cake batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking tray and smooth the top.
Bake the cake for 14-18 minutes (it took 14 ½ minutes for me). The top should look like it’s just starting to brown and it springs back when lightly touched. Run a paring knife around the edges of the cake. Invert the hot cake onto the sugar-dusted parchment paper. Take the pan off the cake and gently remove the parchment paper from the bottom (now the top) of the cake. Starting with the short end, gently roll the cake up, rolling the bottom sheet of parchment paper along with it. Let cool like that completely.

Gently unroll the cake. Spread the chilled filling over the surface of the cake, leaving a 1 inch boarder all around. Reroll the cake (this time without the parchment paper). Place on a serving tray and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. If you wish, dust confectioners’ sugar on top before slicing and serving.

Sunny Citrus Bars

Oh my goodness! It’s been so long since I’ve actually posted anything, and I’m sorry. But I’ve had so much going on. Last week was kind of stress-week because I was preparing for finals and all that stuff. Then on Sunday I was celebrating Mother’s Day with my wonderful mama and this past week has been my fault. You see it was my last week of high school and I’m now officially done with school! Thursday was my last day, and I was just being really lazy. It’s weird, I’ve never been this lazy, and usually I’m so diligent. And then Saturday was my graduation ceremony. That's right, I'm officially a graduate! :D

Anyways, backup to the part about Mother’s Day. I love my mom so much, and I probably don’t tell her nearly enough. Actually, I’m kind of snarky with my mom. I don’t mean to be, it just happens. But, on Mother’s Day, I made it a point to make it all about her. By the way, this is a picture of my mom, me and my little sister. I think this was taken when I was about six. My mom is such a pretty lady.

So, a few weeks ago, I received this wonderful cookbook from Monica over at Lick the Bowl Good. She has such fabulous recipes and her photos are so beautiful. And Sunday happened to be her first Mother’s Day with her little boy Hayden. He looks like such a sweet-hart and I bet it was a memorable Mother’s Day for Monica.

In honor of Mother’s Day, Monica and I decided to bake something from the cookbook “together”. My mom is in love with citrusy foods, so I automatically suggested we make the Sunny Citrus Bars on page 92. We both agreed that they looked wonderful, and decided to bake the bars for Mother’s Day. If you would like to see Monica’s opinion on the citrus bars, click here.

I absolutely loved these bars. The cookie/shortbread-like crust was a perfect contrast to the tangy/gooey topping. I was actually a little afraid to bake the crust because it requires cutting in the butter until the flour is coarse and crumbly. I have never understood these directions, until I made these bars. I kept rubbing in the butter until the flour looked like sand. It was a magical moment for me. I know that sounds a little silly, but it was seriously a huge accomplishment.

I didn’t have any trouble with the filling, but that’s because it was so straight forward. I love straight forward recipes like that. You know the ones that require one bowl and a whisk? Yeah, this is that kind of recipe. Because I didn’t really feel like measuring, I adjusted the recipe below to approximate what I used (i.e. instead of ¼ cup orange juice I have typed half and orange). The glaze that goes on top is also really delicious. It never fully hardened like most glazes do, but that’s was made it so addicting to eat.

I know Mother’s Day seems like forever ago, but I hope all you mothers out there felt appreciated and loved (like you should everyday) and all you sons/daughters treated your mom with the kindness, love, and respect your mother deserves.

Sunny Citrus Bars
Adapted from Baking Basics and Beyond by Pat Sinclair
Makes one 9x9 inch pan
Crust Ingredients
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup powdered sugar
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Filling Ingredients
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 2 lemons
Zest from one orange
Juice from ½ an orange
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Glaze
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp. orange juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9x9 inch baking pan with tin foil, liberally grease the foil with cooking spray.
To make the crust: whisk together the flour and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Rub the cold butter in with your fingers until the dough looks like coarse sand. Press evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is a light golden color.
To make the filling: combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk in the eggs until the mixture becomes smooth. Stir in the juices, zests and butter. Pour the filling onto the hot crust and bake for about 12-15 minutes. The filling shouldn’t jiggle when you shake the pan, but it will still look a little wet. Let cool in the pan and drizzle the glaze on top once it has come to room temperature.

To make the glaze: stir together the powdered sugar and enough orange juice until the glaze has reached your desired consistency. Drizzle or spread the glaze on top of the cooled bars. Let the glaze set for a little while before slicing.    

Gooey Lemon Brownies

I think I can control the weather. Well at least crappy weather. We had a pretty mild winter this year (last year?). The only really bad part was the icy cold winds. Then, one day I decided to get my hair cut really short because I was tired of how my hair just hung down on my head. You know what happened the next day? There was a blizzard. So because of my newly cropped do, the back of my neck was left unprotected from the harsh elements of the outside. Then when I went back to school from winter break, my anatomy classroom, which has always been freezing, felt even colder. The worst part was when I found out my new seat was right under the coldest vent in the classroom. I know it’s the coldest vent because my teacher did a test one day and it was blowing out 40 degree air into the room.

Spring has finally sprung and so far we’ve had a fairly decent one. Well at least for the month of March. Again, because the weather was so nice and I realized I actually like short hair, I decided to get it cut again. Not two days later, temperatures dropped from the lovely 70s to the 40s with nasty rainstorms. The weatherman predicts snow either today or tomorrow. So for the sake of nice weather, maybe I should just stop cutting my hair.

I know that wasn’t the most interesting thing to read, but I will reward you for your patience with brownies! And not just any brownies: lemon brownies! And they are super-duper delicious! I’m usually not one to grab for a citrusy type snack, but for some reason I was just craving something citrusy. Maybe it was the nice spring weather (before I cut my hair) or maybe it has to do with everyone blogging about grapefruit cakes and glazes, orange breads, and lemon sandwich cookies. Either way, I was hit by the spring bug and I wanted some lemony action. That’s when I found these babies.

They are not overly tart, but you can definitely taste the lemon in these bars. And the glaze that goes on top adds just enough lemon kick to make the bars complete. You may notice that these aren’t very tall, but that’s because there is absolutely no leavening in this recipe at all. Even though I usually like my bars with a little height, I don’t think I would have liked it for this particular recipe. The short and dense bar makes it extra chewy and delicious. Not only are they delicious, but they even remind me of spring. I think it has to do with the pretty yellow these turned out to be. Some lemon desserts are just too… bright. You know what I mean? These look delicate and refreshing.

Gooey Lemon Brownies

Adapted from Becky Bakes
Makes 9x9 inch pan

Ingredients
¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg yolk
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
Juice from half a lemon
Zest from one whole lemon

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9x9 inch baking dish with tin foil and liberally spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, egg yolk, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and fold until everything has been incorporated.  

Spread batter into the prepared pan. It may take some coaxing, but it will eventually spread out evenly. Place in the preheated oven and bake 16-18 minutes or until the top has lightly browned.

Let it cool in the pan for about five minutes while you prepare the glaze.

To make the glaze, whisk together ¾ cup powdered sugar, juice from half a lemon, and water by the teaspoon until you have reached your desired glaze consistency. Pour over the cooled lemon brownie. Slice and serve. These are perfect at room temperature, but if you want it heated just a tad, microwave it for 5 seconds. 

Something Lemony This Way Comes

Ok, so are there any Harry Potter fans out there? Yeah, I thought so; don’t try to hide your guilty smile, just be loud and proud about it. I am. I have read all of the books (and I’m working on re-reading them-theirs is just so much to read right now!) and I’ve seen all of the movies. Personally I liked Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the most for the movie aspect and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the books. When Dumbledore died, I cried my eyes out. My dad walked into my room to tell me good night and witnessed me sobbing into the book. When he asked what was wrong, I told him and I think he truly felt so bad for me because here is this little 10/11 year old girl crying because a character in a book died.

I was obsessed with Harry Potter for quite some time, and I still love the story. I know I’m dragging out the beaten horse here, but if given the choice to reread Harry Potter and Twilight-Breaking Dawn, I would hands down pick Harry Potter without even wanting to hear the second option. I would love to re-read the series, if I had the time. However, I can still feel like I’m that squealing 11 year old girl without having to read the books because I own The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. Yes, that’s right, someone made a cookbook for Harry Potter fans. When I first saw it, I thought it was really funny and depending on price I would get it, but I felt it was a little too expensive at the time, but I still kept the book in the back of my brain. Well, a while ago I found it on sale for like 40% off and I knew then that I would get it, so I did.

Now, this book has tons of stuff in it, ranging from Treats from the Train to Lunch and Dinner in the Dining Hall. It has everything (except Butter Beer, but that’s because it’s been copy written, I think). There is even a blurb before each recipe of where the author got the idea and where it can be located in the Harry Potter books. The first recipe I decided to make from this book was the Tripe Power Icy Lemon Pop found on page 5. This recipe is meant to be the Ice Pop that Harry was allowed to consume when he had to endure going with the Dursleys to the zoo after Dudley had been given a chocolate ice cream cone. This is all found in chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (according to the book). These are lemony, but not too lemony, just the way I like it. I know many people put in food coloring to resemble what a Icy Pop is supposed to be flavored as, but I didn’t do that, and I’m glad I didn’t. If you do, then you don’t get to see the pretty specs of lemon zest in the pops. I also went all old school and used paper cups and popsicle sticks because I don’t own a popsicle molder thing, haha. But seriously, these are some pretty good pops, and if you leave them long enough, a little bit of lemon syrup forms near the stick which is super tasty to lick off (like how some factory popsicles have those sticky, syrupy, sugary stuff stuck to the wrapper).

Also, in honor of Harry Potter, a majority of my posts for the month of July will be coming from this Harry Potter cookbook. By the way, who's excited for The End?

Triple Power Icy Lemon Pops
from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz
makes 4 (4 oz) pops

Ingredients
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp lemon juice
7 tbsp sugar
1 ¾ cups water
½ tsp lemon extract

Directions

1. Place lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and water into a medium sized sauce pan and heat on medium/medium-high. Stir, and keep stirring until the mixture begins to simmer and the sugar has completely dissolved. Once sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the lemon extract.
2. Pour into molds and set in the freezer for about 5 hours or until, well, frozen.
3. Enjoy Icy Lemon op on a nice, hot, summer day.

Cake Slice Bakers - April 2011: Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Hey everyone! These past couple of weeks have been really special. I want to say about three weeks ago my sister found out that she was finally getting her own horse. It has been her dream to a horse since basically forever and just last Sunday, she feel in love with a horse named Apollo. He is gorgeous and my sister was so happy that she sobbed with happiness for a really, really long time. Also, about two weeks ago I got to attend the Masters with my dad, which was really fun and I enjoyed being there with him and the people watching and the golf watching. It was all just a blast. Now finally, Sunday was prom night for my school, and although I didn’t go to the dance, I went to the school sponsored after prom party which runs from midnight to five in the morning. I don’t know how I managed it, but I stayed up the whole time and played games with friends and ended up winning some really cool prizes.

Speaking of special, lets get on with a very special cake. This month’s cake for the Cake Slice Bakers is the Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake. This first thing that makes this a special cake is that it is cooked while the oven is preheating. This means that you don’t reheat your oven until the cake is finally made, only once the cake is in the oven, you can heat up the oven.Now, I’m sure that you can probably preheat the oven and then bake the cake, but I’m not positive you’ll get the same results. Second off, this is a very tender cake and it is probably one of the best cakes made from Cake Keeper Cakes, I think. This cake is very moist and a very good mix between light and airy and thick and dense. I can’t really describe it. And the taste is phenomenal. I really wish I had added more lemon zest to it because the lemon flavor wasn’t coming out as much as I’d like, but that’s what you get when you don’t own a zester and you’re trying to zest a lemon with a cheese grater, ha ha. I think it also had to do with the fact that I’ve never really zested anything before and I was just tired of zesting a huge lemon.

This cake also had a nice outer crust to it. I ate the first slice of cake after it had been inverted onto a plate, so I got a lot of crust and it was superb. I like crusts, I don’t know why, I just do. Now it may seem weird to talk about a cake crust, but it’s an important part of the cake. You don’t want a spongy crust because it doesn’t add to the texture of the cake and you don’t want a burnt crust because then no one will want to eat the cake if they take one look at the exterior and thing it’s burnt! This cake had a perfectly crisp crust, golden brown, crust and it defiantly passed the crust test.

Now, I made this cake into a standard loaf pan because I don’t own a bunt pan and I didn’t want a whole bunch of cake because what usually happens is that I end up having to eat most of it because no one else wants to eat my stuff after a day or so. Well, right from the start, I had this dilemma. The recipe called for a 12 cup bunt pan and I had no clue how much my loaf pan could hold, so I tried measuring it and then looking up to see what it’s capacity was, only to find out that I can’t seem to measure a stupid pan. So I poured cups and cups of water into the pan until it was almost filled and this gave me 6 cups, so I assumed that the capacity was 6 cups so I would just have to half the recipe. The only thing is, my fellow Cake Slice Members said that the recipe produced a lot of batter and I would need thee, maybe even four!, loaf pans. So I went with my gut, and divided the recipe by three, better to have a little smaller cake than a tin that’s overflowing with batter. Well after I poured the batter into the pan, I realized I probably could have gone with the half of the recipe, but that’s ok because this was a perfect little pound cake.

This was such a silky smooth batter. I could have eaten the entire batter, uncooked.

I had a little mishap with the cake being stuck to the bottom, but it was easily repairable. Just make sure to flour the greased pan before pouring in the batter.

It was like a cloud on your tongue, so delicious!

Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake
slightly adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman
makes about 10-12 servings

Ingredients
1 cup cake flour*
½ tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 2/3 oz. cream cheese, softened (used 1/3 less fat and it didn’t seem to do any harm)
¾ cup + 2 tbsp + 1 ½ tsp sugar
2 eggs, room temp.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest 

Directions

1. Grease a standard loaf pan and dust with flour. Do this because I didn’t use flour and my cake stuck to the bottom a little bit. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium sized bowl and set aside.
2. Combine the butter, cream cheese, and sugar into a bowl of an electric mixer and cream them together until fluffy. This should take about three minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Next, on medium speed, add the eggs in one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.
4. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. After the final addition, mix the batter for 30 seconds, then stop.
5. Add the batter to the loaf pan and set it on the middle rack. Now you can turn on your oven to 325 degrees F. Don’t open the oven door until the cake is fully cooked, about 45 minutes, or until it is lightly browned on top and when a tooth pick is inserted into the middle, it comes out clean.
6. Let the cake cool in it’s pan for 15 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack. Let the cake completely cool before slicing. You can keep the cake in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap for up to three days, if it lasts that long.

* To learn how to make your own cake flour go here.

Nutrition Facts
serving size: 1/10

Calories 188.6 Total Fat 7.7 g Saturated Fat 1.1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g Monounsaturated Fat 0.4 g Cholesterol 56.0 mg Sodium 156.5 mg Potassium 14.7 mg Total Carbohydrate 27.1 g Dietary Fiber 0.0 g Sugars 18.0 g Protein 2.8 g