Oh So Sexy Lemons...

Here is the recipe for my ho-made (hee hee...that's for you RCH) lemon curd that came out so amazingly tasty that I kept sneaking tastes of it and finally had to hide it from myself in the back of the fridge.

You can use it for a lemon meringue pie, spoon it over ice cream or cake, fill cupcakes with it, pour it into tiny tart shells, pair it with berries and cream. So many possibilities. And if you don't like lemon you can switch it up with lime, orange or even grapefruit.

The recipe is a bit intense, and you're going to need a bit of prep to make it, but it's SO worth it.

Master Lemon Curd
adapted from Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard

2/3 c. sugar
2 T. finely chopped, grated or rasped lemon zest
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
(you can also use all lemon juice...3/4 cup. Using part lime adds an extra citrus dimension.)
6 T. unsalted butter, cut into half inch cubes and chilled

-Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse for about 1 minute, until the sugar is yellow and fragrant. Alternately, use a mortar and pestle or a small bowl and a fork. Clean and dry your food processor (if using) for later in the recipe.
-Fill a medium saucepan three-quarters full of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
-Combine the lemon sugar, eggs and egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl and whisk for 30 seconds.
-Place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk continuously for 15 seconds or until the sugar is completely dissolved- to check for this, stick your finger in, if you feel granules, the sugar isn't dissolved~keep whisking until it is.
-Once the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon and lime juice. Whisk continuously for about 5 minutes, scrape down sides of bowl a couple of times with a rubber spatula.
-Insert a candy thermometer and keep whisking ~ the curd is done when it has a temperature of 160*F, and a consistency similar to sour cream. Go by temperature, not time. (Mine took about 10 minutes to reach it...time will vary wildly.)
-Transfer the curd into your food processor and pulse while you add the butter one piece at a time. Alternately, transfer the curd to a clean large bowl, and whisk the butter in by hand one piece at a time. (Yeah! More whisking!!) Once all the butter has been added, pulse or whisk for an additional 10 seconds. You're looking for a homogeneous texture.
-Strain the curd through a fine mesh strainer into a clean glass bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Stir the curd occasionally until it has cooled completely.
-At this point you can use it or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple weeks. You can also freeze it for several months without quality changes when thawed. Put it in the fridge and let it come up to temp for 24 hours before using.

Makes about 2 cups

* I made a few changes to recipe from it's original form, and I'm posting the differences here so you know what and why.

The original recipe calls for an ice bath, which is really just a bowl of ice cubes that you can sit the heatproof bowl in to help cool down the curd when you're finished whisking. I noticed (as did several other people who have made it) that this step wasn't really necessary. Especially if you are whisking it by hand. The chilled butter and the whisking seemed to bring the temperature down considerably, so by the time I put it in the ice bath it was just barely warm. However, you can keep this step if you need to cool it down in a hurry or if you are a big fan of ice baths. :)

Also, this curd is just on the edge of quite tart, so if you would like the curd a little sweeter I would suggest upping the sugar to 3/4 cup.

You can also whisk in an extra 2 tablespoons of cubed and chilled butter if you'd like richer curd. I upped it from the original 4 tablespoons to 6, but felt like 6 was plenty...plus all that whisking! For cubing, take your butter out of the package, put it on a piece of waxed paper, cut into cubes, wrap it up in the waxed paper and put it back in the fridge until you're ready to use it in the recipe.

If Life Gives You Lemons...Bake.

Last week I was out in Bountiful and ended up at Cutlers drive through for a quick sandwich on my way home. The second to the last cookie on the menu was a lemon meltaway and I just couldn't resist. It was a lovely, melty shortbread cookie covered in lemon icing. It was a good cookie, but it was seriously lacking in the lemon pucker department.

Lemons were on sale at Sunflower Market and I was still jonesing for a good lemon meltaway, so I found this recipe and made some for my husband to take to his work potluck. They are tasty and tart little things, with a fabulous tangy, buttery, lemon infused frosting. Definitely lemon enough!

The original recipe is from Land O' Lakes butter, but after making them, I thought the recipe needed some tweaking... I felt the shortbread needed to be a little bit sweeter and with their instructions I ended up with big chunks of cornstarch in the dough that left crunchy spots in my cookies and made them stick to the cookie sheets. The purpose of the cornstarch in this recipe is to add an extra crumbly/melty ratio to the cookie, so it should be mixed in thoroughly. So I've added a little extra sugar and cut back the cornstarch just a little, and added an extra sifting/whisking step to help get the cornstarch lumps out before you start mixing.

Also, the recipe didn't make enough of the fabulous frosting for all the darling little cookies. The frosting is what sets these apart from your normal little powdered sugar meltaways, so I suggest making an extra half batch to frost all your cookies. And don't be afraid to try swapping out the lemon for lime or orange!

Lemon Meltaways

1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

~Sift together the flour, cornstarch and powdered sugar (I just run mine through a fine sieve), whisk together completely with a wire whisk.
~Put the butter, lemon juice and lemon peel in a mixing bowl.
~Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until well mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. The mixture should come together into a dough.
~Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 8x1 inch log. Roll the log into a piece of waxed paper to wrap. Put the logs in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour, or until firm.
~Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
~Cut each log into 1/4 inch slices using a sharp knife. Put the cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet at least 1 inch apart.
~Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until cookies are set. (They will not brown.)
~Cool cookies completely, then frost with Lemon Butter Frosting.

Lemon Butter Frosting

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon lemon juice

~Mix all ingredients together on medium speed until fluffy. (I added a little more powdered sugar to make my icing thicker.)
~You may want to make an extra half batch, since this wasn't quite enough for all the cookies.

Makes about 4 Dozen

Mix Master

I guess I'm spoiled. Cake mix, on it's own, is so many shades of wrong after you've eaten from-scratch cakes. But cake mix is easy. And there are a few ways to make cake mix completely righteous if you're willing to play around with it.

The following is a cake mix recipe froofed up to taste like something from a very good bakery. It has a tighter crumb than regular cake, so that makes it ideal for decorating. It doesn't fall in the middle. It doesn't rise up crazy and ooze all over your cupcake pans making them hard to get out. And it's not dry or bland. It tastes amazing. Plus you can doctor it up several ways!

The following is the recipe for my favorite version~Lemon~which I made into cupcakes for St. Patricks day, complete with a swirl of vanilla buttercream icing and a See's chocolate shamrock on top.

It's a bright tasting lemon, slightly-tart-but-with-a-good-balance of sweet. And the texture is like a cross between angel food and pound cake. Trust me, you will not be dissapointed. Included at the bottom is another variation to make an equally delicious White Almond Cake.


White Lemon Sour Cream Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large lemons
Water (measurements will vary)
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs

1-Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2-Grease and flour cake pans or line 2 - 12 cup cupcake tins with cupcake papers.
3-In a large mixing bowl combine the cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Mix together with a whisk.
4-Zest both lemons with the smallest holes on your grater. Put the zest into the dry ingredients.
5-Juice both lemons, pour the juice into a liquid measuring cup. Now add enough water to the lemon juice to make 1 and 1/3 cups of liquid. Add to the dry ingredients.
6-Add the remaining ingredients to the mixture.
7-Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
8-Pour evenly into prepared pans, about 2/3 full, or use an ice cream scoop to fill cupcake papers 3/4 full*. Bake until cake tests done. (Around 30-35 minutes for cupcakes, depending on your oven...use that as a starting point. Cakes will take a little longer.)
9-Cool completely and decorate as desired. (Because the lemon cake is a bit on the tart side, I'd suggest a vanilla buttercream frosting to balance the flavors.)

*If making cupcakes, you will have more than enough batter for 24 cupcakes. You can either pour this leftover batter into a small pan to make a little cake, or make a few more cupcakes after the first few batches are done. I usually get about 28 cupcakes.

White Almond Sour Cream Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/3 cups water
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup sour cream
4 egg whites

-Follow directions as above, omitting "lemon steps" 4 and 5.
-Fill cake pans to about 2/3 full.
-This cake is wonderful with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut.

Editor's Interesting Trivia Side Note: I made the White Almond version into a birthday cake for one of my friends two years ago, and it was this very cake that I was trying to photograph when our haunted camera died! So, while I can show you the ghost that made our camera wonky, there are no pictures of the cake.

Also, no pictures of the cupcakes, since they were whisked out the door about 30 seconds after I got done frosting them. Maybe it's for the best...we can't afford any new cameras!

Time for Pie?

I admit, I'm not a huge fan of pie because I hate pie crust. I find it bland and greasy. There, I said it! But I will eat pie because of the filling! Oh, the custard and fruit goodness of it all makes me happy. So if you give me pie, please don't be sad if I leave an empty crust on my plate.

This may be the reason that, in addition to the perfect shortbread recipe, pie crust dough perfection still eludes me. I made one of those no fail recipes yesterday for a pie and it FAILED miserably. :( FAIL! I was so sad that I wasted the time and just didn't fork out the dough (hah! dough...) for some frozen Marie Callendar's crusts. Mostly because the filling, which was a fantastic lemon curd topped with a layer of fluffy lemon cake, was nothing short of angelic. Far too good for it's inferior crust.

So if you're a pastry diva, feel free to make your own crust. If not, do as I do and buy a couple of frozen Marie Callendars. At least until I find the perfect recipe...

Lemon Cake Pie
From the Sunset Cookbook

1 9-inch deep dish pie crust, unbaked
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
3 eggs, seperated
1 and 1/4 cups milk

1. Put the rack on the lowest position in your oven.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. In a medium bowl stir together the sugar and melted butter.
4. Stir in the flour, salt, lemon peel and lemon juice.
5. In a small bowl beat the egg yolks with the milk until well blended. Stir into the lemon mixture.
6. Beat the egg whites until they hold distinct but moist peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture.
7. Set the pie crust on a cookie sheet and pour in the filling.
8. You will have more filling than you need for the pie, so you can pour the extra into greased ramekins and bake them along with the pie.
9. Bake on the lowest rack of the oven until the top is browned and the center jiggles only slightly when the pan is shaken, about 45-55 minutes. If the top begins to brown too much, drape the pie with a piece of tin foil.
10. Let cool before serving. But it's good warm too!

Coffee Cake on the Run

I have a freezer full of frozen fruit (say that 5 times fast!) that I usually use to make smoothies. Sometimes though, a girl just gets smoothied out. So I had a whole bunch of frozen blueberries that needed to be used up.

I decided to make a last minute treat to take to work yesterday and this is what I came up with. I thought they were faboo...and so did the people who were fighting over the last two in the pan.

These are just the right size for a breakfast on the run. And much more economical than your local java joint. Take that Starbucks!

Blueberry Coffee Cake Crunch Muffins

for the crunch topping

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

for the muffins

3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)
8 ounces sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 and 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 and 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Lightly grease the top of your muffin tin (so when they rise they won't stick!) and line with 18 paper liners.
-Put the crumb topping ingredients in a bowl. Stir until well mixed and crumbly. Set aside.
-In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
-Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well between each and scraping down the bowl.
-The stir in the vanilla, lemon zest, sour cream and milk.
-In a seperate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined.
-If you are using fresh blueberries, pick through for stems and rinse thoroughly. If you are using frozen blueberries, put them in a bowl or strainer, rinse with water and drain.
-Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed.
-Use a standard size ice cream scoop to scoop the batter, fill each muffin paper to just over the top.
-Sprinkle each muffin generously with crumb topping.
-Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes about 18 muffins

Tangy Lemon Cake(s)

I was put off blogging over the weekend by a major mishap with a bundt cake some time between thursday night and friday morning. Let's just say I was really upset and ended up chucking about 4 pounds worth of simultaneously raw and burnt bundt into the garbage. The moral of the story? Never, ever buy a silicone bundt pan. I have taken the trial hit for you, my friends. They don't work.

Now that that is all said and done, the recipe I made earlier in the day came out just wonderfully. A lovely, lusty lemon cake that is drizzled with lemon syrup and glazed with lemon icing. I was a bit worried that--for the casual cake eater--the syrup had made the top part of the cake a bit too tangy, but it turns out that the juxtaposition of light and sweet cake and the suddenly tangy top just work together. My husband said it was gone and gone quick. I was delighted to hear this after the sad death of my bundt!

Since the weather is cold, and citrus fruits are relatively cheap this time of year, you should have fun making this one. It's so nice and summery and perfect with a tall glass of cold milk or a hot cup of tea. Plus it makes two loaves! Nice.

Lemon Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 and 1/2 cups sugar, divided
4 extra large eggs brought to room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest* (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Glaze

2 cups confectioners sugar
3 and 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

-Grease, flour and line the bottom of two 8 and 1/2 inch loaf pans with parchment or waxed paper.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
-Zest* the lemons and then juice them. Set them aside for later in the recipe.
-Cream the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
-Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well, scraping down the bowl between each. Then add the lemon zest and mix until combined.
-In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-In another combine 1/4 cup of the lemon juice, the buttermilk and the vanilla.
-Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the butter mixture beginning and ending with the flour.
-Divide the batter evenly between the pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
-While the cakes are baking combine the remaning 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.
-When the cakes are done let them cool for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pans (you may need to run a knife around the edges to loosen them).
-Peel the parchment or waxed paper carefully from the bottoms. Set them on a cooling rack and set the cooling rack in a pan or tray with sides.
-Spoon all the lemon syrup evenly over the cakes. Let them cool completely.
-For the glaze combine the confectioners sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and mix with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides. -Let the glaze dry before serving or wrapping.

Makes 2 loaves.

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*Zest: zest is the outside colored part of the skin on citrus fruits like limes, lemons and oranges. This is where all the essential oils are contained and those oils make a lot of the difference in taste for baked goods.
If you have never zested before, it's easy! Using either the smallest holes on your grater or a zester (which you can buy pretty much anywhere...they are fabulous) grate the colored part of the skin off, stopping just short of where the fruit's skin will turn white. You don't want the white part. This is the pith and it's very bitter. Make sure you take off all the colored part you can get before moving on to the next fruit. A nice added bonus is that your hands will smell wonderful!