today is my friend Karen's birthday. we had an amazing dinner with friends - an all-appetizer dinner! smoked fish, nice bread and crackers, sushi, noodles, shrimp cocktails, cheese, and salmon satay. Appetizers are always the best part of a meal- so nice not to have to save room for the main course!
It was a crazy morning- a late start (we all slept in until 8:45!),
homeschool lessons, boys fighting over a piece of rope, making the
cake, phone calls to arrange a trip to Centreville, ironing for my man,
a visit from a West coast uncle, an afternoon at the aforementioned
amusement park-
but Phew! we managed to get it all done and
happily (except for the fight about the rope- "I wish you didn't
exist!" one brother shouted at the other- which I know he didn't mean- they are such good little buddies)
I made Karen one of my all-time favourite cakes for a summer birthday- the Silver Palate cookbook Glazed Lemon Cake.
this is a truly delicious cake that always gets rave reviews.
Here's the recipe:
Glazed Lemon Cake
1/2 pound sweet butter at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
(I use 1 tablespoon vinegar with 1 cup milk)
2 tightly packed tablespoons of grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
-cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs one at a time
-mix together dry ingredients, and add to butter mixture alternately with milk beginning and ending with flour (1/3 the flour, 1/2 the milk, 1/3 the flour, 1/2 the milk, 1/3 the flour)
-add the lemon zest and rind
-pour into a buttered and floured Bundt pan (I used a rose form pan )
-bake at 325 for about an hour until tester comes out clean
Glaze (i use the Joy of Cooking Quick White Icing II with lemon juice- I don't like the glaze in the cookbook)
4 Tbs. butter
2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
3 Tbs. lemon juice
-melt butter, add sugar and lemon juice and cook for a few minutes
