Supermoist Sour Cream Lemon Cake

I mentioned here before that I have more lemons in the fridge and would like to make something out of it. I was pretty excited as I had borrowed Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito and the sight of their oh so beautiful Lemon Lemon Loaf on page 41 got me hooked. However, the recipe calls for 8 large eggs and I thought "wow! that's a lot of eggs for 2 loaves of cake!" thus I decided not to use this recipe. I usually do not mind using so much eggs but the recent baking I did used quite a lot of eggs and I really should watch the cholesterol levels in this household. I want to give my family pleasure and tickle their tastebuds without compromising their health either. As it is, most of my bakes are discounted on their sugar if at all possible.

Anyway since I could'nt get the thought of fragrant, tangy and moist lemon cakes out of my head, I decided to scour the ever reliable internet for a similar recipe which use lesser eggs and I found this gem. Yippee it uses only 3 eggs and that's very acceptable to me and the end result was a smooth and moist cake which was reminiscent of a cheesecake, only with crumbs. Even my younger sister who is a cake-hater and a cheesecake-lover said she liked it. So this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Sour Cream Lemon Cake (adapted from Southernfood.about.com)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
grated zest of 1 large lemon
1 cup sour cream

Lemon Glaze:

(Mine didnt turn out white and pretty cos I was scared of using so much sugar. So it became a clear syrup instead)
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325°. Generously butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
Into a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a mixing bowl with hand-held electric mixer, cream 1 cup butter and granulated sugar; beat at high speed until mixture is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl frequently. Blend in lemon zest.

Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, adding each in 3 additions. Scrape sides of bowl frequently. Pour batter into prepared cake pan; bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine lemon glaze ingredients in a bowl, blending until smooth. Carefully turn cake out onto a platter; drizzle evenly with glaze.Serves 12 or more, depending on size of servings.

Floating through the day

On rainy days like today, I love to sit back and read a book if and only when the kids are asleep or taking their nap. And more often than not, everyday is a rush day and before I realised it, its dinner time.

Egg dishes are kind of a must in our household. I think everyone agrees that the simple omelette or scrambled egg is most forgiving and can adapt to any food like sandwiches or rice dishes. On lazy days, a simple dish of rice omelette and vegetable stir fry balances off the nutrition needed for the day nicely. My girl, N, came to me earlier today and asked for food cos she's "sooooo hungry and felt soooo weak". This 5yr old amazes me at times. She can eat 5 slices of bread every 10 minutes and have lunch and still be hungry for dinner. What's there to be amazed, you ask. Well its because once she's seated on the dinner table, she'd be the very one to pick on her food and will be the last to finish her meal upon much nagging from yours truly.

I was half expecting to see her disappointed face when I set the dinner on the table but she surprised me with a huge whoop and grin as she wolfed down this simple meal. After dinner she proclaimed her love for Asparagus and asked if I'd be cooking more tomorrow. Haha, I think, at times the most simplest of dishes are the most satisfying.

Asparagus Stir Fry

You need:

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic, chopped

1 red pepper, sliced thick

5 Fishballs, cut in wedges

A pack of Thai Asparagus, sliced

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 dsp light soya sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil
2 tbsp water (to dilute dish as needed)

Preparation:

• Heat the oil and fry the garlic, onion and red pepper till fragrant
• Stir in the fishballs and cook for abit
• Add asparagus and be sure not to overcook. Add the oyster sauce and soya sauce
• Season the dish with salt and pepper to fit your preference. Serve with white rice and omelette. Enjoy.