Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

My Dearest Sally,

Your last post looks and sounds delicious! I'll have to try that one before the break is over.The house has been cleaned and is now slightly more organized. This post is something that I made just before March Break started. Jesse and I had dinner at his brother's house where we had a delicious sweet potato soup, salad and wine. Our responsibility whenever we visit is dessert.

Apart from icing the cake without the proper tools I found this recipe very enjoyable to make. It was loved by everyone at the table except their youngest son who does not share our fondness for blueberries. It is loaded with gluten and dairy so I was not able to take part myself but I was just happy to see that everyone else liked it.

The recipe comes from a site called Sally's Baking Addiction. She has a wealth of fantastic recipes on her website and her visual recipe index make deciding on a recipe effortless.

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

- 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar

- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar

- 4 large eggs, at room temperature*

- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour, careful not to overmeasure

- 1 Tablespoon baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*

- zest + juice of 3 medium lemons*

- 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh (258g) or non-thawed frozen (275g)

- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

Frosting

- 8 ounces (224g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature

- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

- 3.5 cups (420g) confectioners' sugar

- 1 - 2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) heavy cream*

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- pinch salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray three 9x2 inch cake pans with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Make the cake. Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until creamy - about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside.

In a large sized bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for 10 seconds, then add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat on low until just combined. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon of flour and fold into the batter. Batter is extremely thick. Do not overmix at any point. 

Spoon batter evenly into 3 prepared cake pans. Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took 21 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting. Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until no lumps remain, about 3 full minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 Tablespoon cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add 1 more Tablespoon of cream to thin out, if desired.

Assemble and frost. First, using a large serrated knife, trim the tops off the cake layers to create a flat surface. Place 1 layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with cream cheese frosting. Top with 2nd layer, more frosting, then the third layer. Top with frosting and spread around the sides. The recipe doesn't make a ton of frosting, just enough for a light frost. Top with blueberries or lemon garnish if desired. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before cutting or else the cake may fall apart as you cut.

I don't have any pictures of the finished product but the website I got the recipe from does a very good job of making your mouth water. I think I may try a different combination of berries and citrus in the spring.

I can't wait to see you girls on Thursday! Until then enjoy the sunny and seasonal weather while it lasts.

Love you!

Jessica

Toffee Squares

Dear Sally,

        I'm not sure if I told you this but I am on the 'Treat Team' at church and we each bring treats once every six weeks. I was supposed to bring these squares last week. I had prepared them a week in advance and put them in my freezer so I could take them out the day before. It turns out that I forgot to bring them to church so Jesse enjoyed snacking on them instead. From what I hear they are quite delicious!

Toffee Squares

 (Adapted from Bake or Break)

 

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 & 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

3/4 cup Skor bits

1/2 cup coconut flakes

Directions
 

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2  9-inch square baking pans. Line with parchment paper or grease.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar and continue beating until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until almost blended. Divide into two equal sections. Transfer dough to prepared pans and spread evenly.

Sprinkle top with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, Skor bits, and coconut.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until edges are golden and topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

        Jesse and I are looking forward to the get together in a couple of weeks. It will be nice to catch up with everyone and to see you guys. I was hoping we could come early to visit before everyone else comes and festivities start so look out! I'll let you know first ;)

Love, 


 











 

PB&J Wedding Cake

My Dearest Sally,

What an amazing day! I could not have imagined it more beautiful than it was and I am so blessed that you were there beside me. Jesse and I cannot thank you and Jason enough for your love and support. We love you very much.

I can hear the many voices along the way telling me that I was crazy to try and make my own wedding cake. This is true. But everyone knows I am a little crazy so they really should not have been surprised. It was a process and a journey that was stressful and OH SO MUCH FUN at the same time. The hardest part was not scraping my oven clean after I did a trial run and filled the pans too full. Nor was it trying to cut the layers perfectly flat or the dowling just right. Nope, nope, nope. The most difficult part was getting Jesse to approve the icing flavour. We tried various forms of buttercream to no avail. They just didn't taste the way icing should apparently! Finally I found a simple recipe for vanilla frosting. Jesse liked vanilla alright but wanted to experiment. I put peanut butter in one small batch and chocolate in another. He loved both of those options but his favorite was the combination! In the end we had peanut butter vanilla frosting with a strawberry rhubarb vanilla filling. Three tiers and many hours later BAM! Wedding cake. The final product was a 10" chocolate pound cake followed by an 8" vanilla pound cake, topped off with a 6" simple white cake. I used three dowling pieces in the bottom two layers for support and I am glad I did. The cake was heavy!

Peanut Butter Vanilla Frosting

(adapted from Wedding Cake Art and Design - Toba Garrett)

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) icing sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 cup peanut butter (determined by flavour)

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

2. Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium. This process should take about 5 minutes. Frosting will be very pale and fluffy.

3. Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Simple Vanilla Pound Cake

(adapted from Wedding Cake Art and Design - Toba Garrett)

4 3/4 cups cake flour
4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 pkg. cream cheese
2 tbsp vanilla
5 large eggs
1 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray or line the cake pans.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix for 2 minutes on stir speed with the paddle attachment to sift and blend in the ingredients.

3. Add the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla and beat on low speed for 1 minute. Stop and scrape the bowl. Beat for 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Stop and scrape the bowl. Beat for another minute.

4. Whisk the eggs and whole milk together. Add the batter in 3 increments on low speed. Stop and scrape the bowl; then increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Stop, scrape the bowl, and then beat for 1 minute longer.


5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  

I cannot thank Rebecca enough for volunteering her advice and her amazing cake pans. Jesse has decided that I need to make cake more often. Oh what have I done! Jesse and I will begin to tear apart walls next week and plan to have you and Jason over a visit before the summer is out. What is summer without your people?

All my love to you and Jason. God bless and buckle in for whatever we have coming for us! I can't wait.