Raspberry Balsamic Macarons

Ah French macarons, bane of home cooks and professionals alike.

I have seen many a subpar macaron for sale, even at the big boy's places.

The thing about macarons is that they require....

CONFIDENCE.

You have to believe in them!  You have to believe in those little feet, in that cakey center!  (the ruffly bit at the bottom is called the foot).

You have to believe that they will rise.

RISE!  Like the glorious sun in the morning.

Mine are a little flat.  This is because, afraid of overbeating them, I underbeat them.

Confidence.

But!  Have you ever tried balsamic on sweet?  How about right next to fresh?

Reduce it down, down with a little bit of honey until it is thick as melted chocolate.

Strew it over the tops of your beautiful babies and their little flat feet.

Crunch it up and wow!  Sweet and fresh and sour and crunch and smoosh and a delicate buttercream together.

Glorious.

Next time:  bigger feet.

Next time:  twice as many.

You may have noticed that there is a new button on my blog.  That little fella there in the corner lets you know that I (I!) am now a content contributer for The Daily Meal.  Hooray!  That's a real thing!  I conjured up these little cookies in response to a weekly recipe challenge they issued, giving you one ingredient to play with.  This week it was raspberries, sponsored by Driscoll's berries.  Driscoll's berries!  Go buy some berries!  Follow them @driscollsberry #raspberrydessert.  Eat them fresh or, better yet, stick them in a buttercream.

(Hey I forgot to include the raaaaaaspberry puree joke!  I was singing it all day, just like Prince.  Ha!  I AM JUST LIKE PRINCE)

Raspberry Balsamic Macarons
Makes 24

Age your egg whites!  Did you know you're supposed to do that when making macarons?  Two or three days before baking, put your egg whites (about 3) in a glass dish in the refrigerator.  The night before baking, take them out and leave them on the counter overnight.  They won't go bad, I swear.  This makes a huge difference in getting successful macarons.

For the cookies:
180 grams almond meal (I prefer grams for macarons, since imprecise measurements can be the difference between life and death here)
240 grams powdered sugar
140 grams egg whites, aged
A large pinch powdered egg whites (so much for precision!)
A medium pinch sea salt

In a large bowl combine almond meal, powdered sugar, and sea salt.  Combine the egg whites with the egg white powder in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until stiff peaks form.

Add the meringue to the almond meal mixture and beat by hand until a shiny, ribbony mass forms.  Don't be afraid!  Get it right!  A good way to test it is to make a small peak in the batter.  Does it stand stiff?  Beat it more.  Does it immediately disappear?  You've gone too far!  Does it slowly sink back into and meld with the batter?  That's it.

Pipe small rounds onto sheet pans lined with a silpat and let them air dry for 45 minutes to an hour.  The tops should be dry when touched with your finger.  If you live in a wet place, turn on the ceiling fan (Oregon, I'm looking at you).  When the drying time is almost up, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

When drying time is up and oven is preheated, turn oven down to 300 degrees and bake cookies for about 15 minutes, rotating sheet pans halfway through for even cooking.  Try not to have a heart attack as you open the oven and look for feet.

Let them cool.

For the buttercream:
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup water
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 sticks butter, cubed and softened
Pinch of salt
1 cup Driscoll's raspberries

First, mash up the raspberries with a fork, making a chunky puree.

Now start beating the egg whites.  You want to get them to where they are just forming soft peaks.  In the meantime, combine the white sugar and the water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Let it heat until it reaches 235 degrees fahrenheit.  Immediately remove from heat and pour in a slow stream into eggwhites while still mixing.

Now add in the butter cubes, one at a time and mixing well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and the pinch of salt.  The mixture may look curdled, but just keep beating it.  It will come together and turn fluffy and lovely just like you want.

Once you find the texture of buttercream you like, turn off mixer and stir in about 1/3 cup of raspberry puree by hand (more or less to taste, but don't add too much it will make the mixture separate again).

Pipe buttercream onto cookie halves, sandwich together with other cookie halves.

For the balsamic reduction:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon honey

Simmer your vinegar and honey together in a small saucepan until about 1/4 cup of it is left.  The texture should be syrupy.  Can be made several hours or even days before cookies and stored in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before using as it will harden when cold.  

My Extracts

Pour some vodka on it!

That's the new motto at my house.

It started with a homemade vanilla - fun to do, handy.

And while vanilla beans are spendy, in the end you get way more bang for your buck doing it this way than buying those little 2 oz vanilla bottles from the store for $7 a pop.

I HAVE FOUR CUPS OF VANILLA IN MY PANTRY RIGHT NOW!

Quelle richesse.

Of course, if you can make vanilla extract then it stands to reason you can make other extracts.

Almond extract!

This one takes a little longer to age, supposedly about 3 months to really acquire that amandine fragrance.

But it's getting cloudy already, and it's a good start.

And now it's really gone too far, because that third one is lilac extract.

That's right, I picked some (unsprayed) lilac flowers from a bush.  Soaked them to get rid of the bugs.  Stuck them in a jar.

And poured some vodka on it.

The color has changed from, well, lilac, to a sort of copper.  The smell is pretty extraordinary.

Future vodka goals: Mint extract.  Cocoa bean.  Rose!  Hazelnut?

Sky's the limit, people!

Extracts

Pour some vodka on it.  Cap, put in dark place.  Leave until smells like the thing you are trying to extract.

Lavender Rolls

I have been dreaming of these since December, and the time was finally ripe.

You could grind up the lavender if you wanted, it might look prettier.

I didn't mind the little flowers scattered in the dough, though.  I could use more little flowers scattered in things, actually.

Just in general.

The taste was perfect, not too strong and not too subtle.

Just use it the same way you would use cinnamon.

I thought about dying the frosting purple.  Maybe I should have.

I used mascarpone cheese in the frosting instead of cream cheese.  I don't like the tang of cream cheese frosting.  Mascarpone brought that cheesy smoothness without the tang.

If I ever have any kind of food shop, these will be the specialty.

Lavender Rolls
Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks
Makes 12

Rolls:
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast (one packet)
pinch salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4-6 teaspoons lavender flowers

Mascarpone Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Combine 4 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, yeast, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Warm buttermilk to 100F on stove.  Add melted butter, eggs, and buttermilk to dry ingredients and beat on medium-low for about 1 minute, until combined.

Switch to the dough hook and run for 10-12 minutes (15 - 18 minutes by hand).  If more flour is needed, add remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clears the side of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.  It's okay for this dough to be sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.

Prepare your pan, this can be a jellyroll pan or ordinary 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Line with foil or a silpat and set aside (if using foil, grease with butter).

After dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle.

Spread butter for filling over the dough, in chunks or fully spread out, depending on softness of the butter.  Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of sugar, then with lavender flowers.

Roll your rectangle up into a big dough log.  Slice into 12 slices.  The best way to do this is with dental floss, but don't use the mint flavored kind unless you want minty lavender (hmm).  If you don't have unflavored floss around, use a sharp knife to avoid squishing the dough as much as possible.

Place slices on prepared pan and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until the rolls have doubled in size about 1 1/2 hours (rolls can also be refrigerated before this second rise for up to 16 hours, bringing to room temperature and continuing with rise the next day).

Bake at 350F for 22 - 25 minutes or until lightly golden on top.  Cool slightly (or don't), spread with mascarpone frosting, and eat.

For frosting:
Blend cheese and butter on medium speed, about 1 minute.  Add the vanilla and 3 cups confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add remaining cup of sugar to taste, based on desired frosting consistency.

Birthday Cake - Spice and Lemon

Birthday follow-up!

Sorry it's late - we went to Seattle this past weekend and I am suffering from a smoked salmon hangover.

Worth it.

But if I think back a week in time I remember my beautiful birthday cake!

On my birthday I like to make things I like, including things other people think are gross.  One of those things is spice cake.

Why does everybody hate spice cake?

You don't hate spice cake???  WE ARE FRIENDS.

Everybody has time for carrot cake (gross) but nobody has time for spice cake.  What a world.

All right I'm done being a spice cake martyr.  The other thing this has is lemon frosting.

Because I don't like the cream cheese frosting that usually comes with spice cake (this is also what puts me off from carrot cake, incidentally) I wanted something else with a tang.

Lemon!  And cinnamon!  Together at last and doing the tango.

Happy birthday to me indeed!  Parte deux!  NEVERENDING BIRTHDAY

Cocoa Citrus Spice Cake with Lemon Frosting
adapted from Joy the Baker

makes two 9" round cakes (I used a slightly smaller circumference yet deeper dish for a taller cake, I think it's something like 8" round and 3" deep)

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons lemon zest
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease cake pans.

Mix together dry ingredients: flour, soda, salt, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

Cream butter, zest and sugar together until well-blended, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, blending well between each addition, about 1 minute.

Add dry mixture to wet in 3 batches, alternating between it and the buttermilk until all is added.  Turn off mixer and finish mixing together by hand.

Pour into greased pans and bake - 45 minutes for a 9" cake, 25 minutes for cupcakes, an hour for a tall cake like mine.

Lemon Frosting

1 cup butter
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 tablespoons milk

Blend together butter and sugar until well-blended, about 3 minutes.  Add in zest, extract and milk and beat 1 minute more.  Frost over cake as desired.

Cranberry Cake with Warm Cream Sauce

I think my face is broken.

Do you ever get that?  Like you're fine, and you're fine, and you're fine, and then you're SOOOO TIIIIIIRED.

My eyes are sort of collapsin' like a stroke victim and I think a headache is gonna start pounding soon.

Pre-emptive Advil!  Or maybe five?

I'm all right.  It was just a long one.  I got stuck at the dentist's and I had to clean my kitchen.  And the baby cries.  How she cries.


So mundane.  Such is life.  The beauty is only ever in the details.  And that is why I love food.

The sunset was red-gold.  The polenta bread we ate with soup was soft.  The cranberry cake was exceptional.

Cranberry Cake with Warm Cream Sauce
adapted from Taste of Home

Anybody who knows me knows I have a weakness for old-timey foods.  This simple, single-layer cake is not too sweet, with a pleasant sauce that tastes rich but has less butter and sugar than frosting.  It's the kind of delicacy you could serve your friends for tea.  If you wanted to share it at all...

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh cranberries

For sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease 9-inch baking pan, preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in milk.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and gradually add to milk mixture.  Beat in the cranberries.

Pour into greased baking pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

For sauce, melt butter in a saucepan.  Stir in sugar and cream.  Bring to a boil, stirring often.  Boil 8-10 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.

At this point you can simply pour it over each slice as you serve it, as the original recipe recommends.  However I did not have time for that so I used a chopstick to poke holes all over the cake and poured the sauce over the whole thing.  It soaked in and gave it a delicious, moist, tres leches-type feel.  Predictably, I recommend doing it my way.

Earl Grey Tea Cakes with Lemon Icing

 
Tea cakes, tea cakes, pretty little tea cakes.

Blue.  Baby blue.  I like blue at tea time.

Have you had Earl Grey tea?  I could leave the tea, but I tell you I'm crazy about that bergamot orange.

Have you heard of a bergamot orange?  They're pretty, yellow little things.  Less sour than lemons but more bitter than grapefruits.  I guess you don't really eat them plain, but they make a lovely jam.

Or tea.

Or tea cake.

These cakes require a doily.  Do you have a doily?

No?  No tea cakes then.

Them's the rules.

Earl Grey Tea Cakes with Lemon Icing (adapted from Foodie with Family)

Makes 12

1 cup whole milk
3 Earl Grey tea bags or 5 tablespoons loose leaf tea
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Lemon Icing
1/2 stick butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream or chilled infused Earl Grey whole milk
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Scald the milk (heat until it is steaming and many tiny bubbles have formed in the milk around the edge of the pan). Add the tea bags, remove the pan from the heat and put the lid in place. Let the milk cool to room temperature. 

When the milk is cool, squeeze the excess liquid from the tea bags or strain out the loose leaf tea and discard. Measure 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the cooled infused milk and reserve the rest.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a mixing bowl with an electric hand-held mixer) beat together the butter and sugar until lighter in color and fluffy. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat well. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/egg/sugar. Beat on low just until combined. Add about 1/3 of the infused milk that you measured. Again, beat just until combined, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and repeat -flour, milk, flour, milk- until both flour and milk are completely incorporated. 

Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full of cupcake batter.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until they spring back when pressed lightly or a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

 

To Make the Lemon Icing:

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer) beat the butter on high until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar until incorporated. Then, with the mixer on high, whisk in the cream or infused milk and the lemon extract until the icing is light and fluffy. Use an offset spatula to smear the buttercream on the cupcakes or load it into a pastry bag with a big tip to pipe on the frosting.

Banana Doughnut Muffins with Banana Frosting

Now I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite things.

It's after baby/toddler falls asleep in the next room, and I am sitting on my couch blogging.

Yeah, I blog from a couch.  What about it?

I'm writing and uploading and thinking about whatever delicious thing I just ate, and then I hear something.

A cough, a whimper, the scuffle of blankets and pillows.

The pat pat pat of tiny, footy-pajamed feet.

The door skreeks open, but since the bottom half of it is blocked from my perspective I can't see anything.  It's like a ghost just opened the door.

And then he emerges, my tiny little human being.  All PJ'd out and blinking in the lamplight, rubbing his fat cheeks.  His unfocused eyes go straight to my couch (he knows I am a creature of habit) and zero in. 

He toddles over, seeming about to collapse any minute, calculating just enough energy to get to my arms.

He throws himself into them, is hoisted onto my lap, immediately burrows into my chest and, seconds later, is sound asleep.  Soft and heavy and warm and cuddled in just right.

It interferes with blogging, I'll tell you.  Sometimes I have to put it off for a whole day.  Sometimes I go lay him down in his bed again so I can get back to work.

Sometimes I hit save, put in a movie, and hold him with me for hours.

And that is one of my favorite things.

(It's also why I blog from a couch.)

Banana Doughnut Muffins with Banana Frosting (adapted from Cooking for Isaiah, by Sylvia Nardone)

This recipe is another victim of my lack of a doughnut pan.  Who needs a doughnut pan?  I said.  What a silly contraption, I said.  I can make doughnuts any way I want without a doughnut pan, I said.  Well, that's true of raised, yeasted doughnuts but it turns out for some of the cakier variety, you do need that pan.  But silver lining is, they turn out great in muffin form!  And it just FEELS healthier, right? 

makes 12 doughnuts

1 1/4 c flour (or GF flour mix, which is what she uses)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Frosting
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1/2 banana)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a muffin tin with papers. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, bananas, vanilla and oil.  Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined; fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a rack until room temperature.

Meanwhile, to make the frosting, in a small bowl beat together the butter and confectioner's sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the banana, cinnamon, vanilla and lemon juice.  Spread the frosting over the cooled muffins.

Cheddar Cheese Cupcakes

Oh man, get out of here January!  You are the freaking worst!

I thought I told you not to come back here.

Every year it's the same.  At the beginning of the month I'm all delusional in a post-holiday glow, certain that this will be the year, THIS will be the one year I can finally stand January.

My hopes start to fade some time after my birthday (a bright spot!) and continue to die until, at the end of the month, I'm this ragged, grumpy, squint-eyed curmudgeon shaking my fist at the sun because it had the audacity to set before 4:00 pm.  Why did you bother rising at all.

Yes that is a toddler hand reaching for the goods.

Potato chips and Doctor Who are all I have to get through it (and YES I've already seen them all....lea'mealone).

February is only three days away.  I know it is.  It's so close.  But I'm going to die of cold and dark before I get there, I know it, passed out on the track with my fingers clawing desperately but hopelessly toward the finish line.

It's right about now that my mom, having read my blog, calls and asks "Anna are you taking your Vitamin D?"

NO.  I'm not.  It's too far away from my couch nest.  Ask me again in February.

Cheddar Cheese Cupcakes (recipe borrowed from Adora's Box)
Getting crazy in here y'all!  CHEDDAR.  CHEESE.  CUPCAKES.  Please be brave and try these.  It took my husband several days of eying them suspiciously before he put one in his mouth and you know what?  He loved them.  They are soft, white, creamy and rich.  The cheddar taste isn't strong, it just adds the slightest salty nuance to an otherwise sweet, milky experience.  They are more like milk cupcakes, really, with sweetened condensed milk playing a low-key but crucial role (have you had sweetened condensed milk?  Like, omg).  These.  Are.  Awesome.

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/3 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
225 grams butter, room temperature (that's almost a stick, the number of grams will be on the label)
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup grated mature cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan with papers.  Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (up to 1 minute) after each addition.  Add in the cream cheese, condensed milk and vanilla and beat 1 more minute.

Add in the flour mixture and blend gently in until combined.

Fill your muffin pan, filling each about 2/3 full.  Top each cupcake with 1 tablespoon of grated cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean.

Tangerine Cream Puffs with Citrus Glaze

Hey, e'erbody.

Cream puffs!  Cream puffs!  Eat 'em!

January is the best time for citrus fruit.  Or maybe citrus fruit is the best part about January (that and MY BIRTHDAY).

Have you had blood oranges?  I know, I know, everybody has had blood oranges.  But seriously!  They're good!

And RED.  Which is my favorite color.

I think oranges might just be my favorite food in the whole world.

And considering how many foods there are in the world, and how much I love almost all of them, that is a high, high honor.

Tangerines?  They're good too, but have you ever noticed how tough their membranes are?

So tasty, even sweeter than oranges.  But tough.

That's why this recipe only calls for the juice.

These taste like an Orange Dream Bar, with a tangerine twist and a bit o' pastry tucked in there.

Yeah, they're a little brown, okay.  Cook them less than I did, that's my advice.

But they tasted grrrreat, brown or not brown.  I don't discriminate.

You could do these with any citrus you wanted - orange, grapefruit.  Pomelo!

What is the deal with pomelos?

All right I know everybody is loving my fevered ramblings about citrus fruit (please don't be the flu please don't be the flu), but this is also the big night!  The giveaway!  The beautiful Sucrose necklace from Boutique Academia.  It's here and we have a winner!

And that winner is Kelley Madden!  Thanks for your comments Kelley!  Get a hold of me at anna@icyviolets.com and we will get you your prize.  Thanks to Maile at Boutique Academia, and thanks to everyone who joined in!

Tangerine Cream Puffs with Citrus Glaze
(makes 12 cream puffs)

For the pastry:
1 cup fresh-squeezed tangerine juice (about 6-8 medium tangerines)
1/2 cup butter 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
4 eggs 
2 tablespoons milk 
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the cream: 
2 cups heavy whipping cream 
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 
1 teaspoon tangerine zest

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons tangerine (or other citrus) juice

In a large saucepan, bring the tangerine juice, butter and salt to a boil over medium heat. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny.

Drop by 1/4 cupfuls 3 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Combine milk and egg yolk; brush over puffs. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown (this timing has been adjusted down from 30-35 minutes, which made mine a bit too brown). Remove to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each for steam to escape; cool.

In a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until almost stiff. Split cream puffs; discard soft dough from inside.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and the tangerine juice.

Fill the cream puffs just before serving, and drizzle with citrus glaze. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Lavender Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake

Dear diary/public blog.

I have made some food!

I used to keep a real diary as a kid.  I have them stacked up, from about age eight up until I got married.

I stopped then.  I mean, I have one, but I have been married almost six years and still haven't managed to fill it up.

There are things in there.  Mostly doodles and lists.  I guess part of me figured the story was told by the time I got married.

Ha.

I re-read my high school and college years last summer and I cringed.  In high school, I was so high school!

It's so nice to have found something important to write about [food].

Do you keep a diary?  Do you write in it regularly?  Do you want your children/friends/future archaeologists to see it, or would you rather burn it than see it in the hands of anyone else?

(You like that?  Blogging about blogging?  META.)

**Don't forget!  The giveaway of the Sucrose Pendant from Boutique Academia is still going on!

It lasts until this Wednesday night.  For details and to join in, check out these blintzes!

Lavender Lemon Pound Cake (adapted from Bake Your Day)

Today we witness the return of one of my favorite flavor combinations - lavender and lemon.  Floral for sweet!  Lemon for bright!  They compliment each other well.  I wasn't so sure this recipe was seasonally appropriate at first...it's hard to imagine eating lavender lemon anything outside of June.  Maybe it's the colors?  But then I thought, naaah.  Dried lavender flowers are good all winter and lemons are in season right this second!  This recipe would have been totally fine with our pre-food preservation/globalized agricultural ancestors.  You know, if they actually had access to things like lemons.  And Greek yogurt.  Unless your ancestors were Greek...then you're good.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt (6 oz.)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dried lavender

Preheat oven to 325.  Grease one 9x5" loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the first four ingredients.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Slowly add the sugar, still mixing, and cream for another four minutes.  The longer you cream your butter, the lighter your cake will be.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each for about a minute.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mixing slowly.  Add 1/2 of the yogurt, then another 1/3 of the dry ingredients.  Add the last 1/2 of your yogurt, and the final third of dry.  Stop the mixer and mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and dried lavender by hand.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (the top of my cake stayed very pale).  Cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.  Slice and serve!