Recipe // Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Recipe by Broma Bakery

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

4 large eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 c granulated sugar
1 c vegetable oil (canola works, too)
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
3 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
zest of 2 lemons
2 tbsp poppyseeds
3/4 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour , baking powder, lemon zest, poppyseeds, and salt. Alternate pouring the flour mixture and buttermilk into the wet ingredients, mixing only until combined.
4. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the cake tester comes out mostly clean. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.
5. Frost the cake, adding about 1 cup of frosting in between each layer, using the remaining frosting for the outside of the cake.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1–2 tablespoons milk

1. Cream butter and cream cheese in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
2. Slowly add in powdered sugar and milk and mix for about 30 seconds on high speed.

 

Recipe // Olive Oil Cake with Honey Frosting and Figs

It felt like every stall at the Italian Market was selling figs, so I felt inspired to put it on a layer cake. This olive oil cake is one of my favorites, and olive oil cake + figs seemed like the perfect combination.

As a side note, I think I am 20-something year old who gets super excited about getting individual plates for the sole purpose of photography for Christmas, but I’m very ok with it.

makes 1 three-layer cake

Olive Oil Cake
(via bonappetit.com)

Ingredients

• 3 c extra-virgin olive oil; plus more for pan
• 2 1/2 c sugar
• 4 c cake flour
• 2/3 c fine-grind cornmeal
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 eggs

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Drizzle bottom and sides of 3 9-inch circle pans pan with oil and use your fingers to coat. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and smooth to eliminate air bubbles; coat parchment with more oil.
2. Whisk cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to combine and eliminate any lumps. Using an electric mixer on high speed (use whisk attachment if working with a stand mixer), beat eggs, vanilla, and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is very light, thick, pale, and falls off the whisk or beaters in a slowly dissolving ribbon, about 3 minutes if using a stand mixer and about 5 minutes if using a hand mixer.
3. With mixer still on high speed, gradually stream in oil and beat until incorporated and mixture is even thicker. Reduce mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients in 3 additions. Fold batter several times with a large rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of bowl.
4. Scrape batter into prepared pans and smooth the top. Place cake in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 350°. Bake until top is golden brown, center is firm to the touch, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–50 minutes.
5. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Poke holes all over top of cake with a toothpick or skewer and drizzle with 4 tbsp oil; let it absorb. Run a thin knife around edges of cake and remove ring from pan. Slide cake onto rack and let cool completely.
6. For the best flavor and texture, wrap cake in plastic and let sit at room temperature at least a day before serving.

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 16 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c honey
• 1-2 c powdered sugar

Steps

1. Using an electric or hand mixer, whip the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
2. Add salt, honey, and sugar until well combined.

 

Recipe // Lemon Blueberry Basil Cake

I like experimenting with different herbs and had been wanting to make something with blueberries and basil for a long time. I finally made this lemon-basil cake with blueberry-basil cream cheese frosting and it turned out just how I imagined! A delicate hint of basil throughout the sweet blueberry frosting and tart lemon cake.

Lemon-Basil Cake with Blueberry-Basil Cream Cheese Frosting

Lemon-Basil Cake
adapted from Ina Garten

3 c all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 c plain whole-milk yogurt
2 c sugar
6 eggs
4 tsp grated lemon zest (4 lemons)
1/4 c basil, very finely chopped
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c vegetable oil

Cake Wash

1/3 c sugar
2/3 c lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch springform pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 2 cups sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, basil, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
3. Meanwhile, cook the 2/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
4. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool before frosting.

Blueberry-Basil Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from White on Rice Couple

2 cups fresh blueberries
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
16oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of kosher or sea salt
1/4 c basil, finely chopped

1. Combine the blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Cook the sauce over medium heat until the sauce thickens and the cornstarch becomes translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature (to expedite the cooling you can use an ice bath to cool it quicker- or you can make the sauce a day ahead of time if your timing allows).
2. In large bowl, add cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Cream together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
3. Add half of the blueberry sauce and all the basil, then gently fold into the cream cheese frosting. Add the remaining half of the sauce and stir in until the frosting becomes a blue/purple color, or until you like the texture of the frosting. The more you mix the frosting, the less chunks of blueberry you will have in the frosting.