Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

OK.  There is a story here.  My Mother was an artist.  She never had any formal training, but her talent was evident from an early age.  I remember as a child loving the smell of linseed oil and the vibrant paint colors on her palette.  She was a typical housewife of the 50’s, but there was never anything typical about her.  She was a joyful person who loved her husband and her two beautiful (excuse the narcissism) children.  But there was always her talent that she could not hide even if she wanted to.  Her art teacher in high school  encouraged her to attend college and hone her exceptional skills.  But she had fallen in love with my Father who was a brave Marine during WW II.  Their life together was one of the most beautiful love stories that I have ever witnessed.  She was happy.  But she was also creative.  Imagine Van Gogh’s painting of Starry Starry Night.  That is what I thought of when I made this cake which is very similar to something my Mother used to make.

My Mother embraced all styles of art but her talent was in realism.  She painted what she saw and wanted it to look as realistic as possible.  I have never seen anyone with a more precise eye to detail than my Mother.  Because I have four of her paintings I can marvel at her brushstrokes and the way she made flat canvases come alive with images.  Her portraits are amazing.   Here are three that are in our living room.  In the case of Andrew Jackson she copied the portrait by Thomas Sully.  I always wondered why she had never completed it, but this was the way Sully had left it.  It is also the image that is on the twenty dollar bill.

The only one of her paintings that I don’t have, that I would love to have, belongs to my Brother Bill.  He has her Hemingway.  It is, in my opinion, a masterpiece and I applaud Bill for grabbing it first.  “Right!”

Mom was also a talented cook.  What I am today I credit to her example.  She cooked food, as she painted, with both creativity and love.  My SIL Barb recently sent me this recipe for chocolate cake.  Barb said  “Do you remember your Mom’s Blackbottom Cupcakes?  This is a cake recipe that is very similar.”  It is a recipe that I’m sure you can find on the internet as a Blackbottom Cake, but I choose to call it Starry Starry Night Cake in honor of my Mom.  She would have appreciated it’s beauty and loved it.

STARRY STARRY NIGHT CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. water
1/3 c. oil
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla

FILLING:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips

Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Pour into 9×13 inch greased and floured pan. Combine cream cheese, egg, salt, sugar and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto batter in pan. Swirl knife through batter to create a ribbon effect.  Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and confectioners’ sugar if desired.  Mom would have sprinkled it with plain sugar.
 
Printable recipe
 
I will see you after the holiday weekend.  We have lots of family visiting.  Have a fun and safe holiday.  More recipes are coming from our cookout.

A simple buttermilk cake topped with fresh Georgia peaches is what summer is all about in the South.  I remember crossing the border into Georgia for the first time driving down I-85 years ago.  The sight that greeted us was a giant peach looking almost real in it’s fuzzy plumpness. “Welcome to the Peach State” it said.  I thought immediately of Gone With the Wind and the peaches and cream complexions of Scarlett O’Hara and all of the other southern belles.  I declare,  I have looked forward to the Georgia peach crop ever since.

I make a great peach cobbler which is such a tradition in our area.  It goes well with barbecue and is served in many of the barbecue joints in the south.  But I was looking for a more refined peach recipe this time.  I saw a recipe in Bon Appetit for a blackberry buttermilk cake and just knew that I could adapt it to peaches instead of blackberries.

It is an easy cake to put together, but you have to be sure to sift the cake flour and measure before the final sifting with the baking powder, soda and salt.  The results will yield a tender flavorful cake that is delicious in it’s subtle nuances of buttermilk, orange, vanilla and peaches.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Add ice cream or whipped cream if you must, but I like it as is.

The advantages of planning ahead pay off in big ways.  Earlier in the month when I was planning the pool party that will not happen this year, I made this apple spice cake just like the one served at Spice Kitchen + Bar.  I stuck it in the freezer and forgot about it.  Now with my family coming to visit, I have instant dessert at the ready.  I’ve got to remember to do things like this more often.

The recipe was in an old issue of Bon Appetit Magazine.  My Mother used to make an apple cake that we all loved and this reminded me of her cake.  It is loaded with spices and will go well with scoops of vanilla ice cream.  A bundt cake is good when serving a crowd of people because it is so easy to slice and looks pretty sitting on a cake stand.

I snuck a piece with a glass of milk last night, just to be sure that it was worth blogging about.  It was. The things I do for all of you are unbelievable. If you need the best butter, you can have a peek here and get the best quality butter.

APPLE SPICE CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, coarsely grated

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Glaze:
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Cake:  Postion rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.  Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick spray.  Sift flour and next 6 ingredients into medium bowl.  Drain grated apples in strainer.  Using hands or kitchen towel, squeeze out excess liquid from apples.  Measure 2 cups grated apples.

Using electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and lemon peel in large bowl until fluffy.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.  Mix in vanilla and lemon juice.  Beat in flour mixture.  Mix in grated apples.  Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour.  Cool in pan on rack 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze:  Stir all ingredients in small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to boil. Reduce heat to medium; whisk until glaze is smooth, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Invert cake onto rack set over baking sheet.  Using small skewer, pierce holes all ove top of warm cake.  Pour glaze over top, allowing it to be absorbed before adding more.  Cool cake 30 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

I wonder how many girls began their love of baking with Hasbro’s Easy Bake Oven.  They have been around since 1963 and make it easy and safe for young people to experiment in the kitchen.  There are even myriads of recipes on the internet if you run out of the mixes that come with the oven.

Rachel’s cousin Keenan got an Easy Bake Oven from her Aunt Kristen this year and because we were all snowed in, they spent some time making cookies together.

I predict that it will not be long until she is making cakes like this in the real oven.  This Italian Cream Cake was both beautiful to look at and delicious to eat.  The top was sprinkled with coconut and studded with pecans.  Keenan’s Grandmother, Becky, brought the cake to our Christmas dinner and was kind enough to share the recipe with me.  She is a great cook.  I remember one year she brought the most beautiful salad in the shape of a wreath.  The greens were sprinkled with cherry tomatoes and other edible decorations that made it very festive.

You had to be quick with your camera to get a picture of this cake.  Slices kept disappearing in a blink of an eye.  Because it is a three layer cake, it looks impressive.  The cream cheese frosting is easy to spread and I think even I, the reluctant baker, could make a cake like this.  Thank you for the recipe Becky.

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

1 stick of margarine (or butter)
2 cups sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 small can of coconut
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1/2 cup crisco shortening
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Cream butter, crisco and sugar.  Beat until mixture is smooth.  Add egg yolks and beat well.  Combine flour and baking soda and add alternately with buttermilk.  Stir in vanilla.  Add coconut and nuts.  Fold in egg whites.  Bake in 3 (8 inch) greased and floured cake pans in 350 degree F. oven until done.

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 box of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
shredded coconut for top
pecan halves for top

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add sugar and vanilla and beat until well combined.  You may have to add a little milk to make the right consistancy to spread.  Assemble and frost cake.  Decorate top with coconut and pecan halves.

Printable recipe

I am not a great cake baker.  There is something in my nature that rebels against following a recipe to a tee.  I am too haphazard in my approach to baking.  It makes me nervous to level flour and fill teaspoons just so. So when faced with baking a cake for David’s birthday,  I was a bit trepidatious.  We had some wonderful apple crisp type apples and the allure of cinnamon and other spices were calling me so I made a cake combining several recipes that included these ingredients.  The only frosting that would work this time of year was a caramel frosting to mirror the idea of taffy apples.

We also had company this past weekend and I decided, because of my klutzy ways with cake decorating,  I wanted no one present when I attempted to frost the cake.  The kids, their friends and all of the children went for a hike on Chimney Rock.  Of course David was here and had to suffer through my expletives over “his special cake”.  I’m sure by the time I was finished he was wishing that he had never had a birthday.

The cake had turned out moist and beautiful just as the recipe had promised.  I had made it two days ahead of time and put the layers in the fridge.  The frosting was another story and it was all my fault.  For some reason, I decided that it was too runny in the pan after following the exact directions so I dumped in more confectioner’s sugar.  Big mistake.  The frosting seized up and became very dry, so spreading it was “an expletive deleted” nightmare.  But the cute pumpkin candies covered up my mistakes.  So if you decide to make this cake, please follow the directions.  Happy Birthday David.  Actually the cake was delicious in spite of myself.

HARVEST APPLE CAKE WITH CARAMEL FROSTING

1 1/2 cups oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamnon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
2 1/2 cups flour
3 cups grated apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put oil, sugar and eggs into the bowl of a mixer.  Beat until creamy on low speed.  Sift flour and other dry ingredients together.  With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients in three additions and blending until incoporated each time.  Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the grated apples.

Grease and flour 2 8″ or 9″ inch cake pans.  Pour batter in the pans.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center of cake comes out clean.  Cool in pans for about 10 minutes and then invert onto rack to cool.  Wrap layers and cool in fridge if not ready to frost.

CARAMEL FROSTING

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 box confectioners’ sugar

Cook butter and sugar together until well blended.  Add 1/4 cup milk and 1 box confectioners’ sugar.  Mix and add just enough milk to spread.