Candied Lemon Cake

Candied Lemon Cake

from Sweet Paul Magazine

These are the lemons I used for the cake.
I picked them from a tree.

You will need-

For the cake

1 stick of butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole milk

zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the candied lemons

1 cup water

1⁄2 cup sugar

2 lemons, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  

 

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. 

 3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between eggs. 

 4. Add remaining ingredients and mix well until incorporated. 

 5. Pour batter into a well-greased 9-inch cake tin. 

 6. Bake about 30 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

 7. Allow to cool on wire rack for 15 minutes then remove cake from pan and put onto serving plate. 

 8. For the candied lemons, Place water, sugar and lemons in a small saucepan and bring to boil.

 9. Simmer the mixture for 15 minutes and then allow to cool for at least a half hour. 

 10. Decorate the cake with the lemon slices 
 pour on some of the syrup just before serving. 

These are  ingredients you will need.

This is how it looks in the bowl before I turned it into the pan.

Here it is in the pan.
I cut parchment paper for the bottom, sprayed + floured.

 These are the candied lemon slices.

Here is the cake as I took it out of the pan.

Here are the lemon slices on top of the cake.

Here is how it looks before I cut into the cake.

 The above photo shows a piece of the cake with syrup!

Wouldn't this be a wonderful spring cake?
It was excellent!

Tell me about your spring cakes, dear readers.

I would love to have your recipes.

Love,

Peggy

To see your vision come to life, email us about our design services at Peggy Braswell Design.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie from Twenty Blackbirds Bakery

Salted Caramel Apple Pie
from Melissa and Emily Elsen of Four and Twenty Blackbirds Bakery in Brooklyn, N.Y.

I had to make pies to take to a holiday party.

This looked so good, just had to try it.

The pie got rave reviews!

Ingredients

Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

8 to 10 tablespoons ice water mixed with 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Salted Caramel

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (Maldon flake is a good choice)

Apple Filling

5 to 6 medium to large apples (Crispin, Granny Smith, Cortland)

Juice of 2 lemons

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup raw sugar (castor or turbinado)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 to 3 dashes Angostora bitters

2 tablespoons flour

1. To make pie crust, combine flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. (To mix by hand, cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender, two knives, or your hands.)
2. Add water mixture a little at a time, while pulsing, until dough forms a ball. Divide into 2 discs, wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour or more.
3. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan.
4. Roll out one disc to fit pan. Place in bottom of pan, allowing sides to overlap rim.
5. To prepare salted caramel, cook sugar and water together over low heat until just dissolved. Add butter and bring to a slow boil. Continue cooking at a low boil until mixture turns a deep, golden brown color. Be careful not to burn caramel—remove from heat before it smokes or turns very dark.
6. Remove from heat and immediately add heavy cream. Mixture will bubble and steam. Be cautious, as sugar will be very hot. Whisk mixture together over low heat and sprinkle in sea salt. Set aside.
7. To prepare apple filling, core, peel and thinly slice apples. Combine with lemon juice and remaining ingredients.
8. Place half the apple filling in pan. Pour half the caramel over top. Layer remaining apple filling and then caramel.
9. Roll out remaining pie dough and cut into strips. Place in a lattice pattern over apples. Crimp edges of crust. Brush with beaten egg and lightly sprinkle with sea salt and sugar.
10. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325F and continue baking 25 to 35 minutes. Test doneness of apples with a long toothpick or small knife. They should be just soft. Let cool at least 1 hour before slicing.

Apples that are cut with seasoning on them.

Another picture of the apples before they went into the pie shell.

This was the caramel - yummy!

Apples in the pie shell before I put the lattice on top.

Lattice with apples in the pie shell.

Finished!
Apple pie is ready to go to the party.

 
Seriously yummy if I must say so.
The pie was just delicious.
Thanks, Melisa + Emily!

A new twist on an old favorite, apple pie.
Try it, dear readers-
Let me know how it turned out.

Love,





Peggy

To see your vision come to life, email us about our design services at Peggy Braswell Design. 

Pecan Pie From The River Road Recipes

Pecan Pie

from the River Road Recipes

I have tried this pie and it is wonderful!
I made it for Thanksgiving.

You will need-

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1-1/2 tablespoons flour

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 unbaked pie crust

Cream butter and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and pour in unbaked pie crust. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes and lower to 350° and cook for approximately one hour. 

Mrs. Joe M. MacCurdy

Eggs, sugar etc. 
You will need these ingredients.

Lucky me, I had all of them.

Making the little round things for the edge of the pie.
I used Janet's ring.

All the circles in a pile waiting patiently. 

 

Putting the circles on the pie crust.
I got this from Carolyn Roehm, love how it looks.

The pie waiting for the filling.
Don't the circles look great?

The easy filling!

Before it was baked.

The finished product! 
Ta-da!

 These Thanksgiving pies were a hit! 
A little bit of pumpkin, pecan + mincemeat with just a little vanilla ice cream - calories be damned!

Do you have a favorite recipe, dear readers?
Tell me! 

Love,

Peggy

To see your vision come to life, email us about our design services at Peggy Braswell Design. 

Potato Corn Soup

Potato Corn Soup

It is fall again so soup is on the menu!

I love making soup! 
 Love it!  

 This is a recipe of a great corn soup.
When the weather is cool there is nothing better. 
At least that is my idea of better.

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 celery stalk, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs (about 2 cups)or frozen
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups milk, whole or low fat
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, or Russet, peeled and diced
1/4 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and green bell pepper and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the celery and cook for 4 or 5 more minutes.

2 Add the corn to the saucepan. Add the milk and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure the heat is as low as can be and still maintain a gentle simmer to prevent scalding the milk on the bottom of the pan.

3 Discard the bay leaf. Raise the heat, add the potatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh ground pepper to taste, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork tender.
the corn kernels and4 Raise the heat, add the thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

This is the makings of greatness.

In the pot goes the onion, green pepper and then the celery.

Potatoes go in next.

Then the corn.

And finally the milk.

This is what it looks like cooking...

HMMM, yummy on a tray... with a little salt & pepper

I got a succulent from my garden.

Janet loved it-(that is why we took a picture).

 I put it in a little blue & white container. 

Here is the corn soup almost finished.
Nothing warms me up like soup.
 What is your favorite thing to eat on a fall day or night, dear readers...
I know you have favorites! 




Love,





Peggy

To see your vision come to life, email us about our design services at Peggy Braswell Design.