Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

One of the reasons I wanted to make a trip to the blueberry farm was because I've been wanting to make this cake for a while. My step-daughter had a birthday so I made this cake for her celebration.  We all enjoyed it, but what's not to love when you combine lemons & blueberries? 

The cake has wonderful lemon flavor to it, subtle yet you know the lemon is there. The inside is bursting with blueberries. It's a very fresh-tasting cake!

As with most baking projects, you will have a better product if you let the refrigerated ingredients come to room temperature before using.

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Zest and juice from 3 medium lemons
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries ( if using frozen, don't thaw)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Cream cheese frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 to 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and lightly flour three 9x2-inch cake pans (I use baking spray). Note: you can use two cake pans, increase the baking time.

Using a mixer with a paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), beat the butter on high until creamy, about 1 minute.  Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the side and bottom of the bowl as needed.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed until everything is combined, about 2 full minutes.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds, then add the buttermilk, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Stir lightly until everything is just combined.  Toss the blueberries in 1 tablespoon of flour and fold into the batter. The batter is thick, do not overmix as you will have a tough, dense cake!

Spoon batter evenly into the 3 prepared cake pans.  Bake for about 21-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto racks and let cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, in a mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until no lumps remain, about 3 minutes.  Add 4 cups confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon cream, and vanilla extract, with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes.  Check for thickness, adding more confectioners' sugar if too thin or more cream if too thick. You want it spreadable.

Using a large serrated knife, trim the tops off the cake layers to create a flat surface.  Place 1 layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with frosting.  Top with 2nd cake layer, more frosting, the 3rd cake layer. Top with frosting and spread around the sides. Top with blueberries and/or lemon garnish, as desired. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before cutting.

Blueberries!

One of the nicer attributes of central California living is that we are in the middle of agriculture. So many varieties of fruits, vegetables and nuts are produced here.  Getting just-picked produce is just a matter of driving to the closest farm stand or bi-weekly farmers' market. It is such a blessing. This morning my granddaughter & I went to a U-pick blueberry farm about 5 miles from my home. Upon arrival, we were given small buckets and directed to the rows of blueberries that were available for picking today.  This farm has 5 or 6 different varieties to choose from.  As I don't know one blueberry from the next, we went to the row that my granddaughter picked! She did really good, thought that it was fun competition to compete with Nana to see who could fill up their bucket first! We ended up picking about 5 pounds of berries before she was done.

 

Doesn't every blueberry picker wear a dress?  I tried to convince her to wear something else!

On the way home she wanted to stop at the strawberry stand, where we picked up three baskets of berries and a basket of cherries.  By the time we got home her face was a blue and red mess, she couldn't resist trying a few!

I am freezing most of the blueberries, I pour them on baking sheets and flash-freeze them, then put into freezer bags.  I don't wash them first, this way the berries don't stick together.  It's very easy to get whatever quantity of berries I need  from the freezer bag and a quick rinse in warm water usually thaws and washes them at the same time.

A lemon-blueberry cake is in the oven now. Perhaps blueberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!

Orange Chicken with Sriracha

With the exception of In 'n Out Burger (I'm a California girl after all!), I'm not a big fast food fan. Every now and then, however, I'll run to Panda Express and get their orange chicken. Bite-size chunks of fried chicken in an orange sauce, what's not to love about that? When I found this recipe I knew I had to try it, the addition of the spicy Sriracha sauce appealed to my taste buds. I was not disappointed. The orange sauce was amazing, so flavorful, with just a slight spicy aftertaste. It was so good I think I could pour it over pound cake and devour it!

My husband complains that I don't serve the same meal twice, or there are long spaces between rotations.  What can I say?  I get bored cooking the same things! If he likes a new recipe he will tell me it's a "keeper". He proclaimed this recipe a keeper but then complained that he probably wouldn't get served it again for three years.  I promised him I would make it again before then!

Orange Chicken with Sriracha

For the marinade:
1 cup regular chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest of one orange
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2-3 tablespoons Sriracha, depending on desired heat level
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolve with 2 tablespoons water

For the chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup cornstarch, in a pie pan
2 large eggs beaten, in a pie pan
1 cup oil for frying

Optional: sesame seeds and green onions for garnish

Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl, and whisk to incorporate well.  In a separate bowl, combine chicken with 1/2 cup of the marinade, making sure that all pieces are thoroughly covered with the marinade.  Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring remaining marinade to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Sauce will thicken as it gets to a boil.  Once sauce is thickened, turn heat off.  Keep sauce warm while you fry the chicken.

Drain chicken and discard used marinade.

Dip chicken pieces, a few at a time, into the pan of beaten eggs. Let excess eggs drip off, and dredge chicken pieces in the pan of cornstarch.  Press to coat well. Repeat until all pieces are coated.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high to high heat, until oil is very hot.  Add chicken pieces, taking care not to overcrowd, and fry until cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. Place fried chicken on paper towels, and work in batches until all chicken is fried.

Toss chicken with warm sauce and serve immediately.  Serve over rice and garnish as desired.

Recipe adapted from www.chewoutloud.com.

Chocolate Crispy Cookies

My daughter asked for this recipe the other day and I was reminded that it had been a while since I had made them.  Why, I don't know, as they are so easy and I usually have all the ingredients on hand! I've been making these cookies since 1985, when I was home on maternity leave with my daughter. The recipe was found in a Southern Living magazine. They have been a family favorite ever since. They are a nice change from traditional "Toll House" chocolate chip cookies.  These cookies have no brown sugar and the crunch is provided by rice cereal (Rice Krispies) instead of nuts. Kids love them!

Chocolate Crispy Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups crisp rice cereal
1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating well. Combine flour, soda and salt; add to creamed mixture, beating well.  Stir in the rice cereal and chocolate morsels.

Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls (or small ice cream scoop) onto lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 13 minutes.  Cool slightly on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks.

Yield: approximately 3 dozen cookies

My most-adorable baking assistant!

Lemon Pound Cake (and a few strawberries!)

The strawberry patches are open and the strawberries are just wonderful; so big and juicy! We adore strawberry desserts, especially this time of year when we can get just-picked strawberries. Strawberry shortcake is a dessert I make quite often.  We love it and it's so easy to do.  I do mix up the cake selection, however. We never have the store-bought shortcakes. Instead I'll make a country cake, pound cake or angel food cake. A must for us is freshly whipped cream for the topping. It takes just a few minutes and makes all the difference!

My Hubbers loves lemon loaf cakes.  As he is headed out of town for a bike ride, I thought I would bake him a cake to take in the RV.  The recipe makes two loaves, making strawberry shortcake with the extra loaf was a no-brainer! Plus, it gave me an opportunity to use my lemon loaf pan.  I've talked about my cake pan obsession before and this one is one of my favorites!  So cute, with the cutout citrus and leaves!

The recipe comes from Martha Stewart.  It has buttermilk in it which adds a pleasant tang to the slight lemon flavor of the cake.

Lemon Pound Cake

3/4 cup buttermilk
Zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Butter and flour (or use baking spray) two 4 1/2-by-8-inch (6-cup) loaf pans.

In a small bowl (or liquid measuring cup), combine buttermilk with lemon zest and juice.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two parts, beginning and ending with flour; beat just until smooth (do not overmix).

Divide batter evenly between pans; smooth tops.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes (tent with foil if browning too quickly).  Cool 15 minutes in pan.  Turn out cakes onto a rack; cool completely before glazing.

Lemon glaze

2 cups confectioners sugar
3-4 tablespoon lemon juice

Place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup; stir in lemon juice (glaze should be thick, yet pourable). Add more sugar or lemon juice, as necessary, to achieve desired consistency. Pour over cakes.

Honey-Orange Roast Chicken

I survived another tax season, hallelujah! Now it's time to catch up on work that got put on the back burner during our crazy time and catch up on household chores.  I have some sewing projects lined up, two cross-stitched pieces to get finished, gardening to do, and an outdoor patio furniture piece to be constructed/painted that involves an old door. So many projects, so little time!

I've longed to be in the kitchen and to have a home-cooked meal.  My first day off after April 15 involved hopping on a flight to Las Vegas and meeting up with my son for a divisional drag race.  Home-cooked meals were not a happening there; we ate turkey sandwiches from an ice chest and had to find a restaurant each night for dinner. Once home I had so many things to do that I knew spending a lot of time in the kitchen just wasn't going to fit into my timeline.  So I went to what always works in a pinch, a good old-fashioned roast chicken with vegetables. I adapted this recipe from two that I found online and it worked very well.  I love anything with orange in it and the addition of honey added a nice sweetness to it.  I especially liked the carrots with the orange/honey flavor. This recipe will definitely be made again!

Honey-Orange Roast Chicken

1 3/12 pound whole broiler-fryer chicken
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 shallot, sliced
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chicken broth, divided
8 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
1/2 pound green beans
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Rinse chicken cavity; pat chicken dry with paper towels. Skewer neck skin to back; tie legs to tail.  Place chicken in a shallow roasting pan.  Brush with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast, uncovered, for 1 hour.  Distribute carrots in pan; roast another 1/4 to 3/4 hour or until drumsticks move easily in sockets and chicken is no longer pink (180 degrees F).  Combine honey and orange zest; brush chicken with half the mixture.  Roast about 5 minutes more or until the chicken has a golden brown glaze.

Remove chicken from pan and tent with foil.  Transfer roasting pan to stove top. Add shallots, orange juice, 1/4 cup chicken broth, remaining honey, and green beans. Simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until juices thicken slightly and the vegetables are tender. Add lemon slices to pan and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes more or until heated through.

Remove vegetables from pan.  Combine cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth.  Stir into liquid mixture; stir until thickened.  Serve the thickened sauce with the chicken.

Strawberry Trifle

Tax season 2015 has been brutal, very long hours, 7 days a week, numbers everywhere.  We are down to the last few days and the end can't come soon enough for me.  I miss being home, I long to get back in the kitchen, craft room and my garden, in no particular order!

Sunday I "only" worked until mid-afternoon so had time to run by the local strawberry patch near my house. It's been open a few weeks now but I haven't had the time or energy to make the trip and to do something with the strawberries.  I brought home three baskets of just-picked strawberries, some of which may have ended up in my mouth on the way home. I wanted to make a treat for the office and decided on a trifle. Trifles are easy to make, transport well, and look pretty, too.  While our dinner was cooking I baked an angel food cake.  This morning I got up a little earlier than normal and assembled the trifle. The berries are so fresh and yummy this time of year, I had a few for breakfast!

Many trifles have jam-layered pieces of pound cake and are often sprinkled with a liqueur. This trifle is very simple...layers of cubed angel food cake, vanilla pudding, sliced strawberries and topped with a layer of fresh whipped cream. It's more like an amped-up version of strawberry shortcake.

Strawberry Trifle

Angel food cake (I baked mine in 2 loaf pans to make it easier to slice and cube)
1 package instant vanilla pudding
2-3 pints strawberries, sliced
1 cup whipping cream

Make pudding per package directions, set aside to thicken some.

Whip cream, adding sugar to taste.

Layer cubed angel food cake in trifle dish, top with one-half the pudding and one-third the sliced strawberries.  Repeat.  For the final layer, layer cubed angel food cake and remaining strawberries, top with whipped cream.

This trifle is best served immediately or within a few hours of assembling as the angel food cake will begin to get soggy after a while.