Thursday, March 12, 2009

Citrus Poppy Seed Cake


Alright, so last night was enrichment (Hilary has a pasta salad recipe that I love and want to post but... it might be a secret? Hil?) Anyway, Enrichment was a birthday theme. Each table (Jan-Dec) needed a cake and since no one volunteered to do the 12th cake... I did. I think I am becoming more and more like my mom and decided on a cake despite the fact that it might make life a bit more difficult than just doing a box mix. I had been wanting to make this cake since I had made it years and years ago in Japan. I found it on Martha Stewarts website so if my directions are not sufficient you can go to her website. But she says things like, "Sift the dry ingredients 20 times" or "Churn your own butter for this recipe, you can really taste the difference" so.. I needed to simplify things. I really like this cake (it might be my new b-day cake request) and I think it looks impressive.. although that might have been Brittney's cake stand.

Ingredients

Makes 1 eight-inch-round 3 layer cake

* 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
* 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* 7 large eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup milk, room temperature
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
* 1/3 cup poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling
* Shiny Cream Cheese Frosting
* Lemon Glaze

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients. Prepare 3 8x2 round cake pans... I only had two to use so I had to wait on the last one. Wasn't a big deal at all. Martha says to butter, parchment, and flour the pans but I just sprayed them really well and they cakes came out perfectly. What does Martha know. JK. Cream your butter until light, then add sugar. Cream again until smooth. Drizzle in eggs one at a time. Since there were so many I cracked them all into a pyrex cup and just dropped them in one at a time.... it was so much easier than cracking and hoping you dont get a shell. Beat until smooth and fluffy. You will need to scrape down the sides every now and then. Add vanilla. Add the flour and milk gradually, alternating between the two. If you end with the milk I find that the batter tends to be more velvety... Martha says otherwise. Whatever. Scrape sides and beat in the 3 zests and the poppy seeds. Divide and Conquer. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Once completely cooled make sure to borrow your sister-in-laws fancy cake stand so this cake will look as good as it tastes. Martha only frosts the middle layers but I frosted all three layers. I thought it looked better but it might taste even better with lots more yummy frosting in the middle of the cake. So frost away. Refrigerate. Glaze. Done.

Shiny Cream Cheese Frosting
* 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Mix the cream cheese well before adding the butter. Cream together. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar.

Lemon Glaze
* 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
*** I grated orange peel into this. I thought it looked nice.

2 comments:

Mark and Hilary said...

that looks freaking De-lishuss!! and no, the pasta salad isn't a secret! i got it from my neighbor.

Holly said...

Mmmmm Did it look cutely crooked just like the pic?? I am sure it was tasty -even if you didn't churn your own butter sheese! And can't wait to try it out