Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

I have a problem; I am obsessed with lemon desserts…

Every time I pick up a new recipe book I immediately gravitate to the ones with lemon.

When I bought the new America’s Test Kitchen, Best Summer Desserts I knew this Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake was gonna happen ASAP!

I so glad I made this cake, it is incredible. The cake is moist and has so much fresh lemon flavor and the topping, what can I say about the crunchy lemon sugar topping, it is TO DIE FOR!!

What you need,

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For the cake,

2 ½ cups cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

3 tbsp. grated lemon zest

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ¾ cup granulated sugar

12 tbsp. butter, softened

3 large eggs plus 1 large yolk, room temperature

For the glaze,

3 cups icing sugar

3 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish, set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

Combine buttermilk, lemon juice and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fit with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until moist and fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove ¼ cup of the sugar mixture and put it in a small bowl and set aside.

Add the butter to the remaining sugar mixture and beat on high until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and yolk, one at a time, until well incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture in 2 additions, mix until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake cake on the middle rack until it is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.

Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, whisk the icing sugar, lemon juice and buttermilk together until smooth. Gently pour over the top of the warm cake and carefully spread it out. Sprinkle the reserved lemon sugar all over the top in an even layer.

Let the cake cool completely then serve.

This cake is fantastic on its own, but a few fresh berries on it would be lovely.

This might be my favorite lemon cake, ever! It has the perfect tartness from the lemon and sweetness from the sugar, and the topping just makes it perfection!

Jen

Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen “Best Summer Desserts” Magazine

Summer Vegetable Pasta

I absolutely love all the fresh garden veggies at the farmer’s market right now. I think that knowing someone picked them that day makes them taste so much better than the ones you get from the grocery store.

I decided to whip up a quick veggie pasta for dinner tonight. Man it was good, not to mention fast and easy!

What you need,

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2 cups of Tubetti pasta, or any small tube pasta

1 tbsp. olive oil

3 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 small zucchini, sliced into half moons

1 cup of button mushrooms, sliced

1 cup grape tomatoes or any tiny tomato will do

1 lemon, juiced

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup fresh chopped basil

½ cup pasta cooking liquid

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water, according to package directions.

When it is cooked, drain reserving ½ cup of the cooking water.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in the onion, zucchini and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes until just starting to soften. Add in the garlic and tomatoes and sauté another 3-4 minutes. Toss in the cooked pasta and the cooking water. Stir in the lemon juice.

Stir in the Parmesan cheese and the basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with a little extra Parm if that suits you!

There you have it, a perfect light summer meal.

Enjoy!

Jen

Pina Colada

Ever since I got my new Ninja blender I have been whipping up all kinds of great summer drinks.

One of the first ones I made is this Pina Colada, it is a classic.

I can’t believe how good these are, not too sweet and a ton of flavor. It is so perfectly creamy and cool!

What you need:

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¾ c. frozen pineapple chunks

2 oz. pineapple juice

2 oz. Cream of coconut (not coconut milk!)

2 ½ oz. Light rum

2 cups of Ice

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Top with a little paper umbrella and there you have it, the perfect summer beverage!

Jen

Recipe from Food Network

                                                    

Barbequed Ribs

I have to admit I am not a huge rib fan. I find that most of the time they are chewy and don’t have much meat on them. Despite that I decided to go for it and make some at home.

I found an amazing looking recipe in an Cook's Country Magazine, so I gave it a whirl.

Man, I am so glad I did, they were insanely good.

Besides being a bit time consuming they were really very easy. The barbeque sauce is to die for and it made so much I was able to BBQ chicken later in the week and used the left over sauce.

What you need,

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For the Spice Rub and Ribs

1 tbsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. smoked paprika

¾ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tbsp. brown sugar

4-6 lbs. baby back ribs, membrane removed

1 cup beer, I used some honey lager I picked randomly, but any beer will do.

For the BBQ Sauce:

2 cups ketchup

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup cider vinegar

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup yellow mustard

6 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine the pepper, salt, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne and brown sugar in a bowl. Pat the ribs dry with a paper towel and rub the entire surface with the spice rub.

Arrange the ribs in a large roasting pan, overlapping if needed to fit them in. Pour the beer over the ribs. Cover the roasting pan tightly with tinfoil and bake in the oven for about 2 ½ hours, or until the meat is tender and starting to pull away from the bone.

For the sauce, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, mustard and garlic in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate the sauce in an airtight container until you are ready to use it.

Once you remove the ribs from the oven transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet and brush them liberally with 1 cup of the barbeque sauce. Let them come to room temperature then cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 1 day.  Let the ribs sit at room temperature for 1 hour before grilling.

Heat your grill to medium high, clean the grates and lightly brush with oil.

Cook the ribs, flipping and brushing with the remaining sauce every few minutes until hot, well glazed and lightly charred, approximately 20 minutes.

Let ribs rest under foil for about 10 minutes before serving. You can heat any remaining sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds to serve alongside.

I am so happy I decided to make these ribs. They were so tender and meaty, the sauce was sweet and sticky and they got nice and crispy, they were perfect!

I will be making these again, very soon!

Jen

Recipe from Cook’s Country Magazine “Lost Recipes” August 2012