Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Is it really June?! Time flies. It's crazy to think that I've been out of school for a little over a year and been working as a pediatric nurse for 8 months. It's amazing how much has changed. 

The brother has one year left as a teen. We had to celebrate a little early since he'll be off at camp on his real birthday. This year, he opted for a lemon poppyseed cake. I swear, the kid picks the weirdest things for me to make. Every other guy I know likes chocolate. But for the brother, I've done strawberry, white chocolate with raspberry, and now this. Gotta love him. 

The recipe is from Apple & Spice via Pinterest. I didn't change much, other than using whole eggs instead of just whites. And the brother vetoed the flaked almonds for decorating, so I used some extra lemon zest. Also, the original is all in metric units, so I'll give you the converted version. You're welcome. 

Basically, it tastes just like a lemon poppyseed muffin with frosting. It's pretty delicious if you're into that. It's moist, sweet, lemony, not too heavy. The brother was pleased with it, so I think that makes it a winner! 

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBSP poppy seeds
3/4 cup unsalted butter
zest of 1 lemon
275ml buttermilk
5 large eggs

For the sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
75ml water
juice of 1 lemon

For the frosting:
8oz cream cheese
3/4 cup butter
5-6 cups powdered sugar
1 TBSP almond extract

• Heat the oven to 350*F and prepared 3 8-9" cake pans. 
• Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Gently mix to combine.
• Add the butter, lemon zest, and 200ml of the buttermilk. Beat on low until completely mixed. Raise the speed to medium and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes.
• In another bowl, combine the remaining buttermilk with the eggs. Whisk to blend thoroughly. 
• Add the egg mixture to the batter in 2-3 additions. Beat only enough to incorporate.
• Divide the batter between the three pans (it may seem a little thick).
• Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of your pans), until a toothpick comes out of the center clean. 
• Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before turning out.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the lemon sauce:
• In a small sauce pan, combine sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
•  Generously brush the cakes with the lemon sauce while they are still warm. 
• Allow the cakes to completely cool before frosting.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter & cream cheese until light and fluffy.
• Gradually add the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides & beating well between each addition.
• Add the almond extract and continue to beat well for 3-4 minutes, until light & fluffy.
• I trust you can figure out how to assemble the cake!

Enjoy!

I seriously need to get back to cooking more. I've been eating like an unchaperoned 5-year-old at a birthday party. However, I've actually made some breakfast sandwiches and oatmeal cupcakes recently. They were pretty good... I'll TRY to get those posts up soon!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Along with everything else happening on Monday, the brother informed me that I should make something for him to share with his jazz band class. He decided on lemon poppy seed muffins, which are his favorite kind. I probably should've just done the processed box kind. It would've been easier, and I knew the homemade kind wouldn't be the brother's favorite...but I don't really count that as baking. And, I needed to legitimately bake something. That or workout again. And considering it hurt to move my arms and laugh and move, baking seemed like the better option. 

The verdict? The mother said they were the best real lemon poppy seed muffins ever. The brother said he (and most of his friends) prefers the processed junk (which really doesn't taste much like the real version), and "they're a little dry." I thought they were decent. They have more of a "real" lemon flavor and a heavier texture than the boxed variety. You can easily separate the top from the bottom without crumbs going everywhere. (This is important to me because I like to eat the bottom first...same goes for cupcakes.) 

Alterations...I used plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I did keep the refined sugar and white flour because I didn't want to totally freak the kids out. Honestly, next time, I would go half-and-half on the flours and do 1/3 cup of honey instead of 2/3 cups sugar. I could get really crazy and switch out the butter for a fruit puree (ex. banana or apple). Maybe add a little coconut oil.


Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Inspiration from Luscious Confections

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar (try 1/3 cup honey)
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (try 1 all-purpose and 1 whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (try fruit puree) 
2 TBSP poppy seeds 
Organic milk (if needed to get desired consistency)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. (If you spray the liners with non-stick cooking spray, they will peel off the muffins beautifully.)
• Add the sugar to a large bowl. Grate the zest of the lemon into the sugar. Mix until it's evenly distributed. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix together.
• In a separate bowl, mix the lemon juice, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, lemon and butter. 
• Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir gently to combine (don't over mix). The batter will be pretty thick and a little lumpy. You may add a little milk to the mixture if you like. 
• Divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden.

Enjoy!  

Gingerbread Cake

I would consider gingerbread to be a classic holiday treat. I made this for "Christmas" at my father's house before we left for real Christmas in Minnesota. The recipe, I believe, is my mom's mom's. She called it "My Best Gingerbread." It's a pretty legit, hand-written recipe on a genuine recipe card. The cake is wonderful. It has the perfect texture and taste. It's moist, but not heavy or soggy. I recommend topping it off with a lemon sauce or glaze or even plain old Cool Whip. 

My Best Gingerbread
Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1/ 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup molasses
1 cup hot water

Directions:
Grease 9x13 pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt shortening in 3-4 quart pan; cool. Add sugar and egg; beat well.

Sift together dry ingredients. 

Combine molasses and water. Add alternately with flour mixture to first mixture.

Bake about 50 minutes. (It didn't take this long with my oven, so start checking early if you know your oven cooks fast!)

Blueberry Banana Cake

I'm loving how much baking I'm currently getting to do!  I made a blueberry banana cake the other night to share with some friends.  It was delicious!  Basically, I would say its like a wonderfully moist banana blueberry bread with cream cheese frosting.  Yum.  The original recipe is from theKitchn, which is where I'd previously found and tried a fabulous recipe for banana caramel cake.  I did modify the recipe a little though.  I didn't put lemon zest in the frosting or almonds on top.  I also left out the rum.  I figured that the kiddos would be a little weirded out by those things.  I know I was when I was a kid.  And, let's be real, while I thought the almonds were nice for garnish, I didn't really want to eat them on my frosting.  Like why would you want to ruin perfectly smooth, creamy frosting with nuts?  I also simplified things a little by leaving the cake in the pan versus taking it out and having to find a platter and frosting the sides.  I would caution you to know how your oven bakes and start checking on the cake EARLY, if you ever decide to make it.  I was house-sitting, and apparently that oven bakes quick.  The original recipe says 75 minutes, but my cake was done in 45.  I'm glad I checked on it when I did!  Unfortunately, this cake disappeared before I got a picture.  It seems as though the brother got a slice and forgot to put the rest up...leaving it easily accessible to a couple of dogs.  Argh.  However, I decided to solve this little problem by making another one.  After all, my mom hadn't gotten to try it and we're in Minnesota with family to share with.  And it's practically a health food, right?  It's got bananas, blueberries and lemon... That pretty much outweighs all the sugar, don't you think?  The second time around, I still left out the rum, but I did keep the lemon zest...which, I think, was a wonderful addition to the frosting!  This time, it took the full 75 minutes to bake.  Clearly, all ovens are not created equal!  I did manage a picture...although, not a very good one:        

Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans

As you might already know, I'm a big proponent of one-pan meals.  I really like being able to have my meat, vegetables, and starch all-in-one.  Makes things a lot easier.  I found my inspiration for this dish on, well, Pinterest.  The original recipe is from Real Simple, although I tweaked it a tad.  I was lucky enough to score my potatoes, green beans and lemons on a great sale at Sunflower Markets.  It's great when that happens!  Everyone really enjoyed this dish!  I must warn you, though, that any leftovers will be extra-lemony.  Not a problem for me, but could be too tart for some.  Here you go: 

Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans

Ingredients:

6  TBSP EVOO

2  lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 zest & juiced (after juicing, quarter the rind)

4  cloves garlic, minced

1  tsp salt

1/2  tsp ground black pepper

3/4  lb trimmed green beans

8  small red potatoes, quartered 

4  chicken breasts (I did skinless, boneless, but you're welcome to use with skin & bones)

Lemon pepper seasoning (optional) 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450.  Coat a large baking dish/dutch oven/cast-iron skillet with 1 TBSP of EVOO.  Arrange the lemon slices and left over rind in a single layer in the bottom.  

In a large bowl,  combine the remaining EVOO, lemon juice and zest, garlic, salt and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices.  Add the potatoes to the same EVOO mixture and toss to coat.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the potatoes and place them along the edge of the dish/skillet on top of the green beans.  Place the chicken in the mixture and coat thoroughly.  Place the chicken (if it has skin, skin-side up)  in the dish/skillet.  Pour any remaining mixture over the chicken in the dish/skillet.  At this point, I chose to make sure my chicken was good and flavorful by sprinkling lemon pepper seasoning on both sides.  

Roast for about 50 minutes, or until chicken in thoroughly cooked.  Also check that the potatoes are nice and tender.  You may have to remove the chicken and cook the potatoes a while longer...but I didn't have that problem!  Serve it while it's warm.  Enjoy! 

Skillet Tilapia Fillets with Cilantro Butter

Yesterday, my brother put in an odd request to have tilapia for dinner.  I was quite thrilled because, I for one, really love to eat fish.  My family typically favors chicken/beef/pork, but I'm a fish person.  (Although, I do love a good steak too.)  Anyways, I was excited that I had an opportunity to make tilapia and not get any complaints from the brother.  I found this recipe on Pinterest.  Surprise, huh?!  It's actually a thing on MyRecipies, "7 Ways to Cook Tilapia."  A great thing to have handy, since I'm prone to buying the jumbo bags of tilapia.  I made the Skillet Fillets with Cilantro Butter because I had all the ingredients, and really needed to use up the rest of the cilantro from the other night.  (I really need to start an herb garden, so I can just get what I want, when I want.)  This was a super quick, easy dinner with steam-in-the-bag veggies on the side!  (Also, it was very tasty.  Some people might consider it spicy, but I'm not one of them.)

Skillet Fillets with Cilantro Butter

(If you look at the original, you'll notice I've doubled the spices! You've been warned.) 

For the tilapia:

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

6 (4-oz) tilapia filets 

Cooking spray

1 lemon (quartered) 

Combine the spices and sprinkle (or rub) over both sides of fish.  Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat skillet with cooking spray.  Also spray both sides of the fish and place in skillet.  Cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily or reaches 145ish degrees.  Place on serving tray or plate and squeeze on some lemon juice! 

For the cilantro butter:

2 TBSP butter, softened

2 TBSP cilantro, finely chopped

Grated rind from 1 lemon (grate before you quarter & squeeze it!)

1/4-1/2 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well blended.  Serve with fish!

Tilapia in White Wine & Lemon Sauce

Tonight we had a dish that I found on Kraft's website (www.kraftfoods.com) probably a few years ago.  We love this recipe, and I hadn't made it in quite a while, so I brought it back tonight.  You basically coat (lightly) the tilapia filets in flour and cook in a hot pan until golden.  Then, add finely chopped onions...wait around until they are translucent.  Next, you add butter, lemon juice, capers, and white wine (real or cooking, whichever you prefer)...wait until the sauce is "silky." Add some fresh parsley and enjoy!  We had a salad of baby spinach, field greens, mandarin oranges, craisins, and feta on the side.

I'm still fighting with the wall shelf.  On the bright side, I scored FREE ground turkey at the grocery store today!  Not that the wall shelf and ground turkey are related...at all.