When life throws you lemons... make Amalfi Lemon Cake!

i 💖 lemons... the fruit, the ade, the scent, everything!  So when in Amalfi last year, all the restaurants and bakeries have lemon desserts because of Amalfi growing such large and beautiful lemons.  Our favorite (yes... we went there every day while in Positano) was Collina.  Espresso and a cannoli... the best! 

This cake is DELICIOUS!  moist, simple, not overly sweet, and takes no time to make.  I hope you enjoy it as much as i.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup medium ground cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups whole blanched almonds (or you can buy raw and peeled)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large lemon
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup cold whole milk
• 2 large eggs at room temperature

• powdered sugar (reserved for the topping)

1. Preheat the over to 325 degrees and spray a 9 inch springform pan with baking spray.  I also put a piece of parchment paper and lined the bottom of the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
3. Place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor with a steel blade and pulse the almonds with the sugar, until the almonds are finely ground.
4. Cut the ends off of the lemon, and then cut the rest of it into chunks (including the remaining peel), discarding any seeds.
5. Add the lemon to the almond mixture and process until blended.
6. Add the olive oil, milk, and eggs, and process for 1 minute.
7. Add the cornmeal mixture and pulse until mixed, but DO NOT over mix.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Cool completely and then remove the cake from the pan and cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
10. When completely cool, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar.

You can always dry lemons, which is how i topped the cake, or use pieces of rind for decoration.

 

It may look simple... but it's delicious!

Bon appetito!

Yes, Mom... it's National I Love Food Day!

Are you like me... there's just too many to list!

The following are my favs, and in no specific order...

1.  See's dark chocolate scotchmallows

2.  Hot cinnamon rolls with raisins (Fred's has the best!)

3.  Toast with something savory and something sweet (cottage cheese and fruit or honey)

4.  Onion rings (well done, of course)

5.  Grilled salmon where it's crispy on the outside

6.  A yummy veggie salad with a little drizzle of olive oil, lemon & salt

7.  A deliciously BBQ'd hamburger, rare

8.  Tropical fruits

9.  Delicious tomatoes, red onions, basil, israeli feta and herbs

10.  Melon with cottage cheese

11.  Ice cold, crispy fresh veggies

12.  A white pizza with extremely thin and well-done crust (pref. Pizzeria Mozza)

Yes, i do love food!

Now please tell me... what are your favorites?

Bon Appetit!

APPLE OATMEAL CRISP not quite sweet enough for Rosh Hashanah

A good apple crumble... just a bit too tart to start off the new year.

Monday i was thinking about Rosh Hashanah and decided it would be nice to make something a little different (or "different" insofar as the holidays are concerned).  I've already offered to bring a round challah,  so now i want to think of a sweet apple dish.  Well, i guess i wasn't in the mood to think too hard.  I found what looked like a simple recipe for an apple crisp.  This recipe came from the Cafe Beaujolais cookbook which I've had for over 20 years and can tell you it's provided me with some wonderful dishes and stories that i will never forget to go along with those dishes.  This recipe (and probably most recipes that call for apple slices) called for soaking the apple slices in lemon juice.  I get the idea of not wanting the apples to oxidize so you keep them in an acidulous bath, but... Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be sweet, sweet, sweet.  No tart.  No sour.  We want to start the year out on the sweetest note possible.  So why did i use the lemon?  In fact, i also used granny smith apples which tend to be tart.  Next round i'm using golden delicious (sorry, Rosa.  I'm aiming for sweet on the second version).  I made the apple crumble (which smelled delicious as it was cooking) and brought it to my office on Tuesday.  The RPD taste testers seemed to like the dish, although some commented on how tart it was.  In fact, my sister said it reminded her of a lemon meringue pie.  Not a good sign, especially for Rosh Hashanah. 

Apples bathing in lemon juice and zest.  Bound to be more tart than sweet.
What was i thinking?!?!

 I decided that the second apple crisp would be made with apple juice, honey and a splash of lemon juice, and i would try golden delicious apples.  Yes, the honey and golden delicious apples should make a tremendous difference, and hopefully this dish will be perfect for the holiday! 

Although the pictures in this posting are from the tart apple crumble made on Monday (with the lemon juice and lemon zest), as i write this post i'm in the process of baking a new, revised crumble using the apple juice/honey/splash of lemon juice mixture along with golden delicious apples.  I'll have to post tomorrow after our Rosh Hashanah lunch to let you know the consensus.  I have a feeling this one will be a lot less tart.

Assembled and ready to bake

Fresh out of the oven and smelling delicious!

Recipe is adapted from Margaret Fox's Cafe Beaujolais, Mendocino, California

When i refer to "my first crumble", it's the tart version; "the second version" is the one i'm hoping turns out much sweeter.

Ingredients -

• 6 firm apples, peeled, cored and cut in 1/4-inch slices (my first crumble i used granny smith; the second one i used golden delicious) 
• juice of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 lemon (i omitted the zest on the second version)
• 1/4 cup of apple juice
• 1/4 cup of honey (this became an afterthought that i used in the second version only)
• 1 teaspoon of cinammon
• 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground ginger
• 3/4 cup of flour
• 3/4 cup of light brown sugar (I used 3/4 cup of demerara plus 1/4 cup of golden brown sugar for a little extra sweetness)
• 1/2 cup of regular oats
• 1/4 cup of slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
• optional toppings:  vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or vanilla custard sauce

Mix together the apple slices, lemon juice, lemon rind and apple juice (or brandy, water or Calvados).  Place in a buttered 9-inch round cake pan.
Using an electric mixer at slow speed, blend the sugar, butter, flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger until crumbly.  
Mix in the slivered almonds.
Scatter evenly on top of apples.
Bake at 350°F. for 1 hour.
Serve warm.

And enjoy this dessert knowing i send you best wishes for a new year filled with an abundance of health, happiness and peace.

Lemon Limencello Pound Cake

When i was in Italy i discovered Limencello - the lemon flavored liqueur made of vodka, and it is delish! I was thinking that it would be a good addition to a lemony dessert, and Rosa at my office told me about her favorite Lemon Almond Poundcake recipe from Bon Appetit that has Limencello brushed on top of the cake. Yummm! Since i'm going to a dinner party this evening, i thought it would make a terrific dessert to bring. But i fear not everyone will like the almond flavor which can be overpowering. I did, however, find another lemon pound cake recipe by Bon Appetit that got rave reviews. I've been looking forward to making this one because it's made with 1 cup of sour cream, but i thought i could use Fage plain yogurt instead. I figure it will be super moist.

I also decided to make "schlag", or homemade whipped cream to dollop on top of the cake.

Silly me... after i popped the pound cake in the oven and sat down to write this post, i realized i forgot to add the yogurt. Meantime, i lost that cake. Don't ask. All i can say is maybe these silicone cake pans aren't the easiest to use. Apparently that cake just wasn't meant to be so i decided to do it again but make sure i add the yogurt this time.

Sour Cream Lemon Limencello Pound Cake
Adapted from Bon Appetit

3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel (i used 4 tablespoons)
1 cup sour cream (i substituted with greek yogurt)
1/3 cup Limencello (you might want to make sure you have a little extra to sip while you're waiting.)

Preheat oven to 325° F.
Spray and lightly flour a tube pan, and set aside.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl and set aside.
Using a mixer, beat butter at medium speed until fluffy.
Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each addition.
Beat in lemon juice and peel.
Using a rubber spatula, mix in the dry ingredients.
Now mix in sour cream or yogurt.
Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Turn out cake.

Carefully turn cake rightside up on rack and cool completely. Take wooden toothpick and punch holes throughout the top of cake. Brush with limencello and sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Voila!

Schlag, or Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar

Put cold heavy cream, vanilla and sugar in mixing bowl.
With standing mixer, use the whisk attachment and, start out slowly otherwise you have cream all over your kitchen.
As the cream thickens, turn the speed up. As it gets foamier, start checking for a soft peak, which is what you want. The peak should bend over at the top when you remove the whisk. As it gets close, slow down, because if it goes too far, it will clump and separate (essentially become butter).

This dessert turned out to be a success! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. My parents, who are both real fans of lemon desserts, thought it was fantastic, and nobody had thoughts of "next time try adding less of this or more of that". In fact, Laurence said it was his favorite dessert that i've recently made. I particularly liked the crusty outside and very moist inside.  This is definitely a keeper.