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Lamb Cake

3/29/2016

Tastē Tuesday~ Happy Belated Easter! My family is big on holiday traditions. Since we move around a bit, keeping some things the same, and special, year after year, helps us feel like we are still providing stability and normalcy to the boys. Many of our traditions revolve around food, and Easter dinner has always been a bit lacking. My hubby grew up with a lamb cake for Easter dessert, but this was completely foreign to me and, to be honest, a lot of the lamb cakes I saw online looked kind of scary...not exactly what I wanted on my table for a holiday dinner. This year, I was at a loss, so I asked my mother-in-law if she still had her pan. She did, and it arrived on my doorstep a few days before Easter! I also found out that the Easter Lamb Cake is not just my husband's family tradition, but an old European tradition ranging in countries from Germany, Poland, Austria, and France to Italy. Here in the U.S., the lamb cake was most popular in the 1940's and '50's. The tradition seems to have faded, but it is relatively easy to find and buy a lamb cake mold, so I expect our Easter lamb was not the only lamb cake to grace an Easter table on Sunday. That said, this year's cake was an experiment in cake, frosting, and technique. Next year I look forward to applying some lessons learned, and I will share some more tidbits then. What are some of your interesting Easter traditions?

I hope you all had a blessed Easter and were able to rejoice in our risen Savior not just a bunch of chocolate candy. Easter is not about a bunny...it's about The Lamb!
"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

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Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

3/23/2016

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Tastē Tuesday (a day late!)~ In my continuing quest to put all of my lemons to good use, I made some lemon poppy seed bread this week. This is considered one of the "quick breads" - a fabulous alternative when you are looking for something that can be made, baked, and even consumed in a short period of time (no rising/leavening necessary). I have eaten this for both breakfast and dessert. Leaving off the icing will provide a less sweet alternative if you prefer to have a breakfast treat. This particular recipe yields a more cake-like consistency. If you enjoy your poppy seed bread more pound-cake-like, this is not the recipe for you. Lucky for the pound cake lovers out there, poppy seed bread is one of my husband's favorites, and I made extra icing, so a lemon poppy seed pound cake is soon to follow. In case you were worried that we eat sweets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I have two main course recipes that utilize spring-time lemons and are great for the warm weather spring brings. I will post them in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, if you are looking for an easy addition to your Easter brunch or in need of an item to contribute to a bake sale, this recipe ensures crumbs will be the only thing left on the plate.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Yields: 2 big loaves (8.5"x4.5"x2.5")
1 package white cake mix
1 package instant coconut (or coconut cream) pudding
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup - 2T hot water
1 T lemon zest
2 T fresh lemon juice
4 T sliced almonds (optional)

Grease loaf pans. Mix all ingredients except for sliced almonds together and beat for 4 minutes. Pour equally into 2 loaf pans. Sprinkle each loaf with 2 tablespoons almonds. Cook at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until done. Tent foil if necessary to prevent top from too much browning. Cool on metal rack. Ice if desired once completely cooled.

Icing:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Add powdered sugar until desired consistency (~2 cups)

**The batter can also be used to make muffins.

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Pi Day

3/15/2016

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Tastē Tuesday~ In honor of Pi Day yesterday and because I still have 18 pounds of lemons in my refrigerator, I made my first lemon meringue pie on Monday. Being my first lemon meringue pie, this is not a recipe that I can say has been through strenuous comparisons or is a tried and true. However, it was tasty and taught me a couple of lessons for the next time I make it. My husband said it was good, and he is picky with his lemon meringue. As for Pi Day, it is actually to honor 3.14, so here are a few quick fun facts:

Pi Day started 28 years ago by a Physicist who wanted to celebrate the day with a few colleagues. It has spread...so that we all have an excuse to eat pie :).
It is not only Pi Day, but Albert Einstein's birthday.
In case you forgot early math classes, pi = 3.1415.....
Next year, remember Pi Day. A number of businesses are jumping on the bandwagon and starting to offer sales to celebrate (ex: Whole Foods sells pies for $3.14 off and many retailers have 31.4% sales throughout the day).

Lemon Meringue Pie
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Ingredients:
1 baked pie crust (use your favorite homemade or a store bought)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup cold water
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 large egg yolks
2/3 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon clear vanilla
7 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:
Combine the granulated sugar, 5 T. cornstarch, milk, water, and salt in a large, non-reactive saucepan. Whisk to combine, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Cook the mixture until it reaches a simmer and begins to thicken. Continue to cook until the mixtures turn clears, at least another 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the egg yolks, 2 at a time. Slowly add the lemon juice, whisking constantly. Add the zest and butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking constantly. Return mixture to a simmer. Whisk until the mixture is nice and thick. Remove from the heat and pour immediately into the prepared pie crust.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and vanilla with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beating constantly, gradually add the powdered sugar and beat just until glossy stiff peaks form, Do not over beat, or the meringue will be difficult to spread.

Spread the meringue evenly over the pie using a rubber spatula. Smooth it all of the way to the crust so the crust creates a seal with crust. Make decorative peaks in the meringue using the back of a spoon.

Preheated oven to 325 degree F oven. Cook pie 14 to 16 minutes or until browned on top. (To quickly cook the meringue, preheat the broiler (low not high) with the rack in the middle position. Place the pie under the broiler and cook until the meringue is set and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning and turning to create even browning.)

Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool completely before serving. Refrigerate once cooled or before serving if cold pie is desired.

Lessons Learned = Tips for You!
* I have made lemon curd a few times and never had in issue with it setting up, but I didn't cook it long enough, and it wasn't as firm as I would have liked it. Make sure your mixture is thick before pouring into the pie pan.
* You want to spread your meringue over hot filling to cook the meringue from the bottom up, creating a bond between the two so they don't separate and to prevent the meringue from weeping (small beads of moisture that form on top).
* Beading can also form if your oven is too hot...so if you don't want to spend another 15 minutes browning the meringue, the broiler method works great (that is what I used as I had already devoted too much time to Pi Day!), however, it might result in some weeping. The safest bet is to slowly brown at 325.
* Cool completely! All aspects of the bottom of the pie pan, even the very middle, needs to be room temperature before cutting.

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Lamb Cake

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