Wednesday, January 4, 2012

First post of 2012!

It's a tradition for me to open a present from my Aunt Sandy on Christmas Eve. This year, Aunt Sandy gave me the book by MIETTE owner Meg Ray.
I freaked out. I stayed up an extra hour on Christmas Eve to read it cover to cover. The book itself is GORGEOUS and the recipes? Amazing.
My mom asked me to make something for a big client meeting she has tomorrow. We chose the Lemon Tea Cake.




Lemon Tea Cake
Courtesy of Miette
Makes 4 small 5-inch loaves OR 2 standard 8-inch loaves

Lemon Simple Syrup
Ingredients:
Water- 1/2 c
Fresh lemon juice- 1/4 c (you'll need at least 3 for all the recipe components)
Sugar- 1/4 c
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a medium sized saucepan and heat on medium-high. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and bring to a boil. Boil for a few minutes, stirring constantly. It won't thicken, and that's okay. Let it cool completely, and then stain over a bowl. 

Lemon Tea Cake
Ingredients:
All-purpose flour- 2 1/2 c
Sugar- 1 1/2 c
Baking powder- 2 1/2 tsp
Kosher salt- 1/2 tsp
Heavy cream- 1 c
Large egg yolks- 7
Large whole eggs- 2
Vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp
Grated lemon zest- 2 1/2 tbsp (I had only had 2 1/2 lemons, but the cake was still delicious!)
Butter- 1 1/3 c, cubed
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, stir cream, egg yolks, whole eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Set aside.
3. Beat dry ingredients on medium speed for 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low, add the butter, and mix for 1 minute.
4. Add half of the egg mixture, beat until incorporated and mix for 1 minute. Repeat with the other half of the egg mixture.
5. Divide the batter between buttered and floured pans. Bake at 350 degrees until the tops of the loaves are golden brown, and a tester comes out clean; about 45 minutes for small pans, 50-55 for the larger pans. 
6. Transfer to wire racks, and immediately brush tops with the lemon simple syrup. Let cool for 20 minutes, then invert onto the racks and cool for another 20 minutes. 

Lemon Glaze
Ingredients:
Fresh lemon juice- 2 tbsp
Corn syrup- 1 tsp
Powdered sugar- 1 1/3 c
Directions:
Whisk together the lemon juice and corn syrup. Gradually add the powdered sugar and whisk until the glaze is thick and silky. Drizzle/spread over the cooled cakes, and let the glaze dry about 30 minutes.


2 comments:

  1. That cake on the cover is just so pretty. I wish I could achieve that look of simplicity that I'm sure is really hard to do.

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  2. I used your version to figure out some problems I had with the recipe (how much butter - 14 oz or 1 1/3 cups) and what to do with the lemon simple syrup (baste finished cakes in simple syrup) from the version I had. I don't know what version of the book you have (from what I understand v.1 which is riddled with errata, or v.2 which is what I have and is still troublesome), but you did a great job in "fixing" the confusing areas.

    Thanks!

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