Lemon Raspberry Cake

My best friend and I have an agreement that we will make each other's birthday cakes every year.  There is usually a planning period where we map out exactly what kind of cake we will make (it's a collective process) and this year this was her request.  Dense lemon cake, fruity raspberry curd, and light lemon buttercream over it all.  Her birthday is today, so I made her cake yesterday and we had the first tastes last night.  Yummy.  It might be a little fancy for everyday, but for a birthday or other special occasion, it is awfully good.

Makes 9-inch layer cake

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
3 tablespoons lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup flour, plus 2 tablespoons for pans
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, plus 1 tablespoon for pans
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
Raspberry Curd
Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1. Grease layer cake pans with tablespoon butter.  I also like to cover the bottom of my layer pan with a round of parchment, cut to fit, and grease that as well.  Place the 2 tablespoons flour in one cake pan, shaking to coat pan, and then shake excess into other pan and coat it in flour.  Discard excess flour once both pans are coated.
2. In small bowl, mix together lemon juice and zest and sour cream.  Set aside.
3. In medium bowl, combine flours.  Using a small whisk, mix baking powder and salt into flours.  Set aside.
4. In bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Scrap sides of bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until mixture is fluffy and incorporated.
5.  Beat roughly 1/4 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture.  Add 1/3 of the sour cream mixture and beat well.
6. Repeat step 5 until all of the flour mixture and sour cream mixture is incorporated into butter mixture.  You should end with flour.  When adding these ingredients, be sure to beat as little as possible to prevent cake from being tough.
7. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.  Bake layers in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean.  Place cake pans on oven rack to cool completely.
8. Remove cakes from pans.  If parchment was used, peel parchment off layer bottoms.  Using thread pulled taut or a serrated knife, split each layer in half horizontally.  This should leave you with four layers of cake.
9. On plate or serving platter, arrange one layer of cake.  Spread 1/2 cup raspberry curd over cake layer, making even and spreading within 1/4 inch of cake edge.  Top with a second layer of cake.  Spread second layer with 1/2 cup curd like the first, then top with a third cake layer.  Spread remaining curd over third cake layer.  Top with fourth and final layer.
10.  Spread a very thin layer of frosting over entire cake.  This should seal in crumbs and make cake more stable (it can shift somewhat with four layers). Refrigerate cake for 20-30 minutes or until frosting is hard.
11. Frost cake with remaining frosting, evenly distributing buttercream over the cake.  Allow cake to sit for at least 2 hours before serving to allow frosting to firm up and cake to settle.  Cake can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to three days.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

I have made frosting with butter and egg whites, but I wasn't a huge fan.  I guess I am just more of a fan of the traditional buttercream frosting, even for flavors.  This frosting was developed to go on lemon cake, but could also be used on more powerful cakes like spice or a more basic cake like white.

Makes frosting for a 9-inch layer cake (about 3 cups)

7 tablespoons butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
3 tablespoons fine lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
2 teaspoons milk
4 1/2-5 cups powdered sugar

1. In bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy.  Add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat well.  Add lemon juice and zest.  Beat well, scraping sides of bowl, and add milk.  Mixture will appear curdled.  Add another 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Continue to add powdered sugar to mixture until it is desired spreading consistency.  Store at room temperature until ready to use.

Raspberry Curd

I had made lemon curd before, but not really any variations on it.  The idea for this raspberry curd came about as a cake filling, but it would also be good on cookies or other baked goods like scones.  It might seem like a lot of work but I think it's worth it.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

8 oz red raspberries
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
6 tablespoons butter
Red food coloring, optional

1. Crush berries with a potato masher.  Line a strainer with two layers of cheesecloth, layered crosswise like a +, and place strainer over a measuring cup or bowl.  Pour crushed berries into cheesecloth in strainer, bringing cheesecloth up over berries.  Apply pressure to the bundle of berries.  Increase pressure, squeezing cheesecloth bundle any way you can, until 1/3 cup of raspberry juice has been extracted from the berries.
2. In small heatproof bowl, beat eggs until integrated.  Set aside.
3. In small saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch.  Stir until cornstarch is integrated into sugar.  Mix in raspberry juice and butter.  Place saucepan on medium heat and stir constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles.
4. Using a whisk, stir eggs constantly in bowl.  Stirring constantly, pour half of the hot raspberry mixture into the eggs.  Whisk quickly until eggs are incorporated into mixture.  Pour egg mixture back into saucepan with remaining raspberry mixture and stir very quickly until incorporated.  Return saucepan to heat and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in food coloring, if using, to make the curd a pretty pink color. Pour curd into a container with a lid and place in refrigerator until cold.

Tomato Cucumber Salad

Our CSA this year has been giving us cucumbers (honestly, I don't remember if we got cucumbers last year) which presents to me a special kind of dilemma.  They don't really cook and they are just part of a mix of vegetables that I got this week.  I suppose when life gives you miscellaneous vegetables, make a salad.  This one tasted really good alone, but it could also be served over greens as more of a meal.

Serves 3-4

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon ground mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small cucumber, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 very small onion, finely chopped
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine oil, vinegar, and mustard in small bowl.  Place garlic, cucumber, tomato, and onion on top of mixture in bowl.  Toss well and season to taste.
2. Refrigerate salad for at least 4 hours before serving to mellow the flavors.

Fried Okra

Usually okra in the box means that I make gumbo in the crockpot at some point.  I'll probably still do that, but this okra was so fresh and so firm that it seemed a shame not to at least try and fry it.  For figuring out a recipe as I went, it turned out well.

Serves 3

3 cups sliced okra
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash ground mustard
Oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg.  In another bowl, whisk together flour and cornmeal.  Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and mustard to flour and cornmeal.
2. In large saucepan with a flat bottom, heat 1/4-1/2 inch oil over medium high heat.  Heat until flour sprinkled over oil sizzles.
3. Dredge half of the okra pieces in egg-buttermilk mixture, then in flour-cornmeal mixture.  One-at-a-time, drop coated okra pieces into hot oil.  Okra pieces should not touch.  Using a slotted or mesh spoon, turn okra as needed until it is golden.  The okra should take under 5 minutes to turn golden in the oil.  Once okra is cooked, remove it to a plate covered with paper towels.  Sprinkle with more salt and pepper as needed.
4. Repeat step three with remaining okra.  Serve hot.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I am not sure quite when garlic mashed potatoes happened upon my radar, but I remember striving to develop a good recipe for them when I was in high school.  A lot of trial and error went into this recipe, which I consider pretty near to perfect.

Serves 6-8

3 lbs small red potatoes, clean
1 whole bulb of garlic, intact
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon instant chicken boullion
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan.  Cut smaller potatoes in half and larger potatoes in quarters.  Do not peel potatoes.  Pour enough water into the pan to cover potatoes and salt the water.  Place pan on high heat and boil potatoes until done.
2. Meanwhile, roast the bulb of garlic.  This can be done in a slow oven with the bulb wrapped in foil, but I like to roast garlic in the microwave.  Cut the top off of the bulb to expose the inner cloves of the bulb.  Use the tip of a paring knife to pierce the outer cloves in the bulb.  Drizzle the olive oil over the bulb.  Place bulb on a heatproof plate and top with a heatproof bowl.  I like to put a wooden toothpick between bowl and plate to vent.  Microwave on medium power for 2 1/2-3 minutes or until cloves are soft.  Set aside until cool enough to handle.
3. Place chicken bouillon in heatproof one-cup measuring cup.  When potatoes test done, drain part of the water into the measuring cup until there is one cup of broth.  Drain the rest of the potato water into sink to discard.
4. Mash potatoes.  Place each clove of roasted garlic in with the potatoes and mash them in.  Mash in cheese until combined and stir in all of the made chicken broth.
5. Place garlic mashed potatoes into greased casserole dish.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are puffed and top is brown.  Serve hot.

Week 9 Box

The greens were back in our box this week, so the farm must be recovering from the storm of a couple of weeks ago.  It is still really wet, though, which I have heard from others in the area is taking a real toll on root vegetables and bulb plants.  Our onions have been tasty but very small, which is also how the potatoes have been.  I was awfully excited for the okra this week.

• Potatoes
• Garlic
• Onion
• Okra
• Eggplant
• Cucumber
• Swiss chard
• Kale
• Tomatoes (these were actually from a coworker)
• Rosemary