LEAPING LEMONS!

Last Wednesday was the Youth Company Picnic (bye bye seniors! *sob sob*) which was hella fun but hella sad at the same time, because we were saying bye to our fabulous seniors.
After moving around an appointment and making some compromises I was able to go, which was really good.
I wanted to bring something lemon-y, because, well, I dont know, but lemons just seem very picnic-y and summer-y. Wow. Thats a lot of -y's. Anyway, I found a recipe for lemon bread/poundcake on Cupcake Rehab and HAD to try it.
And I'm so glad I did, because it came out perfectly. It tasted a lot like the one from Starbucks, as promised, and it was definitely a hit at the picnic.

Here is the recipe:
Lemon Pound Cake (Lemon Loaf)



POUND CAKE:
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan well.
3. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
4. In mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream butter. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon juice and oil until mixed well.
5. Add dry ingredient mixture to your mixer and blend until smooth. No not over mix.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until testing stick comes out clean. Edges should be a dark golden brown and will crisp upon cooling.
7. Let cake cool before icing.



ICING:
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

For icing blend powdered sugar, milk, and lemon extract until creamy. Ice the top of your cake and let the icing drip down the sides of your pound cake. Let icing set before slicing.

The one thing I will probably change in future times of making this would be the icing - i think there was too much lemon by adding lemon extract to it. Other than that it was perfect though.

PEACE. LOVE. LEMON LOAF.

Are Those Deep Fried Cupcakes?

On Sunday I went to a barbecue at my good friend Katie's house, and my mommy made an angel food cake for dessert.
Good, sweet, creator of all that is good in the world, let me just tell you that angel food cake is one of my absolute favorite kinds of cakes - scratch that - desserts, in the world. I have two big slices of that baby and could have had two more. And THAT is why my love handles will not go away.
Anyway, on the ride home, I asked my mom if it would be possible to make angel food cupcakes. She told me she didn't think so, because you have to put the cake upside down and all that jazz. So I did my research and looked in my cupcake book, by Elinor Klivans, and I found a recipe for lemon angel food cakes.
I changed it a little and took out the lemon zest so they could just be plain angel food cakes.
So here is the adapted recipe:

CUPCAKES:
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 Cup sugar (plus 4 Tbsp.)
1 1/2 Cup egg whites
1 Tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 Tsp. salt
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 Tsp. almond extract



1. Preheat oven to 325. Have ready a muffin pan with 24 muffin cups (or 2 with 12 cups). Put paper liners in 6 of the cups to protect the pan.
2. Sift the flour and 4 tablespoons of the sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until the whites are foamy and the cream of tartar dissolves. Beat on high speed until the egg whites look shiny and smooth and the beaters form lines in the mixture; if you stop the mixer and lift up the beaters, the whites should cling to the beaters. Slowly, beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time., then beat for 1 minute. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract. Beating on low speed, sprinkle 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg white mixture at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate it.
4. Using about 1/2 cup for each, spoon the batter into the 18 unlined muffin cups. The batter may even be above the tops of the cups, but this stiff batter will not spill over the sides. do not smooth the tops - let the batter remain in fluffy mounds.
5. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. The cupcakes will rise quite a bit.
6. Use a small knife to loosen the edges of the cupcakes from the pan. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan, using the knife to help release them if necessary, and let them sit on a rack.


They came out really good. I definitely think i will make this recipe again.