Almond Cake
On November 20, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerI owe David Lebovitz a debt of gratitude. While searching for an almond cake recipe, not calling for almond flour, I came across his recipe. He readily admits this comes from Chez Panisse. My pantry held marzipan rather than almond paste, so I changed the recipe ever so slightly. This cake looks light and airy and it is. But it is also incredibly moist and almondy. Have a slice on its own or pair it with brandied cherries, peach ice cream or toffee. This cake would be a gorgeous addition to your Thanksgiving dessert display.
Almond Cake
v.slightly adapted from david lebovitz
1 cup + 2 Tbs granulated sugar
7 oz marzipan paste (i used odense)
1 cup all purpose flour–divided
1 cup unsalted butter–room temperature
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp pure almond extract
6 large eggs
Preheat oven to 325^F. Butter and flour a 9″ springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper. Using a food processor with the metal blade, process the marzipan, sugar and 1/4 cup flour until it resembles fine sand. In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining flour, salt and baking powder. To the almond mixture, add the butter, vanilla extract and almond extract and pulse until a smooth batter forms. Add the eggs one by one, and scraping the bowl as necessary in between additions. Add half of the flour mixture and pulse until just combined. Add the remaining flour and pulse a few times. If need be, hand stir the flour until it is fully incorporated. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about an hour. Begin checking after 50 minutes. You can use the toothpick test to check for doneness, or whichever method you prefer. Once removed from oven and while the cake is still hot, run a sharp knife around the perimeter to loosen the cake. Do not open the springform pan until the cake is completely cooled. Allow the cake to cool in the pan. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar
Crepe Brulee
On October 2, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerPasadena is not all about rose queens and debutantes, or penny loafers and posh hotels. Along the edges, nearing the fringe Bijouxs and the Baker (that’s me); inspired by art & culture, the storied past of Pasadena, more underground than paseo more after hours than high tea, more pop art than prep school, created an unexpected gem. A confection well loved in the tea salons of Paris, transforms to lust worthy in the Altier of Bijouxs.
Bijouxs and The Baker met at camp and instantly bonded over immaculately curated bunk rooms think pendleton blankets, leather steamer trunks and vintage oil lamps and an aversion to mingling. It was no surprise to learn they both hail from Pasadena. It was an instant friendship bonding while breaking bread. Not clear who said it first, but both agree; Pasadena can be sexy and hip and well ahead of the curve. It just doesn’t want everyone to know. Now the secret is out.
Lynn and i have collaborated on an amazing dessert: preppy handbook meets laduree.
Lynn gray of Bijouxs is an artist in the kitchen. She brings a designer’s palate to food. When the light casts like chiffon in my kitchen, I close my eyes and wander my mind to the Bijouxs studio to watch my simple dessert of crepes and custard become art.
Crepe Brulee
Makes 1-9-inch cake
Green Tea Crepes
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon matcha (green tea powder)
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
7 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 eggs
2 cups flour
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend very well. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Heat a 9-inch non-stick crepe pan over medium heat. Hold the crepe pan in one hand, while using a measuring cup or ladle to spoon a bit of batter with your other hand into the middle of the pan. Gently swirl the pan, moving the batter to make a thin pancake the same size as the base of your pan. Place back on heat and allow it to cook, but not brown. The top of the crepe will become dry. Turn and quickly cook the second side. Turn out onto a platter and proceed with the remaining batter. This recipe makes about a dozen crepes.
Raspberry custard
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 ounces butter
Pinch kosher salt
1 tablespoon Chambord liquer (optional)
Whirl the raspberries, buttermilk and sugar in a blender until the raspberries are fully pureed. Pour through a strainer into a heavy saucepan. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks with cornstarch and salt. Heat the buttermilk mixture over low heat until it simmers. Remove from heat and slowly pour over the egg mixture while whisking the eggs. Return the mixture back to the saucepan, turn heat to medium and continually stir until thickened. Allow the custard to become a bit thicker than you would for a soft pudding. Place the butter and Chambord (if using) in a clean bowl. Run the custard through a sieve (to remove any lumps) into the bowl. Stir to melt and incorporate butter and Chambord. Continue to stir until the temperature drops a bit. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard and place in the refrigerator to cool and firm (can be made a day in advance)
For filling
Whip 2 cups cream with 1 tablespoons powdered sugar until peaks form. Mix in 50/50 with the cooled raspberry custard.
To Assemble
12-15 green tea crepes
1 batch raspberry filling
Granulated or demerara sugar
Brulee torch
Place one crepe on your serving platter. Spread a 1/4 inch layer of filling over the crepe using care not to go fully to the edge. Place a crepe on top. Continue layering until you have used all crepes and filling. The cake should be 10-15 crepes high. Cover and place in the refrigerator and allow to firm up. This can be done a day in advance.
Before you are ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator. Sprinkle a nice layer of sugar over the top and torch until crisp. Sprinkle a second layer of sugar and torch again. This will give you a nice thick crunch on top. Slice and serve while still chilled.
Sugar Poached Dates
On August 25, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerThe late summer heat has me dreaming of all things Moorish; exotic spices, grassy mint tea, souks with dark corners shrouded in silk -thread canopies, and gorgeous sweets like these. fresh dates have a pleasant albeit astringent taste. The longer they sit on your counter, the softer and sweeter they become. But, they are meant to be eaten as is. Dried dates are sweet and chewy and are great fodder for nuts, cheese and other salty bits. These fresh dates are really best left plain or poached to soft submission. The process is lengthy, but I promise the reward is a pot full of golden amber fruit, stuffed with nuts, in a pool of rich treacle heady with spice.
Sugar Poached Dates
this recipe takes 2 days to complete
Step One
100 fresh dates–peeled
water to cover
3 Tbs orange blossom water
parchment paper
100 non-pareil almonds
Place the dates in a pot large enough to hold the dates and water enough water to cover. You will want the water to come about 1 1/2 inches higher than the top of the dates. Add the orange blossom water. Cut the parchment paper to a round that will fit just inside of the pot, and then cut a small 1/2″ circle out of the middle of it. Place it on top of the water and simmer the dates, about an hour, until they are soft but not gushy. the parchment paper will keep the dates submerged in the water. drain and let cool–discard parchment. Using a small knife cut a slit in the date and remove the pit. do not cut completely in half, just enough to remove the pit. Replace the pit with an almond, and close the date around it.
Step Two
3″ lemon peel-pith removed
3″ orange peel-pith removed
1 cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom pods–lightly crushed
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean
3 Tbs honey
1 Tbs orange blossom water
3 cups water
3 cups sugar
Place all ingredients in a heavy pot. Cook to dissolve the sugar. Add back dates and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 12 hours or overnight-covered–once cooled, place in the refrigerator.
Step Three
Remove the dates from the syrup once again, reserving and measuring syrup. Add enough water to make 5 cups. However much water you added, add an equal amount of sugar. (example, if you needed to add 1 cup of water to equal 5 cups total syrup, then also add 1 cup of sugar). Stir
add back the dates and simmer, very gently, until the syrup is very thick and dates are a nice amber color. This may take 1 to 2 hours. Do not just let it boil away–keep a good eye on it. The syrup should not get any more dense than corn syrup.
Serve as is or sprinkle grated pistachio nuts and dress with gold leaf. Place a few over a bowl of plain yogurt or serve with a simple lemon tea cake. I can’t help but think these would make a delicious amuse bouche before a colorful Moroccan meal of cumin and carrot soup, lamb tagine and lemon couscous
salaam
Black and White Cookies
On August 11, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerMy parents grew up in New York. Although we moved to California when i was a toddler, “new yorkness” remains in my dna. I won’t apologize for it. See? i warned you. My favorite goodies from the old neighborhood were tucked in a pink box and secured with twine. Wrapping not only sweets but stories of my mother as a young girl; a nickle in her pocket, walking to and from school in snow up hill–both ways, stopping at the local bakery to warm her toes and carefully choose an afternoon treat. Times have changed and so have bakeries. Fancy cupcakes, mini pies and low-carb muffins have edged out old fashion favorites like; slabs of coffee cake, sweet buns crullers and black & whites as big as your noggin. Thankfully, Nancy Baggett has a knock-out recipe for black and whites in her “The All American Cookie Book”. There is nothing I like more than presenting this New York favorite to my favorite New Yorker, my mom.
New York Black and Whites
recipe from Nancy Baggett
3 cups all-purpose white flour
Scant 3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup (1 stick plus 2 2/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup white vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
Scant 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup sour cream
Quick Vanilla and Chocolate Fondants:
1/4 cup light corn syrup
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted after measuring, plus more if needed
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease several baking sheets or coat with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the sugar, butter, and shortening until well blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, corn syrup, and lemon extract and beat until evenly incorporated. Beat in half of the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. On low speed, beat in the sour cream. Beat or stir in the remaining flour mixture, just until well blended and smooth. Let the dough stand to firm up for about 5 minutes.
Using a scan 1/4-cup measure of dough, shape into balls with lightly greased hands. Place on the baking sheets, spacing about 3 1/2 inches apart. Using your hand, press and pat the balls to about 3 1/4 inches in diameter.
i make mine mini..using a small ice cream scoop as my measurement
Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven for 10 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges and the tops just spring back when lightly pressed in he centers. Reverse the sheet from front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Use a spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks. Let stand until completely cooled.
For the Fondants:
In a medium, heavy saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water and the corn syrup just to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until completely smooth. Place the chocolate in a small, deep bowl. Pour 2/3 cup of the hot vanilla fondant over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is partially melted. Pour another 1/2 cup of the vanilla fondant over the chocolate. Stirring constantly, thin the chocolate fondant to a fluid but not runny consistency by adding 3 to 4 teaspoons of hot water, a little at a time. Stir until the chocolate melts completely and the water is thoroughly incorporated.
Set the wire racks with the cookies over wax paper to catch drips. Using a small, wide-bladed spatula, spreader, or table knife, immediately ice half of each cookies with the chocolate fondant. (if the fondant stiffens as you work, thin it by thoroughly stirring in a few drops of hot water. If the fondant cools completely, rewarm it over low heat, stirring).
In necessary, adjust the consistency of the vanilla fondant by stirring in additional powdered sugar or hot water until fluid by not runny. Ice the second half of each cookies with the vanilla fondant. Let the cookies stand until the icing set, at least 2 hours and preferably 4 hours.
**
This recipe comes directly from Nancy Baggett’s All American Cookie Book; a book that has been in my library for about 10 years. I have not bee asked to endorse the book or any individual recipes by the author or publisher. This is simply a darn good recipe, one of many in this book
Lemon Cooler Cookies
On August 3, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerHonestly, I’m not sure if i have actually tasted the original lemon cooler cookie. I do know that I wanted to try them. But alas, they were in a box, on a shelf, in the grocery store. Lest you forgot, we have established that my mom didn’t do “store bought”. Odds are I only remember these cookies by how my friends, with better brown bag lunches than mine, described them. Which is why I believe my version is a perfect impostor. It packs a lemony punch with a sweet sugar chaser.
Lemon Coolers
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter–room temp
2 cups powdered sugar-divided
2 heaping tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Stir together flour, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and 1 cup powdered sugar until evenly mixed. Beat in lemon zest and lemon juice. slowly stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Gather the dough and form into a flat ball. Divide dough into 4 pieces, rolling each into a log. The diameter of the log is to your own specifications, depending on your desired cookie size. My preference is about 2″ round. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. You may also freeze the log(s) at this time. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with parchment. Remove the log from plastic wrap and slice in 1/4″ rounds. Tt is helpful to twist the log clockwise each time you cut, so as to avoid a flattened bottom. Place cookies 1″ apart on the cookie sheet and bake approximately 10-12 minutes. Cookies are done when they are just turning golden on the bottom. While cookies are baking, place the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. As you remove the cookies from the oven, they will be too delicate to handle. Once they are cooled a bit (not fully cool, still slightly warm), carefully turn them in the powdered sugar, and place back onto same cookie sheet. The sugar will melt slightly and be a bit like frosting. Once the cookies are fully cooled, toss them in the powdered sugar a second time.
Triple Berry Dessert Sauce
On July 23, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerWe grow strawberries in our garden. Each June we joyfully harvest them. We also grow raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries. They are only evident by the bare vines choking our fences. Those sweet berries are harvested by the local fauna; which possess ripeness gauges to rival a seasoned gardener. I buy most of our berries at the local farmer’s market. This week I found gorgeous raspberries, perfectly ripe and brightly colored, at four bucks a punnet. Here I was, mulling my decision to buy when a woman beside me said “they would make the most delicious coulis”. “do you know what a coulis is?” she asked with a tip of her head. I sweetly smiled (which is a bit of a feat), and and said “yes i do” and “yes they would”. But what I was thinking was lady, you are either crazy or rich; four dollars a handful is not a bargain. Furthermore, if I planned to whirl these in a blender with some sugar, I might as well buy frozen ones for half the price. This was going through my mind, as I handed over my eight dollars and chose the ripest berries, in the most full containers.
I brought them home and they sat. Then I moved them to the fridge where they satsome more.
Today, I am reminded of that woman at the market with her clarvoyant premonition, as I simmer these over-ripe berries into a sauce. Not a coulis. But a sauce just the same.
Triple Berry Dessert Sauce
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 lb strawberries–hulled and cut in half
juice of 1 lime
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 oz cassis
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low until the berries are soft and the sugar is melted. The strawberries may take a bit longer to soften than the raspberries or blackberries. If you find this happening, just turn the burner off and allow the berries to sit in the warm juice for 10 minutes or so, the strawberries will continue to soften from the residual heat. Allow to cool to warm. spoon over ice cream or a slab of shortcake. Refrigerate whats left. Will keep about 5 days.
Strawberry Cream Soda
On June 28, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerWhen I think of summer picnics, my mind wanders to a scene from Oklahoma. The one where they were raising money for the schoolhouse; the gals made picnic hampers and the pals bid on them. While we never actually saw the food; we were told that under the kitchen cloth, the baskets overflowed with ham and biscuits and pie. Food so good, it made people break out in song. I wish my picnics were as magical. I’m betting that if i whipped this cream soda out of my hamper, Mike would whisk me away in a surrey with fringe on top. White horses and all.
Strawberry Cream Soda
makes 1 serving
1 Tbs mashed strawberries or strawberry puree
sugar *
1 Tbs cream
1/2 cup ice cold ginger ale
ice cubes
*summer strawberries are so sweet the don’t need extra sugar, but if you like a really sweet soda, use at your discretion.
Place the strawberries and cream in a glass and give it a good stir. Add several ice cubes and then pour ginger ale to fill the glass. Serve immediately
Sugared Rose Petals
On June 22, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerIt has been mentioned before that our mountain cabin was once owned by the character actress Dodo Denny. By all accounts she was a lover of roses. Her rose garden is the talk of the neighborhood. The same people, whom collectively, may have been
a bit disappointed in our attention to it. I personally believe Dodo is a bit put off too. Let me explain. We purchased the home after Dodo passed. 4 years after. The grounds had been neglected, and the prized roses left to die. I am not fond of taunting the dead, so I pruned the bushes back to almost nothing. I retrained the trellis roses, pulled those that were not going to make it, and then I let them be while we worked on the rest of the garden. Finally, two summers later, Dodo’s rose garden is making a comeback. We are enjoying the scent and beauty of the flowers, but I couldn’t resist cutting a few to make sugared rose petals. Please don’t snitch Dodo is just starting to like us.
Sugared Rose Petals
freshly picked, pesticide free roses*
granulated sugar (about 1 cup per rose)
vodka
Wash the roses while whole gently, and allow to dry. I swish them in a bowl of cool clean water. Once the roses have air dried, carefully remove the petals. Discard any that are discolored or are browning (or set aside to dry and use as potpourri). Spread the petals out on paper towels while you work on the other flowers. Place about a 1/4 cup of vodka in a bowl. Pour sugar in a shallow dish about 1/2 inch thick. You will need more sugar, as it will get damp and become difficult to work with. do not pour in all your sugar at once. Prepare a sheet pan with wax or parchment paper on it to be used for your sugared petals. Dip each petal in the vodka, then lay it on the sugar. You can do 4 or 5 at a time, but work quickly, as the vodka evaporates. Once you have 4 or 5 petals resting on the sugar, spoon more sugar on top. Gently press the petals and turn once to coat evenly. Remove from the sugar and place on parchment lined sheet pan. Resist the urge to move/touch them. allow to dry about 12 hours, but can take up to 48. store in an airtight container, lined with paper towel in a single layer until ready to use.
note: i used vodka rather than egg white, for ease. you can use powdered egg whites with a bit of water and have a great result. if you choose to do it this way, use a paint brush to get the whites on the flower.
*it is very important that you know firsthand that your roses are free of pesticides
Strawberry Cake
On June 10, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerIt wasn’t that long ago, so I am sure you remember my caramel cake story. Well, you may also remember that part of my bounty was a strawberry cake. It was amazing. The only other strawberry cake I had ever eaten was while in culinary school. One of the gals brought it in for a birthday celebration. It was good and very popular. I about died when she started listing the ingredients; box cake, jello, cool whip. I do give her credit. It takes major “cakehones” to bring a less than semi-homemade cake to culinary school. I was training to be a pastry snob, so I never made it. Then i went to Mississippi; where they know their cake. I found myself on a whole new quest. I had to develop a great recipe for completely homemade strawberry cake. I think i got it. And now, I give it to you. Enjoy!
Strawberry Cake
*inspired by rose levy birnbaum’s white velvet butter cake*
cake
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 Tbs powdered sugar
mix together and set aside while you prepare the other ingredients
4 oz egg whites (about 4 1/2 egg whites)–at room temperature
1 cup milk–at room temperature
2 1/4 tsp vanilla
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbs + 1 tsp baking powder
12 Tbs butter–at room temperature
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup good strawberry jam
Combine egg whites and 1/4 cup milk with vanilla in a bowl. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder. Add to it the butter and mix until crumbly. Turn the mixer to low and add the remaining 3/4 cup milk stirring until completely moist. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 1 minute. Add egg white mixture 1/3 at a time, scraping down the sides between additions. Stir in strawberry jam and sugared strawberries by hand. Divide mixture between 2-8″ pans that have been greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes (use the skewer test to ensure the cake is baked properly). Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
strawberry-pecan icing
1 lb cream cheese–at room temperature
3/4 lb unsalted butter–at room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar (more or less)
1/2 cup good strawberry jam
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup pecans–toasted and chopped
Beat the cream cheese and butter together. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Add the jam, vanilla and salt and beat until fully combined. Add the sugar 1 cup at a time. Check for preferred sweetness after the 4th cup of sugar–add more if you like. I like it with the 6 cups. Stir in the pecans and use to generously frost your cake. (i don’t split the layers…this is a 2 layer cake with a 1/4″ thick of icing as filling).
Caramel Cake
On May 21, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerWarm and sticky. Like a rainbow lolly half eaten, forgotten in the crease of the car seat. Three showers a day couldn’t keep me felling fresh. Add to it a severe case of chiggers; itchy feet with my face swollen to near paralysis, and you find yourself smack dab in the middle of one of my favorite food moments.
Mississippi 2010–My Husband’s Family Reunion
I had been obsessed about caramel cake since reading about Minnie’s version of it, in the novel The Help. It is a beautifully written story about fictitious people, weaving through real life. It was captivating. Almost as captivating as its descriptions of food.
I can’t help myself.
I spent the whole “girl with the dragon tattoo” trilogy wondering if people in Sweden actually eat that many sandwiches.
but I digress
Mike and I were mid-stop in our three week southern states road trip, when we hit Mississippi. I had long forgotten my barbecue binges in Texas and my creole cravings in New Orleans. We were crossing the state line, and i needed caramel cake. As we drove through some of the most beautiful country; green as the hills of Ireland, with scattered towns, population merely a blip, I frantically dug through travel books/notes/the web, looking for a bakery, or a sign touting BEST CARAMEL CAKE EVER!
nothin’
We were in Mississippi for a family reunion, not a cake walk. So, I settled in. Kind of. Not really
About 3 days in, the men went golfing. The remainder of the family was doing other things. I’m not sure, I didn’t ask, I was on a mission. I spent an hour that morning with one last ditch effort, searching the web. I spotted it. A place called Buck’s One Stop in Calhoun City
a mere 70 miles away. Hey, I’m from Los Angeles. It takes and hour to go 15 miles. 70 miles on open roads? Total breeze.
The GPS was slightly off and took me to a dead end street, in a not so friendly neighborhood. I thought to myself, this is the South, it could be that Buck was making cakes in his garage. It could happen. I almost knocked on the door, then thought better of it. Because I was alone and without cell coverage, I figured i’d best to make one more pass down main street. No buck’s one stop. No buck anything. I did, however, happen upon a parking lot crowded with cars. A make-shift sign on the front door of the building named the place Bubba T’s. It seemed nice. Actually, it seemed like a community center, possibly serving meals to the homeless. It was a buffet, housing really hearty meals of richly smoked meats and slow braised greens in an all you can eat fashion–self portioned, from a modge podge of steam pans.
I got in line. Half wondering if perhaps, this wasn’t an invitation only, memorial luncheon for Bubba T.
I gathered my courage while filling my plate, silently practicing my lines and voice inflection. The minute I opened my mouth, I was a tell. Not from around here, certainly not Bubba’s kin. Thankfully, I noticed a small cashier’s sign in the far corner of the room. Behind the register sat the most adorable Priscilla Presley circa 1968 look alike. While she tallied my bill, we made small talk. Yes, I am from out of town, yes, it is hot enough for me, no, I don’t need napkins. And then I did it. I asked if she knew Buck’s One Stop. Her reply, “Yep. The Texaco. You need gas?” First of all, I was standing there, paying for a loaded plate of food, including some sort of pudding-I wasn’t going to admit I was looking for more food. Secondly, I was embarrassed. Embarrassed that I had driven 70 miles to buy cake I had read about in a book and that I may or may not have crashed a funeral lunch. So, I lied. Yes, I need gas.
I almost didn’t stop at the Texaco which, by the way, was no longer Buck’s, it had been sold to Mark. But in the spirit of optimism, I held out hope. I’ve experienced great food at truck stops in Italy, it could happen in Calhoun City.
Nearly a full year has passed yet that day remains an indelible memory. I can see the patrons, hear the sounds, feel the arctic blast of air rushing me like a wave as i opened the grimy gas station door. At first glance it looked like every road-side station snack shop–cigarettes, candy, gum, chips. And then I saw it. I felt like Tony Orlando, but instead of yellow ribbons, I saw cakes and pies. Right there, in the Texaco station, in the township of Calhoun City, population 1770, were the most beautiful, freshly baked cakes I had ever laid eyes on. Including, the object of my obsession. Caramel Cake. It was sky high and drenched in icing–a single slice flanked by strawberry cake and coconut cream pie.
Behind the counter was the proprietress, amply bosomed, kind-faced and seemingly unaware that people drive miles for her confections. As she and I locked eyes over the counter, my heart sank. Just one piece remaining. A generous slice, but a single slice, none-the-less. How was I going to eat the slice of cake while still sharing it with others? Apparently,my lips were moving and I was muttering it out loud. To which the nice lady gave me a great big smile and pointed at a floor to ceiling shelving unit, stacked with pink boxes.
pink boxes of cake
My heart jumped. I may have shed a tear. I think I giggled a bit. I was prepared to sell my soul. And had this been Los Angeles, I might have had to. Because I walked out of there with 2 whole cakes–one caramel, one strawberry–an additional slice of each (for tasting purposes), and maybe some pie. I’m not exactly admitting to the pie. I’m just saying, they sold pie too.
My version of caramel cake tastes pretty close to what I remember from Calhoun City. It combines a tender crumb white cake with a rich and sugary poured icing.
Caramel Cake
white velvet butter cake
from rose levy birnbaum
4 oz egg whites–room temperature
1 cup whole milk–divided–room temperature
2 1/4 tsp vanilla
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs + 1 tsp baking powder
12 Tbs unsalted butter-room temperature
1/4 tsp kosher salt (my addition)
In a mixer combine all the dry ingredients, and mix for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until the flour gets crumbly. Stir in 1/4 cup of the milk and bring the speed to medium high and beat for about 30 seconds. In a bowl, stir together the egg whites, milk and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients in 3 additions, scraping down the sides and beating for about 5-10 seconds after each addition. Do not over mix, but make sure it is all incorporated. Pour into 2-7″ cake tins, which you have parchment lined and greased. Smooth the batter and bake in a preheated 350 oven for approximately 35 minutes. Bake until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn over onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Slice each round into two horizontally to make 4 layers total.
caramel icing
2 cups light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
2 Tbs real maple syrup
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
Bring brown sugar, butter, milk, maple syrup and salt to a simmer. Simmer just until the sugar is no longer grainy, don’t let it boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla, stirring constantly. Allow to cool just slightly…so that it isn’t scorching hot, but nicely warm. Whisk in powdered sugar. You have to work fast, this will set up rather quickly. Pour icing on each layer as you stack it, you don’t want it to completely pour over the sides, but it can drip over without issue. once all the layers are set, pour the remaining icing over the top using a ladle. use the bottom of the ladle to coax the icing over the sides to cover completely.
sprinkle pecans on top
*full disclosure
i love this frosting, so i make 1 batch and allow it to cool a bit, then spread like frosting between the layers. this gives me a bit thicker layer of filling. i then make a second batch and completely bathe the cake in it. it is my preferred method…but 1 batch of icing will work as well.