Lime Cake

Hey guys! Today I bring you this simple yet delicious Lime Cake. My sister made it a while ago and it was a huge success so I decide to share it with you. =) So light, fluffy, moist, and tangy. Yum! And the process couldn't be easier - and faster: just blend and mix. Simple as that. Perfect for any time of day - and night. ;)

Sorry for the short post. My inspiration is on vacations today. Hahaha.

~Ana.

Cake
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk, room temperature
4 eggs
Zest and juice of 1 lime
2 cups sugar
Pich of salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder

Frosting
1 can sweet condensed milk
5 tablespoons butter, room temperature (~100g)
1/3 cup lime juice

Start with the frosting
1. Mix all the ingredients with a wooden spoon - a mixer would be fine, too - until smooth.
2. Put in the fridge until it thickens. I recommend making only half the batch.

For the cake
1.Put oil, milk, eggs, lime juice, sugar, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
2.Transfer into a large bowl and mix in the flour, baking powder, and lime zest.
3. Pour into a lined rectangular (25x35cm) baking pan and bake for 40 minutes in a preheated oven (180ºC).
4. Do the cake test. Let it cool before frosting. Decorate with lime zest.
5. Serve it cool or at room temperature.

Fruit Tea Loaf

A few days ago my mother was in the mood for some cake, so I flipped through Cakes Galore (a gift from Ana) and decided upon baking Fruit Tea Loaf. My mother loves fruit cakes and adding tea was unsual, but I was curious to see how it would turn out. To my surprise the cake took two days to make. It is not difficult at all for on day one you mix the fruits, spices and liquid together and store it overnight for the contents to saturate. Day two you add the flour and dump the batter into a bread pan-easy! My mother liked the cake, however my only reservation was that it looked nothing like the cake in the book. Now I know the cooking or baking results won't replicate the exact image in cookbooks, but my cake was really, really ugly. I will make another fruit cake for the holiday season, but probably not this one.

~Ann

Fruit Tea Loaf

2 Cups mixed dried fruit, such as golden raisins, currants, raisins, and canded cherries

Generous 1/2 cup light brown sugar

2/3 cup brewed tea (the author suggests using Earl or Lady Grey tea for a scented flavour, I used Earl Grey)

2 teaspoons ground allspice

Finely grated zest of 1 orange (I used 1 lemon instead)

1 Tablespoon clear honey, warmed

Directions

1. Place the mixed dried fruit, sugar, butter, tea, and allspice in a saucepan. Cover and heat gently until the butter has melted, stirring occasionally. Bring to the boil and boil for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the orange zest, then set aside and leave overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line a 8 1/2 inch loaf tin.

3. Fold the sifted flour into the fruit mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

4. Remove the cake from the oven, brush the top of the cake with wamred honey, then leave it to cool completely in the pan. Turn out and serve in slices spread with butter, if you like.

Bundt Cake

Things have been pretty crazy on my side of the earth for the past week or so, so making time to bake and blog was difficult, however I as much as I enjoy doing this blog, I did not enjoy making this next recipe which was a sponge cake. It has to be one of the hardest cake I have ever made. Two years ago I bought the summer 2009 Canadian Living Special Cookbook Issue. There was this one recipe that caught my attention which was a Blueberry Citrus Sponge Cake. It sounded delish, and the picture of the cake was mouth watering, so had set aside a steamy summer afternoon to make this cake and the process was not fun. I have eczema, which is a skin problem where I develop rashes all over my hands, and anything acidic that touches my skin burns. Because this is a citrus cake, it requires zesting and squeezing lemons and oranges. I tried to handle the fruits without actually touching the juice, which didn't work. Next, was the separation of eight egg whites, which was really messy, and frustrating since I couldn't separate them. Although the cake did not turn out bad at all, I did not enjoy making this cake at all. You would think that after making this cake two years ago I would change my mind about this cake, or even improve on the baking method, but I haven't on both accounts. When I was making this cake last night, I screamed so much I was afraid the neighbours may have considered calling the police. If separating egg whites is no feat for you, then be brave and try baking this cake. In my opinion it requires a lot of effort, but the results pay off-if you follow the recipe correctly.

  -Ann

Blueberry Citrus Sponge Cake

2 cups sifted cake and pastry flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon vanilla
8 egg whites (oh the horror!)
2 cups blueberries (I used one cup, but that's only because I didn't read the instructions properly and I bought enough to make one cup only) Glaze: 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice

Directions
1. In large bowl, whisk together cake and pastry flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange rind and juice, lemon rind and juice, and vanilla; beat into dry ingredients until smooth and thick.
3. In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy; beat in icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold 1/3 into batter; fold in remaining whites. Fold in blueberries.
4. Scrape into greased and flour dusted 10-inch (3 L) bundt or tube cake pan. Swirl knife through batter to remove air bubbles.
5. Bake in 350ºF (180ºC) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 30 minutes.

Glaze
 Meanwhile in small saucepan, bring sugar and juice to boil, stirring; boil for 1 minutes. Let cool. Loosen cake from edges of pan. Invert onto rack; brush with glaze. Let cool.

~Makes 12 servings.