kerewin's whine cellar

Poppy Seed Lemon Cake

Everything the lady at Smitten Kitchen cooks looks delicious. Usually I can't eat it because there's either flour or milk. Last night there was a cake up there that I just couldn't resist. All it had was 1/2 cup of flour. I don't like to use gluten-free swap outs as a rule but that seemed like a low enough amount I could use half buckwheat flour and half gluten-free flour and not have it taste too different.

One problem. I don't have a bundt pan/tube cake. This is so typical of how I cook, I see something shiny and new and must cook it NOW and that requires running around town looking for what is missing.

There's so few ingredients!

So, I got up Sunday morning with two things on my mind. Find leg of lamb for the Mrs. Beeton's project and buy a tube pan so I can eat gluten-free poppy seed cake. I wasn't looking for a bundt pan because, well, I don't know, bundt cakes seem ghetto. Plus, the recipe calls for generously buttering the pan and all those nooks and crannies in a bundt pan, I am sure I would miss a couple making the cake stick.

The batter whips so creamy from the yolk/sugar mixture, this was one of the easiest, most fun cakes to make.

So I went to Mrs. Cooks in University Village and they had PLENTY of tube pans and bundt pans. However, every single one of them was non-stick. While I suspect it isn't good to cook with stuff that flakes off into your food, I am not militant about it. However, my husband is. I suppose that means I am as well. I spoke to one of the salespeople where I learned that they keep a small stock of non-non-stick tube pans but they were out due to the holiday season. The only baking pans they had were regular 8" round cake pans. She them turned to a chart and showed me that if you use one bundt pan, it equals two 8" rounds. I knew this was a pretty thin cake and figured just one pan would work but I bought two, just in case.

Just ready for you to finish your computer surfing before you devour me.

The cooking time was a little bit longer due to the difference in cake pans. I went an hour, which I would say was about 3-5 minutes too long as the cake is a little dry. But who cares? The poppy seeds have such a great crunch, texture and flavor to them. The cake smells of lemon essence. It has a lightness that I wouldn't have thought. Next time I have a party this is my go-to dessert. AND I get to eat it!

Whenever I see "All Purpose GF Baking Flour" it looks like "Girlfriend Baking Powder." I mean, what would one use that for? Weird.

Promises, Promises

This was dinner tonight, chicken salad stuffed tomatoes. Too bad we only had three tomatoes or I would have stuffed a lot more. Yum. We were also missing tarragon and red grapes. I subbed apples for the fruit and capers for the tarragon. Nothing can make up for no tarragon.

I decided tonight that tomorrow I will make 2 recipes. Both will require me finding specialized ingredients/cooking utensils. First, Mrs Beeton's Braised Leg of Mutton and second, Smitten Kitchen's Poppy Seed Cake. Now, all I need to find is a leg of mutton and an 8-inch tube pan. And bacon, stock, poppy seeds, lemons, and cornstarch. Easy Peasy.

Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management

SJ started a blog revolving around the Victorian era and a series of pamphlets about household management between 1859 and 1861 and then later published together as a book. She asked for contributors and it seemed like something exciting and new, so you can now find me here, as well:

The Queen's Scullery

There are lots of different takes on the era. I am excited!