Picnic-ready Lemon Cake

My friend, Ina*, really never fails me. I can't think of one recipe of hers that I've attempted that wasn't a delicious crowd-pleaser, and I've tried a lot of them!

This yogurt lemon cake is pretty quick, fresh & sweet, and has become my summer al fresco dining go-to dessert. The only trick to it is really keeping an eye on the baking time. In my oven, the edges get golden brown while the center is still very batter-y. I have to watch it from 45 minutes on to catch the moment when a skewer comes out clean and the edges aren't overdone. I like to bake it in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper long enough to fold over and cover the cake when it's cooled and frosted. Tie it up with baker's twine and you're good-to-go... happy picnicking!

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 

Make the cake 

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 ½ x 4 ¼ x 2 ½-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.


*From Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home 

Summer Cycle

Thanks to Craigslist and some help with the tune-up, I am ready for summer cycling on my old/new three speed roadster. To me it's a beaut; and so trusty looking. Every time that I ride it I feel as if I could deliver medical supplies to hard-to-reach areas in WWII Italy. And then meet my lover for a picnic. It's just that sort of bike.

And it's cliché but true: the pure pleasure of cruising along, creating your own breeze on very hot summer days. Already it has taken me exploring new parts of town and running errands just for the fun of it. To encourage bike commuting and errand running, the city of Boston even helps you map your route based on various degrees of safety or directness.

Speaking of safety, I was initially a bit nervous about city riding and self-conscious about gear and what to wear to be comfortable riding and look cute upon arrival at my destination (without flashing a line of cab drivers en route!).  Lucky for me, some friends have set up a resource especially for the lady cyclist or, more specifically, for Really Awesome Women Riding bikes (RAWR!).

Don't have a bike (or the room to keep such a bulky thing in a small city apartment)? Both Boston and New York have introduced oh-so-Euro city bike programs. While the New York program launched this summer seems to be getting a bit of negative press, Boston's Hubway has been so popular that it continues to expand with stations all over Boston & Cambridge.

I think that you're ready. Now go on and get out there to enjoy a few summer cycling adventures!

after party

Did you watch the Oscars last night? 

If you did, are you in it for the red carpet? The teary acceptance speeches? The old-fashioned tinsletown celebration or the cynical how-long-can-this-go-on spectacle of it?

I, myself, am partial to the gowns and the glamor. I get drawn in to the sweeping musical numbers and get a little weepy with all of the emotional thank-yous. And it's worth the hours of settling in for all of that when you catch a quick glimpse of (my favorite) Doris Kearns Goodwin walking the post-show red carpet arm in arm with a victorious Daniel Day-Lewis and Rebecca Miller, off to celebrate, the chumiest of chums. 

Ah, Hollywood.

Faye Dunaway's breakfast with Oscar at the Beverly Hills Hotel, 1977.

Be Mine

happy hearts.

Daring (grande) dames

How old (or young) must a woman be to say, "This is me." with her personal style choices? There are plenty of fashionable ladies out there, but the ones with real gumption so often seem to be under seven or over seventy. A couple on the upper end of that spectrum happen to be the subject of recent films. It's a great chance to look in awe at and be inspired by their approach to personal style and, so much more invigorating, their approach to life.

"There's only one really good life: 
there's the life that you know you want and you make it yourself."

Diana Vreeland had a long career at Harper's Bazaar where she set all sorts of fashion trends and spotted all sorts of 'big' personalities. She also managed to fit in being the inspiration for Kay Thompson's character in Funny Face.

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel - Official Trailer (HD) from Sawyer Studios on Vimeo.

 And then there is the so-playful and oh-so-inspiring Iris Apfel.

Ms. Apfel is the subject of a recent documentary by Albert Maysles, a guy who knows a thing or two about unconventional ladies.

Are you inspired yet? Sure, there are things that can be more easily pulled off by a real 'dame', but I am still convinced that what these trailblazers are saying is: 'Don't wait too long... begin now!'.

Little last-bit-of-summer

I didn't make nearly enough ice cream this summer. Maybe because it just doesn't pack well for a picnic. Or maybe because I have big fall & winter baking plans and was saving it up as a 'garnish' for many cakes... we shall see.

But with a bounty of basil, I was inspired to glean one last flavor gasp of summer: basil ice cream. And, though this may sound a bit strange, it pairs quite well with all of those perfect tomatoes right about now.

2 cups heavy cream*
3/4 cup milk (1 or 2%)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
15 to 20 basil leaves, torn or chopped into 1/8-inch pieces
5 large egg yolks

Yields about 1 quart


1. In a medium heavy saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, half of the sugar (1/4 cup), and salt.  

2. Put the pan over medium high heat. Add the basil leaves to the pan. When the milk just begins to bubble around the edges, remove from heat and cover the pan. Let steep for about 20 minutes, or until a sweet basil flavor has infused into the milk/cream. 

1. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up, and then whisk in the remaining sugar (1/4 cup). Set aside.

2. Uncover the cream mixture and put the pan over medium high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium.

3. Temper the eggs by adding about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the egg bowl.  Repeat, adding another 1/2 cup of the hot cream to the egg bowl.  Then, return to the pan of cream on the stove and stir the cream as you slowly pour the egg and cream mixture into the pan.

4. Continue to cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened, coats the back of a spatula and leaves a clear mark when you run your finger across it, 1-2 minutes longer. 

5. Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer and into a clean container. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

6. Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Freeze for at least 4 hours & enjoy!


*I used whole milk instead of cream and added an additional egg yolk for richness, which resulted in a less creamy, more gelato-like texture. 



Slightly adapted from Food52 

Amelia at 115

Fierce & fearless. Cool & courageous.