lemon-blueberry layer cake [with a side of sugar coma]

The benefit of living in a city that seems to have totally forgotten that winter is a season, is that it allows one to stroll downtown with old friends on a January afternoon with nothing but a jacket and good conversation for warmth. When that group of friends is comprised of wonderful people you've known for over a decade, it almost feels like summertime.

I can't actually believe that I've known these people as long as I have. These 'people', of course, meaning Nitya, Hannah, Noosh, Georgia, Matt, and Tommy. Elementary school friends. Fourth grade. All of us weren't particularly close back then, and I don't think any of us would have imagined that an odd-13 years later we would still be in touch, let alone driving down to visit one another for belated birthday parties, shopping trips, and coffee dates. It's amazing, really, when I think about it.


Much of my childhood was spent moving from place to place. I was born out of the country and my parents moved to the States when I was two. I grew up in the north; random cities in New York from apartments to townhouses while my parents scraped together enough money for a new life in a country very different from their own. It was a learning experience for them, certainly, though all my memories of frigid winters and breezy summers come primarily from photos and stories. There are the occasional genuine memories of course - I recall living next to an elderly couple whose home I would often visit to see their numerous pets and, on lazy days, plates of cookies and glasses of lemonade. I don't remember their names, but I do remember their kindness.

When I was about 7 years old, arm in a hot pink cast from a rather ungraceful fall off of a sofa, we moved to Virginia. Leaving yet another group of friends behind - I changed schools about 4 times while in the north as it was - I started the third grade rather alone. A few months went by, turning 8 years old and meeting new people, before we moved yet again to a different city. It was there that my parents decided to finally settle down for good, and it's there that they live to this day (after having moved to a different house this summer, but remaining in the same general location). I started spring of the third grade, yet again on my own, and found myself best friends with the entire third grade faculty. The following year I was transferred to the gifted program, and it's at that moment my life finally settled down. I finally met the people I would keep in my heart for the next 13 years.

Nitya was, essentially, my first true friend in elementary school. It was sometime at the beginning of fourth grade when we were all in the cafeteria for lunch, my younger sister's class heading back to their room - she was in the first grade at the time - and I caught her eye and gave a reassuring wave.

"Is that your sister?" Nitya asked me from across the table. I hadn't even realized she was paying any mind.

"Yes," or at least some derivative of an affirmative. I don't remember much of the details, but from there we  got to talking about whatever it is that goes through the minds of two fourth grade girls, and before long we had developed a close friendship.

A close friendship which, having expanded to the Fab Four and others who I first met that year as the fourth grader who finally found her place, has survived over a decade. It is remarkable, truly.

Lemon-blueberry Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Sweetapolita.
Yields one 3-layer, 8-inch cake.

For the cake, you'll need:

• 2 cups plus 6 tbsp flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed and patted dry
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 cup [2 sticks] butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs

• lemon curd, for layering

For the lemon cream cheese frosting, you'll need:

• 2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup [1 1/2 sticks] butter, softened
• 2 tbsp lemon
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar

To prepare the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans. In a small bowl, toss blueberries with one tablespoon of flour. In a medium-sized bowl, sift flour remaining flour, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl, whisk buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Set both bowls aside.

Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 mins. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Gently fold in blueberries by hand. Divide batter among cake pans and bake for 25-30 mins, or until golden brown and set. Remove cakes from the pans and cool to room temperature.

To prepare the cream cheese frosting:

Cream butter and cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 mins. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla and mix. Lower speed and gently add in the sugar, and beat until light. Refrigerate until using.

To assemble the cake:

Place one layer on a serving plate. Frost the top of the layer with a generous amount of lemon curd. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese frosting on top. Place second layer on top of the base and repeat. Place third layer on top and thinly frost the top and sides of the cake with a crumb coat. Refrigerate both the cake and the frosting for about 30 mins. Remove from the fridge and use remaining frosting to frost the top and sides. Garnish with a frosting border or lemon, if desired.

This weekend, 13 years later, my dear friend drove 4 hours up to the apartment - alongside the Blue Ridge Mountains, so she didn't mind too, too much - to spend the weekend with Noosh and I. Hannah drove down from her university as well, and so we had a wonderful weekend of Fab Four bonding, complete with diet Snapple and trashy magazines, visiting the downtown mall with Matt and Georgia and enjoying dessert with Tommy. 

Since Nitya was in Italy for the semester, I was unable to surprise her with a 21st birthday cake as I did for Hannah and Farnoosh. So for her big visit this weekend, she and I worked together on her belated birthday cake. After a lazy afternoon in used bookshops - a rather successful visit if I do say so myself, thanks to a wonderful local book shop owner named Dave - it was a lovely treat to enjoy in the evening. So happy belated birthday, my darling Nitya. I can't believe I've celebrated so many birthdays with you, and hope to celebrate many more in future. Without you, fourth grade would have been an enormous bore. 

Unfortunately, two days was not nearly enough for the four of us, but we made the most of the time we had with good food and more lovely memories to add to our repertoire. 

After all, we have all the time in the world for more.

{DBC} blueberry-lemon scones

I have to admit, I was rather pleased when I read this month's Daring Baker's Challenge recipe. Pleased and also amused, given my anglophilic tendencies as of late, most notably with the release of series 2 of BBC's incredible Sherlock.

[Of which I have gushed about more than enough in all manners of communication possible to a moderately technologically-inclined college student, so I will say nothing here. Except that it remains the best television series ever produced.]

It is not actually the 27th at the moment; in fact, it's the 22nd, but I'm amidst a rather lazy Sunday morning and so decided to take a break from Douglas Adams with a bit of blogging.

As it were, I'm sitting at my desk with headphones humming Rossini and a mug of steaming hot chocolate [a cup of milk heated with a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, a few bittersweet chocolate chips, a splash of cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a pinch of chili powder if I'm feeling particularly daring (which, today, I was not)], watching the first snow of 2012 drifting unassumingly onto car roofs and tree branches, and the whole image is picturesque in a wonderfully pretentious way. But I figure a bit of faux-class on a Sunday morning after a first week of classes was forgivable.

Well, first week for most - one day for me. I've lucked out somewhat this term with my schedule, which leaves me with Wednesdays and Fridays off from class. Had I not had a part-time job [which fills my vacant week days], it would be a dream. But given my habit of spending all of my free time on Amazon.com and fiendish bargain-hunting for clothes online, I'll keep the job. Nevertheless, it's not going to be as lax of a semester as I'd have liked, what with a full load of philosophy seminars and history courses in Spanish [and a course in financial mathematics which I am choosing to pretend does not actually exist]. So I've been trying to fit in as much Hitchhiker's Guide as possible before Avicenna, Aristotle, and Nagel become my literary constants.


It had been going somewhat well until I became distracted by Tina Fey's Bossypants.

Blueberry-Lemon Buttermilk Scones
Adapted from the January 2012 Daring Baker's Challenge
Recipe yields 8-12 scones, depending on the size.

For the scones, you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 heaping tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 8 tbsp butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup blueberries, either fresh or frozen

For the lemon glaze, you'll need:

• 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farhenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and lemon zest and mix thoroughly. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or your hands [or do the entire thing in an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment] until crumbly.

In another small bowl, mix milk, buttermilk, and lemon juice until uniform. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Slowly pour about three-quarters of the milk mixture in the well, and knead the dough. If the dough is too try, add more of the milk. You may not need to use all of the liquid. Once dough is at the proper texture [it should come together, but should not be too sticky], gently add in the blueberries.

Using your hands, roll out biscuit-sized balls of dough and place on the baking sheet, three inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until tops are golden-brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 mins before transferring to a serving plate.

To prepare the glaze, stir confectioner's sugar and lemon juice until the mixture is smooth. The consistency should be thin, but not watery. Add more confectioner's sugar or lemon juice as necessary. Pour the glaze on top of the warm scones and serve immediately.

The DBC recipe as given was for plain scones/biscuits, but I altered the recipe to allow for buttermilk, lemon, and blueberries, and this is the recipe that I've typed up. The texture of these is unbelievable, and the glaze is such an amazing touch. It helps that I am absolutely enamored with scones - they are, in fact, carbohydrates in their most transcendental form - and so I had quite a lot of fun coming up with, what I hoped would be, a fantastic flavor combination. I also did a buttermilk version of my oatmeal-raisin scones from a few months ago, which we ate with a spread of cherry preserves.

The scones were made yesterday afternoon with the help of my darlings Matt and Kyana, who had come to our apartment for an afternoon of Sherlock series 2, which Matt had not seen in its entirety. It was all very posh and adorable, gathered around the coffee table with a basket of scones, an assortment of teas, some quality conversation and theorizing about Moffat, Gatiss, and Thompson's incredible scripts, and Benedict Cumberbatch's unbelievably provocative voice serenading us with superhuman deductions.

[Did I say I was going to shut up about Sherlock? I should also have mentioned that I am an enormous hypocrite.]

If all goes as planned, the weekend of the 27th should be spent with my darling Nitya, who has graciously decided to make the long trek up to our apartment. I anticipate lots of baking and good food. Perhaps some quality television, even a trek downtown for used books. But the food is a given.

It's been a very fine start to 2012, I have to say.

lemon, blackberry, and ginger cake [and a happy 21st]

Wednesday evening was spent attempting to familiarize myself with absolutist and utilitarian philosophy, emailing professors about tentative spring courses [oh yes, I'm a dork, and unbelievably excited about class offerings], rubbing my eyes and consequently smudging all the eyeliner around to give me the appearance of a lopsided raccoon, and putting away clean dishes without having realized the smudgy state of my fingers and consequently getting black stains all over the bowls and having to rewash them.

[As a side note, I've discovered that all of my current obsessions are manifested in some of the cookbooks that I own. King Arthur Flour Cookbook (purchased 2009), The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (purchased approximately January 2011), Dining with Sherlock Holmes: A Baker Street Cookbook (purchased approximately 1 week ago [not a problem]). The amount that I was ecstatic when I made the realization was unprecedented and startling.]

And yet, it was a rather perfect evening, as soon after rewashing dishes, the house was filled with the smells of ginger and lemon zest, and the sounds of unbelievably irritating whistles at a conference meeting during an episode of Arrested Development.

As a note of self-preservation, all shots taken for this particular dessert were done in the absolute worst lighting imaginable. It seems that cloudy mornings and artificial, dinner-table lighting made for oddly colored images. Blast lamplight and clouded sun rays.

It was nice, though, to be baking a cake. I haven't done so in ages, as I haven't had the need, but yesterday happened to be the 21st birthday of one of my dearest, closest, sweetest friends: Matt (and, incidentally, Rhea's as well!). I knew I would be baking something, but I wanted it to be something spectacular. Something new. Something exotic.

And so I asked him what he'd want.

And all he said was "lemon curd."

And that was all I needed.


[Admittedly, he also said "blackberries, preferably," but I'll keep that little tidbit to myself as not to diminish the above drama.]

I have quite some experience with lemon curd, as it's a foolproof way of making a fantastic cake, but for the most part it's always accompanied either a basic vanilla or angel food cake. Seeing as how it's fall and it's Matt, I wanted to try something unexpected.

So, clearly, the fates were calling on me to bake a lemon-ginger cake, layered with blackberry preserves and lemon curd, covered with a lemon-cream cheese frosting.

And you know what, the fates did good this week.

Lemon, Blackberry, and Ginger Cake
Adapted from epicurious and my own tastes.

For the cake, you'll need:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 4 eggs
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

For the lemon cream cheese frosting, you'll need:

• 12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

• blackberry or other fruit preserves, to layer
• lemon curd, to layer

To prepare the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line and grease three 9-inch cake pans. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture into the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk, in three batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly among the three pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until set. Turn cakes out onto cooling racks and cool to room temperature before assembling.


To prepare the frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth, 3-4 minutes. Add in lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. Lower speed and gradually add in powdered sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Refrigerate frosting until using.

[Note: frosting can be prepared  a day in advance.]


To assemble the cake:
Place on of the cake layers on a serving plate. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese frosting over the top as a crumb coating. Spread about 3 tbsp of fruit preserves over the crumb coating, about 1/2 inch from the edges of the cake. Spread about 4 tbsp of lemon curd over the preserves, about 1/2 inch from the edges of the cake. Repeat with the second and third layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the rest of the cream cheese frosting. Refrigerate cake until serving, but allow cake to sit for 15-20 minutes before cutting.

Delicious is the only word that comes to mind. I also have a limited vocabulary. But really. The ginger is very understated, but enough to make you realize that there's something more to the cake than what you'd get from a simple vanilla. Which is exactly what I was hoping for.

And then, you can never go wrong with lemon curd.

Like, ever.

So, happy 21st birthday, MattMatt and Rhea! I do hope it was all to your liking :)

In other news, today I find myself settled quite cozily in a little corner of Panera, laptop on the table, empty cappuccino mug to my right, and a stack of Greek mythology and philosophy texts on my lap. All of this is hugely unsurprising, as this is seems to be my default state of existence, but I'm somewhat unnerved at how much colder it is inside this place than it is outside. Unnerved and also slightly uncomfortable. Particularly since it's pretty chilly outside as it is.

But I finally managed to find an empty socket for my laptop cord, so there's no way in hell that I am leaving.

Besides, I like the padded booths.

Even if it means having my scarf wrapped twice around my neck and my sleeves pulled down to my fingertips.

Maybe it's time for a second [third] cup of coffee...


I love autumn.

lemon meringue pie and playing favorites

I like to consider myself a pretty open-minded individual: I like to try new things; I want nothing more than to travel all over the world and experience different cultures, languages, and people; I enjoy all sorts of movies, music, and literature; and if I could have it my way, I'd spend the rest of my life in university, majoring in any and every subject possible.

But that's not to say that I don't play favorites. On the contrary, I do. Quite a lot. If "new things" involves anything with tentacles or shells, I will more than likely shy away from it [mainly because I have this irrational fear that if I eat something with tentacles, it will miraculously come to life in my stomach and take revenge on me by squeezing my lungs to dust]. I prefer indie folk over most other genres of music. I like contemporary satirical fiction, particularly if the author is Kurt Vonnegut. My travel location of choice is heavily influenced by what I'm interested in at the time [needless to say, the current dream destination is London]. And by "majoring in any and every subject possible," I'm excluding most of the sciences and math.



Well, I would consider human biology. But that's an exception.

Anyway, my point is, I like tons of things, but I love a few things. As I'm getting older, it's becoming more and more apparent to me what I love and what I like. Which makes sense, I suppose. Didn't someone famous say that college is when you learn who you are? Or something similarly cliche? [My money's on Bono.]

Okay, so, maybe I don't totally buy that [ridiculously cheesy and over-generalized] sentiment, but it does apply in some cases. And as of late, it's been dessert.


Now, I've baked an enormous variety of dessert. I've consumed even more. I love it all, of course, otherwise I wouldn't constantly be contributing to the obesity epidemic that is my future. But recently, I've begun to realize that nothing really beats pie.

At all.

It's the crust, I think. Flaky, crunchy, not-too-sweet but absolutely necessary alongside a sugary filling. And, if you're lucky, you get an incredible filling to boot. But even then, a mediocre filling still makes for a good pie. A great pie. I'm not even sure there's such a thing as a bad pie. Those two words - two, small, three-letter words - just don't seem to fit together. A crime against the English language.

I realize that I may be admitting to playing favorites with dessert. Which just seems so...sacrilegious. But I can't help it. Ever since that cherry Bakewell tart, I've had pie on the brain. And so when I came home this weekend, I knew I'd be baking some.



...to be honest, this recipe is kind of half-arsed. Mainly, I'd had quite a bit of lemon curd sitting happily in my freezer, waiting to be used up. And I figured, after two months of neglect, now was the time to do it. So I brought it home with me [a fresh batch has taken its place as of Friday] and settled on lemon meringue pie. Pâte brisée, lemon curd, meringue topping. Easy peasy, and rather delicious. If you feel so inclined as to bake some for yourself, I'll give you the recipes for the pâte brisée and meringue here. The lemon curd I used is my go-to lemon curd recipe, which you'll find via clicking the link.

Lemon Meringue Pie

For the pâte brisée, you'll need:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• pinch of salt
• 10 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg 
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup cold water

For the meringue topping, you'll need:

• 4 egg whites
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

To prepare the pie crust, combine flour, salt, and butter in a food processor. Pulse on low speed until the dough has the consistency of bread crumbs. Still on low speed, add egg and egg yolks, one at a time, and pulse until incorporated. Slowly pour in water until the dough comes together. You may not need to use all of the water. Roll the dough out into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, butter a 9-inch pie pan, and roll dough out onto a floured surface. Roll until the dough is about 1/8-inch thick and 11-12 inches across. Place the dough into the prepared pan. Trim off any excess dough and press it against the sides of the pan, as to thicken the sides of the pie crust. Using a fork, poke holes on the bottom and sides of the dough. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden-brown. Let cool completely.

Once the crust has cooled, spoon the lemon curd into the pie and level it with a spatula. Refrigerate the pie for at least 3-4 hours, until the lemon curd has set completely. If you're not serving the lemon meringue pie the same day, cover the top of the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to one day. Do not top with the meringue until you're about to serve the pie.

To prepare the meringue, whisk the egg whites on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until frothy. While the mixer is still going, gradually add in the sugar. Once sugar is incorporated, add in the cream of tartar. Continue to mix on high speed until the meringue holds stiff peaks. Gently spoon the meringue onto the chilled lemon curd. Torch the top of the meringue, and then place pie back into the fridge and chill for about 30 minutes before serving.

I prefer pâte brisée as the crust for this particular pie because it holds up well against the filling. Pâte sucrée would work just as adequately, I'd imagine, but since the filling is so bold, I like a more neutral crust. Also, a glass of milk works brilliantly alongside a slice of this.


My next goal is to perfect the deep dish apple pie. I can never get mine just right. The crust always gets soggy, the flavor isn't as vibrant as I'd like, and it lacks the general homeliness I associate with good apple pie. Still, since apples are moving into season, I foresee quite a few trips to the orchard in my future.

I also foresee quite a few epic failures, but what's life without a little adventure, eh?

In other news, this was my first weekend spent in the now-furnished new home. It was kind of a surreal experience not to be driving back to the house I'd lived in for the past 11 years, and yet at the same time totally natural. It's much larger than our old house, and still smells like wood polish and new paint, but seeing familiar furniture scattered about, and my mother's decorating touch subtly permeating every room, it's been easy to adjust.

And though I've only lived in it for a day and a half, I can say, with relative certainty, that the kitchen is shaping up to be my favorite room in the house.

I'm pretty good at playing favorites, after all.

lemon-strawberry scones with a side of benedict cumberbatch

I'm not sure if I've divulged this in the past, but I have somewhat of an obsessive personality.

Not in a creepy way, or anything. Rather, when I really like something... I really like it. And want everyone else to like it. And will have it on my mind for days.

In the past 7 days alone, I've sifted through a number of different obsessions. Portal 2, buying cookbooks, taking siestas, LittleBigPlanet [specifically, Sackboy], writing vignettes, organizing and reorganizing, pad thai, pen sketching, the list goes on.

But my latest obsession has been interrupting my thoughts every few hours. It's been causing me to talk to myself in a British accent [yes, I talk to myself, and no, it is not indicative of an underlying issue]. It makes my fingers twitch for Netflix every time I turn on the telly. It makes me use words like 'telly.'

Sherlock. The BBC miniseries, to be precise. It aired last October-November, and I had it on my calendar to watch on Sunday evenings, but for some reason I ended up missing them. I think a combination of midterms, paper-writing, and FFVII was the problem, but it came and went, and I figured I would never again have the opportunity to watch it [legally].

And then, a few weeks ago, I discovered that Netflix in all its glory added the series to its instant queue. So, of course, I added it, and then promptly forgot about it. And then I went to Spain. And came home. And the day before I drove back to my apartment, stumbled upon it while I was browsing Netflix. And vowed to watch it once I was settled in Cville.

And on Monday evening, I hit the play button.

And in no less than 5 minutes, I fell in love.

Lemon-Strawberry Scones
This is an original bakedbeen recipe!
Recipe yields 10-12 scones, depending on the size

You'll need:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp for dusting
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• scant tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, plus 2 tbsp for brushing
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 3/4 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flours, 2/3 cup sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and stir until well-mixed. Cut butter into flour mixture until dough is the consistency of breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center of the dough and pour in 1 cup heavy cream and lemon juice. Using your hands, knead the dough until it comes together in a mass. Add in lemon zest and strawberries, and knead until well incorporated.

Form fist-sized balls of dough and place them evenly across the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the reserved heavy cream and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 12 minutes, until tops are golden-brown.

Serve scones warm or at room temperature. If desired, drizzle a simple lemon-sugar glaze over the scones, or enjoy with a light scraping of butter or clotted cream.

It helps that I'm obsessed with bromances [this is a rather consistent obsession, unlike some of my more fleeting ones]. I find them charming, and adorable, and hugely entertaining. And so when Guy Ritchi's adaptation came out with two of the most wonderful actors to be depicted as bromantic to ever grace the screen, I was more than happy.

[I was, in fact, ecstatic, and purchased the DVD within the first few days of its release.]


I've always been a fan of Holmes and Watson, but didn't really think anything could trump the Law/Downey Jr. portrayal of the two [their bromance, I should note, since the plot of the film itself left much to be desired], particularly Jude's portrayal of Watson as a competent, loyal partner and physician [contrasting with the less appealing caricature by Nigel Bruce].

That is, of course, until I watched Sherlock. I should have realized that no one could do Holmes and Watson better than the Brits [in terms of both characters, since I realize that Jude Law is, in fact, British]. And, really, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are marvelous together.

Especially Benedict Cumberbatch.

Especially.

I mean, I'm not in love with him or anything.

Just mildly infatuated.

But I can't help it that he pulls of barely-socially-functioning, sociopathic, articulate, curt intellectual so well.

And looks dashing in a suit while doing so.

Like I said. Just a mild infatuation. Not an issue.

So why the scones? Well I've had all-things-English stuck in my for the past few days. And I wanted to come up with a recipe of my own. And I figured it would be a fitting snack during the miniseries finale.

Just as delicious as Mr. Holmes himself.



...did I say that out loud?

luscious lemon bars

Jessica visited Cville yesterday! I haven't seen that girl in...half a year? More than that? Failed skype dates, busy schedules, being about 10 hours apart, yadda yadda yadda. So she decided to visit; came over in the evening, stayed the night, we grabbed some breakfast [i.e. 32 ounces of iced coffee] this morning, and then parted ways as I went to work and she went to visit other friends.

Not gonna lie, about 2 months ago she sent me a message asking if I could mail her some food after a tough week. And I said "Yes! Of course!"

...and then I got busy, promptly forgot, and ended up not doing it.

But after she told me that she was coming by, I knew this was my moment of redemption.

Luscious Lemon Bars
Adapted from The Cookie & Biscuit Bible

For the crust, you'll need:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes 
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

For the topping, you'll need:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• grated zest of one lemon
• juice of one large lemon, about 1/3 cup [add bottled lemon juice as needed]
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• confectioner's sugar, for dusting 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8x8-inch square cake pan with aluminum foil, and grease the bottom and sides.

To prepare crust, process flour, butter, and confectioner's sugar in a food processor or stand mixer on high speed until mixture firms into a dough. Add cold water, one tbsp at a time, if dough isn't coming together. Press dough evenly into the base of the tin and spread smoothly using the back of a spoon. Bake for 12-15 minutes until crust is lightly golden. Set aside and let cool.

To prepare topping, whisk eggs until frothy. Add sugar little by little, whisking in between additions. Whisk in lemon juice, zest, flour, and baking soda until mixture is smooth. Pour onto cooled crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until set and golden. Leave bars to cool completely before cutting. Refrigerating until serving. Sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top, right before serving.

I love lemon bars. I think everyone else on the planet does, too. The shortbread-like crust, the silky smooth, tart, bright yellow topping, the combination of both textures when you take a bite. What's not to love?

The particular cookbook I used for this recipe has about 4 other 'lemon bar' recipes, all unique. I want to try them all and figure out which are the best. When I initially made this following the book's ratios and took a test bite, though, I found the bars to be slightly too sweet and not tart enough [though, the lack of actual sugar for the past while may have contributed to the massive sugar rush that ensued]. Nevertheless, the ratios I've typed above are altered to how I would bake them in future.

...should have sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. curse my impatience.

Hmm. I really need some new serving plates. So I don't resort to white, paper plates for contrast. Plates that make everything else seem more orange than they actually are. Or maybe that's just my coffee table. Ugh. -overly dramatic sigh-

Photographic aesthetics aside, I hope these made up for my forgetfulness last semester, Jess!

lemon strawberry layer cake with lemon cream cheese frosting

What a mouthful.

I don't bake cakes that often. Mainly because I feel like they're the ultimate 'special occasion' dessert, and I usually only bake them for family events like birthdays or anniversaries. [And one time my Italian cooking teacher paid me to bake him one so he could pass it off as his own at a faculty dinner party, but that's besides the point].

This was for no such occasion [though would have been very nice to be paid for it], but rather, a cake-off. So, of course, I had to enter. I didn't end up placing, but the it was a hugely fun time. And all of the cakes were scrumptious. Well worth the energy.

There are 3 main components to this cake: the 1-2-3-4 cake, lemon curd, and lemon cream cheese frosting. For the strawberry layer, I purchased strawberry preserves from Teeter earlier today [in a perfect world, it would be strawberry season right now and I would have slaved away at making my own, pectin-free strawberry preserves. but alas, I am lazy.] I'll give you the 1-2-3-4 cake and frosting recipe here, and I've written up the lemon curd recipe prior.

Lemon Strawberry Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

For the 1-2-3-4 cake, you'll need:

• 1 cup [2 sticks] butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-milk
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tbsp vanilla

For the lemon cream cheese frosting, you'll need:

• 10 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup [1/2 stick] butter, softened
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 6 cups confectioner's sugar
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans, or one 9-inch springform pan. Beat butter until creamy. Add in sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 6-8 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Alternately add flour and milk to the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with flour [meaning, add 3/4 cup flour, add 1/4 cup milk, add an additional 3/4 cups flour, 1/4 of the milk, etc., but begin and end with the flour]. Add vanilla last and mix until just incorporated. Spoon batter into the two 8-inch cake pans or the 9-inch springform pan. If using the two pans, bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center of the cake. If using the 9-inch springform, bake for 65-75 minutes. If the top of the cake starts to burn, loosely cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking.

Let cake cool for 20-30 minutes before removing from the pan. Let cool an additional 20-30 minutes before slicing [horizontally] into layers. Slice 8-inch cakes in half for 4 total layers, or 9-inch cake twice for 3 total layers. Meanwhile, prepare frosting.

To make the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla until light and creamy. Slowly add confectioner's sugar. Add more confectioners sugar or lemon juice, depending on desired consistency and tangy-ness. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container overnight.

To assemble cake: make sure all cake layers are completely cooled before frosting. Place the bottom layer of the cake [usually I flip the 'top' of the cake and use it as the bottom layer, because it is the most misshapen and least flat, and sitting on the bottom will even it out]. Frost with a generous amount of strawberry preserves, leaving a circumference about 1-centimeter wide around the edge of the cake [because all the layers will spread the filling out to the edges]. Gently spread a thin layer of the cream cheese frosting on top of the strawberries. Spread a generous amount of lemon curd on top of the cream cheese frosting. Place the next layer on top. Continue frosting the cake layers the same way, until cake is fully layered. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting. If desired, reserve 1 1/2 cups of frosting to pipe a border around the top and bottom of the cake. Refrigerate until serving, but make sure to serve within 2-3 hours.

1-2-3-4 cake is my go-to, basic cake recipe. And it should be in every baker's repertoire. I never really had a huge problem with boxed cake mixes for layer cakes, because they're fast, cheap, and generally taste okay. But after making a 1-2-3-4 cake for the first time, I have given up boxed cake mixes for good [well, except for in my adaptation of Paula Deen's gooey toffee butter cakes, but that recipe will come another time]. I sometimes use almond extract alongside the vanilla for a more sophisticated-tasting cake [because almond extract is divine with coconut frosting], but the vanilla is just perfect for any layer cake. Or just to eat plain. Heck, sometimes mom has me bake it so she can freeze half and slice the other half up into small pieces to have with tea in the morning. It's really that delicious.

As for the lemon and strawberry combination? It's pretty classic, actually. Though, the first time I used it was in Nitya's 18th birthday cake a few years ago, with an angel food cake in place of the 1-2-3-4. It was so good, and one of her favorite cakes of all time. Though, now that I think about it, I'm sure a lemon-blueberry would be equally as delicious.

Wish I could have snapped a shot of it sliced up, because the layers turned out perfectly. The cake itself was a little bit dry, but that's because I naively cut the layers last night and covered them in plastic wrap. Ideally I would have baked the cake the day of, but nevertheless, the filling helped moisten it some.

In other news, I have one class day until exams start. It's going to be the longest day of my life.

And then I'm going to spend my month off sleeping. I can't wait.

apple cake with lemon glaze

Today I took a break from exam studying to bake an apple cake! Which I'd been meaning to do for a while now.

Not to mention it tasted like autumn in cake form.

A few weeks ago, a group of friends and I went up to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick apples, and I picked a fair amount of Winesaps to use for baking.

mmmm...apples...

Finally put them to good use! I found a wonderful recipe at soupbelly for an apple cake with lemon glaze [although, I ended up making a lime glaze because we only had lime juice on hand, but I'm sure the lemon would have given it an extra kick].

Apple Cake with Lemon Glaze

For the cake, you'll need:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil [or substitute for 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce for a healthier alternative] 
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 4 cups apples, peeled and cut into small cubes

For the glaze, you'll need:

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice [add more or less for desired consistency]
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9-inch springform pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together eggs and oil [or applesauce if using substitution]. Add granulated and brown sugars and vanilla and whisk until blended. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add flour mixture to egg and sugar mixture and fold until incorporated. Batter will be relatively thick. Fold in apples.

Pour batter into pan and level it evenly. Bake for 70-75 minutes. Let cool completely before pouring glaze on top.

To make glaze, sift confectioner's sugar. Pour in lemon juice and mix until sugar has dissolved. Add more lemon juice for thinner glaze; add more confectioner's sugar for thicker glaze. Once cake has completely cooled, use a spoon to drizzle glaze over top.

I let the cake cool while I went to take my exam, and I had actually forgotten about it until I walked in and smelled the cinnamon and apple. Talk about a pleasant surprise! Made the glaze and drizzled it before I had dinner, then cut a slice for Noosh and myself. Yum.

And not even that bad for you! Whole wheat flour, applesauce instead of oil; it's practically a health food, really.

Right?

Don't answer that.

In other news, I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. Which is, incidentally, my favorite holiday.

Well, I like the entire current holiday season. But Thanksgiving is in a league of its own, with all its gastronomic prowess.

And mom gave me the 'honor' of cooking our entire Thanksgiving dinner, meaning she's either giving me a false sense of culinary self-worth before telling me she already has dinner planned out, or she plans on watching me make a fool out of myself in the kitchen. I'll probably destroy the turkey/light something on fire and run to her for advice/grovel at her feet for help, but until then, the thought of cooking dinner is keeping me happy.

Plus, it'll be nice to be home for a bit.