Lemon Love Bundt Cake

First I'm going to tempt you with lemon in this luscious lemon bundt cake before I explain about the lemons of blogging.  Please see below for my update. 💛😡

I've had this lemon bundt cake recipe for over 10 years and it's still a favorite!  Originally found on a blogging friend's website.  She no longer posts but her recipes are still online here.  She found the recipe through Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook.  I renamed it because it's not a true pound cake since it only uses 2 sticks of butter and not 4, but the 1 cup of sour cream kind of makes up for that! It is moist and so delicious. 

I used a light lemon glaze over the top.  This cake is wonderful on it's own but even better with some berries on the side and maybe a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!  

Susan

Lemon Love Cake

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2¾ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
5 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
½ cup fresh lemon juice, from about 4 lemons

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 10-inch Bundt pan with lots of pan spray and sprinkle it with granulated sugar.  (Flour will leave an unattractive residue on the cake.)

To make the cake:

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Add vanilla and lemon zest, mix them together.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  

Mix sour cream and lemon juice together. Add flour and sour cream mixture alternately, finishing with the flour.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.  

Place a wire cooling rack over the top of the bundt pan and carefully flip bundt pan and rack over using oven mitts.  Allow cake to cool about 5-10 minutes before lifting the pan off of the cake.  Cool completely.

To make the glaze dizzle:

1-2/3 cups fonctioners' sugar, sifted.
Pinch of Salt
2-4 tablespons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix the sugar and salt, then add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and stir, add more lemon juice as needed to create a thin glaze that can be poured artfully over the cool cake.  Add sprinkles, if desired.  

Vintage Lemon Tart

If you're still struggling with what dessert to have for your Easter brunch or dinner, I have a super easy and delicious recipe for you!  This delicious lemon tart (or pie should you decide to make it in a pie pan) can easily be made a day ahead, which is a must when I'm entertaining.

Last weekend, we were invited to a dinner party and I offered to bring the dessert.  I knew I wanted to make something that tasted like spring and decided it would be lemon.  I consulted my Pinterest Board called "If Life Gives You Lemons" and I went down a vast worm hole of lemon recipes on the internet.

The recipe I decided on was mainly inspired by Tricia's beautiful lemon pie at Saving Room for Dessert.  There are many versions of lemon or Key Lime pies or bars that use sweetened condensed milk, many dating back more than 50 years.  The Eagle Brand website has their original version.  Many of the comments on recipes that I browsed, stated that their grandmother or great-grandmother had made the same recipe.

What won me over about Tricia's recipe was her whipped cream topping that includes cream cheese as a stabilizer.  Another do-ahead bonus! Remember I told you that is originally a very, old recipe?  The old-fashioned way to top the pie was to use the egg whites that are left-over from the pie filling to make a baked meringue topping. If you need to find another use for those egg whites, make an angel food cake, an egg white omelet or these delicious almond crisps from my friend Juliana.  Egg whites can also be frozen for up to a month. 

For the dinner party, I decided to add some finely ground almonds to the graham cracker crust.  In my research, I also saw crusts made from animal crackers and saltine crackers.  I'd love to try both!

I used a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  I had enough ingredients left to make these two individual tarts for my husband to enjoy the next day.  Just as tasty as the first day they were made!

Did you know that condensed milk was first introduced in France in 1820 and in the United States by Gail Bordon in 1856.  Condensed milk is real milk from which all water has been removed during a vacuum process.  It was used to feed soldiers during wars and to feed infants and children when lack of refrigeration lead to death from spoiled milk products.  In the 1930s, The Borden company (which is now Eagle Brand) asked homemakers to create and send in recipes made using sweetened condensed milk and I love that we are still using some of them today.

April weather has been very interesting! We've had highs in the 70s but this is what our back yard looked like on Sunday.

Thankfully, the early spring flowers are very hardy! These photos were taken yesterday, after the snow had melted. On the left, Katharine Hodgkin dwarf iris; in the center white Hellebore, or Lenten rose; and on the right, Chionodoxa or Glory of the Snow.

May you all have a save and happy holiday weekend!

Vintage Lemon Tart

Printable Recipe

Servings: 10 slices

My Notes: I used a 10 inch tart pan and doubled the entire recipe. I had enough cracker crumbs and filling left to make 2 4-inch tarts. You could also use a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, which may take slightly longer to bake.

Tip:  Since I was bringing this dessert to someone else's home, I made the whipped topping in the morning and then placed it in a large piping bag with large tip. I like Wilton's large tips. but you will then need to use the large coupler. I sealed the open end of the piping bag with a rubber band, placed it in a zipper bag, and refrigerated it along with the tart.  I was then able to cut and decorate each slice individually when we served it.

Crust:

2-1/2 cups crushed graham crackers (2 packages)
1/3 cup ground almonds
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Filling:

2/3 cup sour cream
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand)
9 large egg yolks
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, from about 8 large lemons, strain (I prefer to use organic lemons when the zest is also used)
2 tablespoon lemon zest, plus more for garnish

Topping:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:

Fresh strawberries or raspberries
Grated lemon zest

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a food processor, combine the graham crackers, almonds and sugar. Process for about 15 pulses until finely crushed. Add the melted butter and pulse until just blended.  Press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom and sides of a 8-inch tart pan with removable bottom (or use a pie plate or 9 x 13 baking pan).  Tip: Use the bottom of a 1-cup round measuring cup to help firmly press the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Bake for 8 minutes and set on a baking rack to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.  In a medium bowl (I like to use an 8 cup pyrex mixing bowl with pouring spout), add the sour cream.  With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the sweetened condensed milk and mix until combined. Add the egg yolks, one at a time until each is blended.  Add the lemon juice and zest and mix until blended. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake for about 25 minutes or until the filling is set, but is still somewhat jiggly in the center. Cool completely on a wire rack and then refrigerate at least 2 hours or until ready to add the topping.

Place the cream cheese into a medium bowl and mix until smooth using an electric mixer. Add the whipping cream slowly and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Pipe or spread over the top of the tart.  Top with fresh berries and sprinkle with additional lemon zest.

Inspired by Easy Lemon Pie from Saving Room for Dessert

Lemon-Zucchini Bread

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since my last post!  We took a little vacation to the Colorado mountains with friends recently and enjoyed some beautiful, warm weather and lots of fun activities which I'll share at the end of this post.

It seems the warmth followed us home. Are you having the same heat-wave that we are?  The past week has brought unseasonably warm and dry weather to the Midwest.  It's been in the upper 80s to mid 90s Fahrenheit!  Needless to say, my zucchini and tomato plants are loving the heat.

Trying to make good use of my zucchini bounty, I made this recipe that I had seen online recently that combined zucchini with my other love - lemon.  The original recipe calls for glazing the zucchini bread with a drizzle of lemony frosting, but trying to keep it more calorie-friendly, I omitted that step. I will include the glaze in the recipe in case you'd rather it be a little sweeter.

I pulled out my late mom's old Ekco loaf pans which made some lovely golden loaves.

The bread turned great!  It was so moist I was happy I didn't glaze it. I loved seeing all the beautiful flecks of green zucchini and yellow lemon zest inside.  It was pretty hard to keep myself from eating slice after slice while taking these photos ;)

Here's a tip for those of you who do grow zucchini, or have a friend or neighbor that gifts you bags of it. Freeze fresh zucchini for your fall and winter baking projects or for the next time you're craving zucchini fritters!  Simply grate the zucchini on a box grater, or use the grating attachment on your food processor.  Remove as much excess moisture as possible by putting it in a clean tea towel and ringing it, or use a potato ricer, which is my preferred method.  After squeezing out the moisture, you can simply tap out the grated zucchini patty from the potato ricer and freeze it until firm, then place it in plastic zipper bags to use whenever you like.

Back to the little trip we took the second week of September!  We have good friends who have a home in Edwards, Colorado which is just west of Vail.  We had glorious sunny and warm days which were spent golfing, hiking and river rafting.  It was my first time river rafting and it was quite a scary an exhilarating experience! We used an outfit located on the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, which was about an hour drive from Edwards. Driving through Glenwood Canyon is a spectacular ride which I highly recommend.  There are also lots of beautiful hiking trails if you're not into rafting.

Since you do get entirely soaked while going through the rapids I couldn't film the raft ride but if you want to get a little idea of what it was like, take a look at the Rock Garden's website here.  We had an experienced helmsman who was great.

One day, we walked through the Village of Vail and had lunch.  The village is so picturesque and was modeled after European ski towns.  If you look carefully, you can see someone tending the flowers outside the middle floor in the upper-right photo.  Every hotel and business prides itself on its floral displays.

I hope you enjoyed my short Colorado mountain tour and please also enjoy this lovely zucchini bread!

Lemon-Zucchini Bread

Printable Recipe 

Makes two 9×5″ breads

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs 1 cup neutral-flavored oil
1-1/4 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk (or substitute sour cream or Greek Yogurt)
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon, preferably organic so you're not eating pesticides
 2 cups grated, unpeeled zucchini with excess moisture pressed out

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour 2, 9×5″ loaf pans and set aside. Blend together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs well and then blend in the canola oil and sugar. Mix in the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Add the zucchini and mix to distribute evenly. Add zucchini mixture to the dry ingredients and gently mix just until blended together. Don’t overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Start checking after 35 minutes as some ovens are hotter than others.

Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

If desired, you can glaze the breads after they are cool:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice, more or less to get desired thickness of glaze
1 teaspoon lemon zest

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set, then serve.

Adapted from this recipe.

Frozen Lemon Pie with Blueberry Sauce

Are you ready for the last holiday of summer? Do you need a dessert for your cook out this weekend? I may have the perfect idea for you.  Able to be made in advance,  it can help to make your holiday entertaining easy.

This dessert was on our Gourmet group menu that I've talked about in my last two posts.  A great finale to a wonderful night and the last of the recipes I'd like to share from our dinner party.

Cool and refreshing, this creamy pie in a graham cracker crust is like almost like eating lemon ice cream.  The lemony, blueberry topping is the perfect garnish, along with a dollop of whipped cream.  

Have a sturdy knife to slice the pie and get ready for lots of compliments!

Oh my gosh, did I say Labor Day?  September is the month when summer seems to slip away so quickly. The days seem to get shorter quickly and the evenings start to get cool here in the Midwest. We pack so much into a few short months that summer goes by in a flash.  Fingers crossed September will be kind to us and hurricanes will be kept off our shores.  My heart goes out to the people of Houston and those areas affected by Harvey.

Frozen Lemon Pie with Blueberry Sauce

Printable Recipe

For the crust (Make first)

1-1/2 cups crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Vegetable cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325°

In a food processor, pulse crackers, sugar and salt until finely crushed and well combined. Add melted butter, and process until thoroughly combined. Alternatively, you can crush the graham crackers in a zipper bag with a rolling pin or meat mallet.

Then, add the other ingredients until well blended.

Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate with baking spray. Press the graham cracker mixture on the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

Bake crust 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

For the filling:

1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Lemon zest from one large lemon (about a tablespoon)

Lemon Juice from 2-3 lemons (about 1/2 cup)

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325°.

Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a bowl.

In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until yolks become pale and create ribbons on the surface when the beater is lifted. Slowly whisk in sweetened condensed milk mixture until thoroughly combined.

Then add buttermilk and whisk until combined. Pour the mixture into baked and cooled crust.

Bake pie at 325° for 20 to 25 minutes, until set around edges. The pie will still be slightly jiggly. Cool pie on a wire rack for 1 hour.

Lightly spray a large piece of plastic wrap and cover pie. Freeze for at least 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

Keeps well in freezer for several days.

 

For the Blueberry Topping:

(Makes about 1-1/2 cups)

2 cups fresh blueberries, divided

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Zest from one large organic lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, bring 1 cup blueberries, sugar, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes, or until mixture has thickened and berries begin to break down.

Remove from heat, and stir in remaining 1 cup blueberries. Cool completely; cover and chill until ready to use.

When ready to serve, remove pie from freezer. Using a large knife dipped in warm water, cut pie into slices and serve with sweetened whipped cream and blueberry sauce.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living Magazine.

Cream Scones with Lemon and Dried Fruit~

How do you cozy up a dark and dreary winter day? Since the ice storm rolled through, we have had rain, fog and gloomy days...dark even earlier than than on a sunny day.  We like to light lots of candles (mostly the no-flame, no little burned fingers kind), turn on cheery music and on the weekends, I like to bake!

Early this week, I was craving something sweet but not too sweet. Something that would taste great with a warm cup of tea.  Scones sounded perfect and this was one of the best scone recipes I've tried.  Other recipes I've made have added butter and egg in the dough. This recipe gets enough added fat from using cream rather than milk or buttermilk to moisten the dough.  

First published in Bon Appetit in 1996, these scones are flaky and tender with a luscious lemony flavor from grated lemon zest - not only in the dough but also mixed with sugar and sprinkled on top before baking.

They are indeed perfect with a cup of tea - especially my favorite green tea with lemon.  

I added chopped dried apricots and dried cherries as I had them on hand.  Since my dried cherries were not brand new and soft, I plumped them in a splash of Kirsch liqueur before baking. I think dried blueberries would be delicious in this recipe too!

Even my husband, who is not a fan of dried fruit in bakery, loved these.

And did I mention the sugary, lemon-zest topping? So good!

So bring on the baking and bring on the light - we need it!

Cream Scones with Lemon

Printable Recipe

Makes 12 Scones

Note: I like to use organic lemons when I need lemon zest to avoid any pesticide residue.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cherries (plumped in enough Kirsch to cover)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 teaspoons or so of grated lemon peel, divided (from 2 large, organic lemons)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (8 oz container)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

If your dried cherries are no longer soft, plump them in a small cup with enough Kirsch liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Amaretto will also work) to cover. Place another cup on top of cherries submerge them. Allow to 'plump' for about 15 minutes or so and then drain. Squeeze dry with paper toweling.

Mix flour, the 1/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Stir in apricots, cherries and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Add whipping cream and stir just until dough forms. If necessary, add another tablespoon or so of milk if your dough is still too dry but don't get the dough too wet. Kneed dough gently on a lightly floured surface, just until dough holds together. Form the dough into a 10-inch circle, 1/2 inch-thick or so. Cut into 12 wedges with a clean knife dipped in cold water. 

Transfer wedges onto a large baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon peel in small bowl. Brush scones with melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Bake scones in the preheated oven until light golden brown, about 15-25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve scones warm or at room temperature. May be made a day ahead and wrapped in foil.

Adapted from Bon Appetit, 1996

Lemon Tart with Pine Nut Crust

My favorite desserts are chocolate and lemon.  Usually chocolate takes precedence, unless it's a REALLY good, REALLY lemon-y dessert.  Let me tell you, this one ranks in the top five all-time lemon desserts I've ever made and it could possibly be number one! 

The silky, lemon sabayon filling is wonderful and the sweet pine nut crust is a unique and delicious compliment to the tartness of the lemon.  Perfection, I tell you! The pine nut crust can even be made a day in advance and the lemon sabayon the morning you'd like to serve this dessert.  

The most time-consuming part of making this dessert is making the sabayon.  If you have a little patience and 15 minutes to devote to stirring,  it is well worth the effort.  The sabayon is slightly caramelized under the broiler after filling the tart, similar to a crème brûlée .  You can top it with whipped cream or plain raspberries, as I did. 

I don't often make dessert for my husband and myself.  But when we're invited to a dinner party I enjoy offering to bring dessert and try to make a little extra for us. The bonus mini tarts were refrigerated and enjoyed the next day ;)

If you know someone who is a lemon lover you need to make this for them.  It will knock their Christmas Stockings off :)

Christmas baking has just begun here.  I bought myself an early Christmas baking gadget a month ago and purchased this adorable Nordic Ware Gingerbread House pan.  

I also received a beautiful copper Christmas tree cookie cutter recently as a gift so made a few of my favorite gingerbread cut-outs and decorated them with royal icing. The moose in the background was a gift my my daughter that she purchased in Jackson Hole, WY on a ski trip. You can find my very own gingerbread recipe here and royal icing recipes here.  It's a little milder than most and goes over well, even with my grandsons who helped me decorate my first gingerbread cakes from my new cakelet pan :)  Not too bad for 3 and 6-year-old boys ♥.

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Lemon Tart with Pine Nut Crust

Printable Recipe Makes 8-10 servings Make the Pine Nut Crust first... Ingredients for the Lemon Sabayon: 3 large eggs, cold 3 large egg yolks, cold 1-1/8 cups sugar 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 large lemons) 9 tablespoons (4-1/2 ounces) cold butter, cut into 6 pieces Ingredients for the Pine Nut Crust: This is 1/2 the original recipe and makes enough dough for one 9-10 inch tart pan plus another 6 inch or two mini 4 inch tart pans. Butter and flour for the tart pan 1 cup pine nuts (5 oz) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 8 T (4 ounces) unsalted butter (I used salted), room temperature 1/2 large egg (I break an egg into a small bowl, whisk briefly to combine white and yolk and measure out 1/8 cup, which equals 1/2 egg) 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract To make the pine nut crust: Place the pine nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the sugar and flour and continue to pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the butter, egg, and vanilla extract and mix to incorporate all the ingredients (the dough can be mixed by hand or in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Dough can be frozen, wrapped well, for up to 1 month.) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and refrigerate it while the oven preheats. I used a non-stick tart pan so skipped this step. Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator. Use your fingertips to press the chilled pine nut dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough. Bake the crust for 10 to 12 minutes, then rotate it and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool while you make the filling. Don't worry about small cracks. May be made 1 day ahead. To make the lemon sabayon: When ready to start the lemon sabayon, have the lemon juice and butter ready by the side of the stove. Bring about 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a pot that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl you will be using for the sabayon. You don't want the bowl to touch the boiling water beneath. I used a double boiler. Meanwhile, in the bowl you will be using over the boiling water, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is smooth. Set the bowl over the pot and, using a large whisk, whip the mixture while you turn the bowl (for even heating). After about 2 minutes, when the eggs are foamy and have thickened, add one-third of the lemon juice. Continue to whisk vigorously and, when the mixture thickens again, add another one-third of the lemon juice. Whisk until the mixture thickens again, then add the remaining lemon juice. Continue whisking vigorously, still turning the bowl, until the mixture is thickened and light in color and the whisk leaves a trail in the bottom of the bowl. The total cooking time should be 10 to 15 minutes, possibly less, depending on your stove. Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the water. Whisk in the butter a piece at a time. The sabayon may loosen slightly, but it will thicken and set as it cools. Pour the warm sabayon into the tart crust and place the pan on a baking sheet. Preheat the broiler. While the sabayon is still warm, place the tart under the broiler. Leaving the door open, brown the top of the sabayon, rotating the tart if necessary for even color; this will take only a few seconds, so do not leave the oven. Remove the tart from the broiler and let it sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature or cold. Adapted from Epicurious, Courtesy of Bouchon Cookbook

Shrimp Scampified

Every few weeks from late spring to early fall, Fabian Seafood from Galveston, Texas comes to our area and sells fresh shrimp from the Gulf.  Their shrimp is flown in fresh, never frozen and sold out of the back of a truck in coolers filled with ice at 3 locations over 3 days.  Last week was their last visit for the year so I stocked up on shrimp and crab meat for crab cakes.  They sell east coast fresh crab without any preservatives and it's delicious.

Since it's been cool here lately, I decided to make my latest shrimp purchase into a comforting pasta dish.  After looking over a few recipes and picking out the parts that sounded best, I came up with a version of Shrimp Scampi that my family loved.  With the shrimp cut into pieces, every bite had a bit of shrimp and pasta.  I served it with some steamed broccoli and crusty bread with herbed olive oil for dipping. Delish!
  

Shrimp Scampified

Adapted from Here and Here
Printable Recipe

Serves 4

Important - Have everything prepped and ready to use in small bowls next to the stove before starting the shrimp.

1/4 cup of light olive oil
1 lb peeled and deveined large to jumbo shrimp, cut into half or thirds, depending on size
6 garlic cloves, minced
3/4- 1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 very large or 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon of capers, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 pound pasta - I used Mezze Rigatoni
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Lemon Wedges - Optional

Place a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil.

While the water is heating, place a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil. Sauté the shrimp, stirring once or twice until just barely cooked through for approximately 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp to a bowl and place the pan back on the heat. Add the minced garlic to the skillet and stir. Then add the wine, salt and pepper and allow to reduce for about 2 minutes or so. Add the chopped tomato and capers, stir and cook for another minute or two. Add the butter to the skillet to melt and then return the shrimp to the pan and toss. Remove from the heat.

Cook pasta according to package directions (I start the pasta while I'm working on the shrimp mixture above), remove 1/2 cup pasta cooking water with a ladle, then drain pasta. Place the drained pasta in a large bowl, add the shrimp mixture, chopped parsley and toss. Add some of the reserved pasta water and toss again.

Lemon Capri Torte

Simply put ~ I love lemon! But, shhhh, don't tell chocolate. 

Secondly, I'm a recipe-aholic.  I have a 588 megabytes of dessert recipes alone saved on my computer. My entire recipe folder contains over 2-1/2 gigabytes of recipes.  I will never make most of them.  But when the recipe has the word 'lemon' in it somehow it manages to surface...at some point.

At the end of summer we entertained some good friends for dinner.  The husband happens to be even more of a lemon-lover than I am, so I decided to try this Sophie Dahl recipe that had been lost in megabytes for over a year.  The verdict - Delicious! Of all the lemon tarts I've made over the years, my friend said he liked this lemon dessert the best because of the moist and dense cake texture.

Gluten free if you use the potato flour!

I served it with a dollop of lemon curd just to add to the lemon-y goodness.  You can find an easy recipe for homemade lemon curd made in the microwave here.

Once again, it's the end of the month and time to join Al Dente Gourmet's photography challenge for our Oh Happy Plates Group on Pinterest.  This month the challenge was citrus.  How perfect. 

Lemon Capri Torte

Adapted from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl
Printable Recipe

Sophie Dahl:  I got this recipe from a taxi driver in Sorrento who was big on cooking. He said his wife and daughters begged him not to cook because he left the kitchen in such a mess!

Serves 6

1-1/2 sticks of butter, plus extra for greasing
1 cup fine (bakers) sugar
6 eggs, separated
Zest and juice of four lemons
2 cups blanched almonds, toasted then ground to as fine a consistency as possible in food processor
1 cup potato flour (or substitute plain flour), plus more for dusting the pan

Preheat oven to 400°F

Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake tin or pan (preferably spring form).

Cream the sugar and butter together with a mixer until smooth.

Add the egg yolks, then lemon zest and juice and mix together.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until they form soft peaks then add to the egg yolk mixture.

Fold in ground almonds and flour.

Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Turn oven 300°F and bake for another 40 minutes.

Remove, cool and invert onto a platter.

Lemon Tart with Chocolate Almond Crust

This is a recipe that I posted early in 2009 but is so good that it deserves a second post.

I've made this recipe a number of times and highly recommend it!  The lemon curd is amazingly creamy and so delicious! This is a tart that will satisfy both the lemon and chocolate lovers out there (I am both).  I added some lemon zest to the recipe for an extra lemon boost. Everyone LOVES it! 

The crust is like eating chocolate sable cookies.  In fact, I had some crust left over that I rolled into a log, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated, sliced and baked into cookies!

Shop 8 and 9 inch tart/quiche pans like mine HERE.  (Affiliate Link) 

Lemon Tart with Chocolate Almond Crust

Adapted from Food and Wine
Printable Recipe

I used a tart pan which measures 7 inches across the bottom, 8 inches across the top with 1-1/2 inch sides. If your tart pan only has 1" sides, I suggest using a 9 inch tart pan.  

This lemon tart satisfies both the lemon lovers and chocolate lovers!

Makes 1 tart and serves 5-6

CHOCOLATE PASTRY

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons of almond flour*
1/4 cup plus 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Pinch of salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2  large egg (whisk together and measure 2 tablespoons)

LEMON CURD

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
8 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
Bittersweet chocolate shavings, for garnish

In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, cocoa and salt; pulse to blend. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg; process until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic, flatten into a disk and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter an 7-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the pastry out to a 14-inch round 1/4 inch thick. Fit the pastry into the tart pan, patting in with your fingers to level it. Run a rolling pin across the rim of the pan to cut off any overhanging dough. Tears may be patched with scraps. Line the pastry with a piece of foil cut to fit the bottom and fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is nearly dry. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake the crust for 15 minutes longer, or until firm. Let cool.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the sugar with the lemon juice and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the whole egg and the remaining 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pour half of the hot lemon syrup slowly into the egg mixture while whisking rapidly. Add the combined mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the lemon-sugar mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the curd just comes to a boil, about 9 minutes; it should be the consistency of sour cream. If the curd has any lumps you can strain the curd through the sieve.

Preheat the oven to 300 while the lemon curd cools to room temperature, then whisk in the softened butter until the curd is light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and mix thoroughly.

Pour the curd into the crust and bake for 20 minutes, or until set. Cool tart on a wire rack, then refrigerate until chilled. Unmold the tart and garnish it with chocolate shavings.

The baked tart can be refrigerated overnight.

*Almond flour is available at specialty markets. Or, finely grind 3/4 cup (3 ounces) of blanched almonds which is what I did.

My Note: I have reduced the original crust recipe by half since the original called for an 11" tart pan. However, the lemon curd proportions remains the same and it fills a 7-inch bottom tart pan with 1-1/2 inch sides perfectly.  If your tart pan has 1-inch sides, I suggest moving up to a 9" tart pan.

If you have left-over crust, roll it into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Cut into slices, place on a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes at 375.  Yum!

Lemon Angel Wings

 

This is a recipe that almost did not get posted!  If a recipe doesn't turn out well or taste good, I can't justify sharing it with you. These Lemon Angel Wings cookies did not turn out well the first time I tried them.  I was so disappointed because the recipe sounded wonderful.  Lemon zest, sour cream, a puff-like pastry and glistening sugar all sounded delicious and beautiful. But, after baking the first batch, they were flat and greasy-looking. 

I still had some dough left in the refrigerator, which I was going to throw out, but decided to go back to the website where I found the recipe, and clicked on the link to where the recipe originated from, and found an error!  There should have been more flour added to the dough.  

I took the remaining dough out of the refrigerator and kneaded in some extra flour and tried baking another batch.  This time - perfect!  Puffy and flaky, not flat and greasy.  It just goes to show you, sometimes mistakes are made - even when editors are watching!

These are called angel wings but many of you will recognize the shape of these cookies as Palmiers, which is French for palm. That is what the shape should look like - the top of a palm tree. (I tried to pinch the top to make a heart shape but they did what they wanted to in the oven).  

These are perfect with a cup of tea! Do you see the green in the background of the above photo?  That WAS green grass outside of my window last week. Winter finally arrived last week and we got our first substantial snow fall. Below is current view outside of the same window.  It was peaceful watching the big flakes fall.  A perfect time to get cozy with a hot cup of tea and these cookies.

Lemon Angel Wings

Adapted from Taste of Home
Printable Recipe

Makes 3 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (this is the correct amount)
1 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
10 tablespoons sugar, divided (I used large sparkling sugar from Wilton)

Place flour in a large bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in sour cream and lemon peel until well blended. Place on a piece of waxed paper; shape into a 4 1/2 inch square. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cut dough into four 2 1/4 - inch squares. (four equal squares). Place one square on a piece of waxed paper sprinkled with 2 tablespoons sugar. Cover with another piece of waxed paper. Keep remaining squares refrigerated. Roll out dough into a 12 inch x 5 inch rectangle, turning often to coat both sides with sugar.

Lightly mark center of 12 inch side. Roll up jellyroll style to the center mark, starting with a short side and peeling paper away while rolling. Repeat rolling from other short side, so the two rolls meet in the center and resemble a scroll.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Repeat with remaining squares, using 2 tablespoons sugar for each. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Unwrap dough and cut into ½ inch slices; dip each side in remaining sugar. Place 2 inches apart on foil lined baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 14 minutes or until golden brown. Turn cookies over; bake 5 minutes longer. Watch carefully, as they may not need this much time, depending on your oven. 

Remove to wire racks.

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie in a Toasted Pecan Crust~

This is the perfect finish to dinner on a very warm, summer evening! I am in love with anything lemon but the other part of this dessert that is absolutely delicious is the toasted pecan crust. What a wonderful combination!  The meringue topping is, well, the frosting on the cake, so to speak :)

If you are in need of an easy, impressive and irresistibly delicious summer dessert, look no further!

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie in a Toasted Pecan Crust

Adapted from Bon Appetit, April, 2007
Printable Recipe

Lemon Curd
2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 3/4 sticks (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces

Note: I used the above recipe for lemon curd but see this recipe for Microwave Lemon Curd as an alternative!  It's been tried by me and is great!

Crust
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 cups vanilla ice cream, slightly softened, divided

Meringue
4 large egg whites, room temperature (I used pasteurized eggs)
Pinch of cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar

For lemon curd:

Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter all at once and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 10 minutes. Immediately pour curd through a fine sieve into a bowl, then chill, covered.

For crust:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix pecans, sugar, and butter in medium bowl until moistened. Press pecan mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish (mixture will be crumbly). Bake until crust is lightly toasted, about 12 minutes (crust will slip down sides of dish). Use back of spoon to press crust back into place. Cool crust on rack. Freeze crust 30 minutes.

Dollop 1-1/2 cups ice cream over crust; spread into even layer. Spread lemon curd over ice cream; freeze until firm, about 2 hours. Dollop 1 1/2 cups softened ice cream over lemon curd; spread into even layer. Cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

For meringue:

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in medium bowl until frothy. Beat in cream of tartar. With mixer running, gradually add sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon meringue over pie, spreading to seal at edges and swirling decoratively. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Freeze pie. Using kitchen butane torch, toast meringue until golden in spots or place pie in a preheated 500°F oven until meringue is golden in spots, watching to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Cut pie into wedges; serve immediately.

French Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Here is a recipe from the Joanne Chang's baking cookbook Flour from the bakery of the same name in Boston. I have always loved lemon poppy seed cakes and muffins and this one sounded just a little different in the ingredients and preparation. All ingredients are brought to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe - even melted butter and cream.

This cake has a light texture most likely due to how the eggs and sugar are whipped until light and fluffy before the rest of the ingredients are incorporated. It's also not overly sweet-tasting which I liked.

It was perfect with a cup of tea while enjoying a few cut daffodils from the garden. 

French Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Adapted from Flour by Joanne Chang
Printable Recipe

2 cups cake flour (such as Swans Down)
(such as Swans Down) 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from approx 1/2 lemon)
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Position the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 b 5 inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, cream, lemon zest, lemon juice and poppy seeds. If the butter starts to harden, heat the mixture gently until the butter is melted again. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or a hand mixer), beat together the eggs and granulated sugar on medium speed for about 4 minutes, or until light, fluffy and lemon colored. With a hand mixer this will take twice as long.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until just combined. Fold about one-fourth of the egg and flour mixture into the butter-cream mixture. Then fold in the remaining egg-flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 1 hour  or until the top of the cake is golden and springs back when you press the middle. Place on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. I suggest you start testing the cake with a toothpick after 40-45 minutes as my cake was finished before the 1 hour suggested time. 

Make the lemon glaze while the cake is cooling by adding just enough lemon juice to the confectioners' sugar to make an easily spreadable consistency.

When the cake has cooled for at least 30 minutes, remove it from the pan and place it on the rack. Spoon or spread the glaze over the top of the still-warm cake, allowing the glaze to dribble down the sides of the cake.

The cake may be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.