montcarte

I usually make drop cookies, and I usually make ones that are filled with sweetness, decadence, chocolate and other tasty things. However, when I saw a recipe for a cookie that mixed lavender (something I’ve never baked with) with lemon (my favourite dessert flavour), I knew I had to try it. These cookies looked so attractive, I even stuck with the heart shape!

These cookies are a lot of fun. There’s a lot going on…the cookie is a mildly sweet, very buttery type of crisp shortbread, with dried lavender flowers tucked inside. They’re not very lemony on their own (probably because I used lemon juice, and not lemon extract).However, once dipped in the lemon-lavendar glaze, they are undeniably lemon cookies, tart, sweet and packed with the aroma of lavender! The lavender isn’t overpowering (though I’m happy I reduced the amount, as I feel they might’ve been had I used the full amount), but just gives a playful air of lavender that mixes so well with the lemony and buttery cookie.

This is what I would call an adult cookie – perfect for to have with tea, or a light way to end a meal. It’s more refined than your average chocolate chip cookie, and it certainly is pretty! I highly recommend these cookies, especially if you’re a fan of shortbread, lemon and/or lavender!

This is my adapted recipe, with slightly less lavender used:

Iced Lavender Lemon Shortbread Cookies
adapted from Wine Imbiber

COOKIES
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar (or more, depending on the consistency after you add the lemon juice)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract)
1–1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 2 large lemons, preferably Meyer)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cornstarch
2–1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers

ICING
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 1 large lemon, preferably Meyer)
1–2 tablespoons lemon juice

COOKIES
1. Cream together the butter and confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Mix in the lemon juice (or extract) and zest. Set aside.

2. Sift together the salt, cornstarch and flour. Add this to the butter mixture and stir until the flour coats the butter but isn’t completely worked in. Add the lavender flowers.

3. Using your hands, lightly rub the ingredients together until the mixture is no longer dry. You will know it’s done when it forms easily into a dough ball. Try not to overwork the mixture or you will end up with tough cookies.

4. Flatten the dough out into a disc and place in a plastic re–sealable bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to three days).

5. Preheat the oven to 325° F.

6. Take the fully–chilled dough and place it on top of a piece of parchment or a Silpat. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/3 inch. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. (This dough barely spreads, so don’t worry about leaving a lot of space between each cookie.) Remove the scraps from between each cookie and re–form into a flat disc. (If dough has become too soft or warm, re–refrigerate it for a few minutes before attempting to roll it out.)

7. Lift up parchment paper or Silpat and place on top of cookie sheet. Transfer sheet to upper third of oven and bake for about 15 minutes (or until the edges of the cookies just start turning golden on the edges). Allow to cool before icing. If you already decorated the cookies with colored sugar, you won’t need to ice them (although I did both to some of my cookies and they turned out extra–special!).

ICING
1. Whisk together first three ingredients. Start mixing in lemon juice by using one tablespoon at first, then continue adding in only enough to produce a smooth, fluid icing.

2. It is easiest to ice the cookies by dipping the tops into the icing and turning them over onto a wire rack (that has a paper towel under it to catch the drips). The icing will dry on the cookie and not stay sticky.

If you like this, you might also like:

Real Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Spicy Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these blueberry-lemon crumb bars a few weeks back for snack at work. As I’ve repeated over and over, I cannot get enough of citrusy desserts, so this recipe, originally found on Recipe Girl, went right to the top of must-bake desserts.

I’m not disappointed in the dessert – I love the sweet yet still tart lemon cream. It’s great on its own, and it stands well with all the blueberries. The crust is thick and buttery…this dessert has all the elements to be great.

However, I think the amounts of these elements have to be balanced a bit better. I found there was too much topping – combined with the crust, there was just too much flour and not enough lemon and blueberry. I had upped the amount of condensed milk and lemon juice, but next time, I’ll probably double the amount of lemon filling. Same thing with the blueberries! I found that the blueberry flavour was dominated by both the lemon and the sweet crumble topping.

People did like this dessert (myself included). It just needs some fine tuning for the next time, and these bars will earn themselves top dessert status.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg, separated
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups room-temperature blueberries (about 13 oz.), washed and drained on paper towels

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9×13-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the ends. Spray foil with cooking spray- bottom and sides of the pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Using a pastry cutter (or your fingers), blend the butter completely into the flour mixture. Transfer 2 cups of the crumb mixture to another bowl and reserve for the topping.

3. Blend the egg white into the remaining crumbs and then press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a level crust. Use the bottom of a flat, wide glass to tap the mixture and even it out.

4. Bake the crust 10-12 minutes, or until it starts to form a dry top.

5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk condensed milk, lemon juice & zest, and egg yolk. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes (it will begin to thicken).

6. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over hot crust and then drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries. Spread gently with a spatula to distribute as evenly as you can. Bake until lemon mixture begins to form a shiny skin- 7 to 8 minutes.

7. Sprinkle reserved crumble topping over the lemon-blueberry layer, pressing the streusel between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle. Bake until filling is bubbly at the edges and the topping is brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

8. Let bars cool in the pan on a rack until just warm, about an hour. Carefully lift them out of the pan using the foil overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove foil and cut into 24 bars when cool. (If you have time to chill the bars, they’re easier to cut cleanly when chilled).

*The bars may be stored at room temperature for a few hours, but otherwise should be stored in the refrigerator.

If you like this, you might also like:

Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze
Lemon Pie with Coconut Crust
Cinnamon Streusel Blueberry Muffins

My last post promised you the baked good I made with all my lemon-lime curd, and so here it is! A beautiful friend of mine (hello Patra!) was celebrating her birthday and the best gift I think I could probably give anyone is that of baked treats. Given I had sooo much curd, I figured I should try to make a dessert that incorporates it in some way.

I stumbled upon this recipe, and since I’ve been wanting to give Magnolia’s vanilla cupcakes a try anyway, thought the cupcakes were the perfect thing to bring to a summer birthday BBQ. And they really were!

The vanilla cupcake, but itself, is a really good cupcake. Its texture is light and cakey, as long as it’s served at room temperature. Its vanilla flavour is very present, but still quite delicate. Once the cupcakes were done baking, I cut a cone out of the top (see this recipe for reference), and filled the hollow with a generous tablespoon of the homemade lemon-lime curd. I cut the point off each cupcake cone, and placed the circular top back on top of each cupcake.

As for the frosting, I remembered making a lemon cake that had a frosting I really enjoyed. The lemon flavour was mild enough that it didn’t overpower the vanilla cupcake, but simply played along with it. I whipped up a half-batch of the frosting, and ended up with these delicious cupcakes. People ended up pleasantly surprised with the lemon curd filling, and it seemed these cakes were enjoyed by all. I thought they turned out excellently – the lemon curd in the middle was rich and decadent, but still allowed the vanilla cupcake, which was light and gorgeous in its texture, to stand out. I think these cupcakes are a wonderful summer BBQ dessert!

I only made 12 cupcakes, so I divided the following recipe in half. The recipe I have listed makes 24 cupcakes (frosting and cupcake batter).

Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon-Lime Curd Filling and Lemon-Lime Frosting
via Cupcake Bakeshop, adapted from Cupcakes from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook
Printable Recipe

VANILLA CUPCAKES
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl.
5. Measure out milk and vanilla together.
6. Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine.
7. Add about one third the milk/vanilla mixture and beat until combined.
8. Repeat above, alternating flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture.
9. Scoop into cupcake papers about half to three-quarters full (depending on whether you want flat or domed cupcakes).
10. Bake for 22-25 minutes at 350 degrees F until a cake tester comes out clean.

LEMON-LIME CURD
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp finely grated lime zest
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, lime juice, lemon zest, lime zest, sugar and eggs. Cut the butter into bits and add it to the saucepan.

2. Turn on the heat to medium-low and cook the mixture gently, whisking constantly, until it thickens up enough to hold the marks of the whisk and is just about to come to a simmer. This takes me usually around 20-25 minutes — better to be gentle than to curdle your eggs. The end mixture will be a buttery, creamy light yellow.

3. Remove from the heat and place into a bowl to cool. Strain it if you want to get rid of the zest. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming as it cools. Store the curd in the fridge.

LEMON-LIME FROSTING
½ cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioner’s (icing) sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
¼ cup light (10%) cream

1. Beat together all ingredients until smooth and creamy (I had to add some extra lemon juice to bring it to a spreadable consistency)

TO ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES
1. Using a small pairing knife, cut off the top of the cupcake in the shape of a cone. Flip the top over and cut off the cone.
2. Fill the cavity with a teaspoon or so of curd.
3. Replace top.
4. Frost with frosting.

If you like this, you might also like:

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Lemon Raspberry Muffins
Lemon Cream Pie with Coconut Crust

In case you can’t tell, I love citrus desserts. I think I may even prefer a lemony sweet thing to something chocolate. So of course, I’ve always been a fan of lemon curd, but haven’t really tried to make my own, except when I gave this lemon tart a try (and the curd wasn’t that successful).

I bookmarked the lemon curd on Eggs on Sunday’s blog, and on one of the hottest days in the summer, stood over the stove preparing a lemon-lime curd following that recipe. It turned out fantastically! It’s a very tart curd, with just enough sweetness. It’s smooth, luscious, and I could definitely eat the whole jar. However, I decided that wouldn’t be smart, and baked something with it (post coming soon!).

The only thing I would do differently next time is strain the curd, as I didn’t like the bits of zest in it; I thought it disrupted the otherwise perfect texture.

Here’s my version, the only difference being the addition of some lime:

Lemon & Lime Curd
adapted from Eggs on Sunday
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp finely grated lime zest
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, lime juice, lemon zest, lime zest, sugar and eggs. Cut the butter into bits and add it to the saucepan.

2. Turn on the heat to medium-low and cook the mixture gently, whisking constantly, until it thickens up enough to hold the marks of the whisk and is just about to come to a simmer. This takes me usually around 20-25 minutes — better to be gentle than to curdle your eggs. The end mixture will be a buttery, creamy light yellow.

3. Remove from the heat and place into a bowl to cool. Strain it if you want to get rid of the zest. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming as it cools. Store the curd in the fridge.

Makes about 1 2/3 cups.

Summer’s here! I can tell by the three sprawled out cats around the house, the number of cold showers I keep taking, the glorious month-long vacation I have now started, and perhaps the most telltale sign of all, my constant craving for cold, tart lemonade.

Having recently come into an abundance of lemons, I decided to satiate my lemonade urge by making my own, instead of buying the oversweetened, chemical-ridden yellow stuff. I don’t think I’ll ever want to go back. I really appreciate being able to control the amount of sweetness and tartness that goes into it – being able to make the perfect lemonade for me. And it’s so easy to make! The trick is making a simple syrup, and not just mixing sugar with the cold water and lemon juice; it’ll never dissolve that way. Heat some sugar and water, squeeze some lemons, add more water and ice, and you’re done. I appreciate how versatile it can be as well – if I had other fruits on hand, I would’ve added some raspberries or strawberries. Oh well, next time…summer is here for a few more months, after all.

Play with the amounts to get the taste you like. Start with the simple rule of 1 cup (well, actually, i used 3/4 cup) sugar dissolved in 1 cup water, and then add as much lemon juice and water as you like after, until it becomes the perfect lemonade.

Perfect Lemonade
adapted from Simply Recipes
Printable Recipe

3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 – 1 1/2 cups lemon juice
3 to 5 cups cold water (to dilute)
Ice and lemon slices

1. Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

2. While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 8 lemons, enough for one cup (or more) of juice.

3. Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

4. Serve with ice, sliced lemons.

Baked goods with citrus are my favourite, so I’m surprised it took me this long to make Dorie Greenspan’s lemon muffins. But I’ve finally done it, and I’m happy I did.

I’m not a fan of poppy seeds, so I omitted them. I took her suggestion and put dollops of raspberry jam in the middle…a lot of it leaked out (okay, I may have been a bit generous with my dollops), but it still added a nice additional flavour to a very lemony muffin.

The drizzle of icing became more of a complete covering, and that was a good thing. I wouldn’t omit this icing, it emphasizes all the lemony goodness that’s already in the muffin. These are moist and cake-like, not very sweet, and good for breakfast or dessert.

The batter is very thick. With muffins, I never use my mixer; it overmixes too quickly and easily, making the muffins chewy. Do it by hand, and use a light hand. Less is more, when it comes to muffins or cupcakes!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins
adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours
12 muffins
Printable Recipe

MUFFINS
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (I used the zest of 2 lemons)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup jam (blueberry, raspberry, etc. or lemon curd)

ICING
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

MUFFINS
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 F. Spray your muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or line the cups with paper liners. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to combine. Do not overmix the batter – a few lumps are ok. Stir in the poppy seeds.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. (I filled them halfway, then put a teaspoon of jam on top, the filled the cups with batter)

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool completely on the rack before icing.

ICING
1. Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. Drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins.

I saw this recipe on two of my favourite food blogs – I figured if both of them liked it, I was bound to love it. And love it, I did.

It’s no secret that I love citrus desserts…so when I heard rave reviews from star bakers, and since I’ve loved everything that I’ve made from Dorie’s cookbook so far, this recipe climbed the top of my must-bake charts. And thank goodness it did!

I tried the rum drench on a different cake I made, and wasn’t entirely impressed. This entire recipe, due to that, would’ve been stricken from my bake-list, but on faith, I gave the entire (lemon version) a go.

This is a divine and grown-up cake. Its texture is perfect – airy, with a bit of sophisticated crumb, and a dense, chewy top (due to the lemon syrup). The cake itself wasn’t super-lemony (even after I changed the recipe a bit to include lemon juice in the cake itself), but lightly lemony. Combined with the tart lemon glaze on top, it makes for a fantastic, light cake with bits of dense tartness. Just perfect!

If I am to judge desserts by the Soli-proclaimed non-dessert lover Soli, then we have a winner. He ate half of a loaf in one sitting!

And I will eat the other half.
In half a sitting. Or less…

Lemon Drenched Lemon Cakes
adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

CAKES
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 plump, moist vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out and reserved, or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
2/3 cups heavy cream
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of two lemons, finely grated
1 stick, plus 7 Tablespoons (15 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

SYRUP
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
juice of two lemons

CAKES
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8 1/2-4 1/2-inch loaf pans, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Even if the pans are nonstick, it’s a good idea to butter and flour them. Place the pans on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular sheets stacked one on top of the other.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Put the sugar and the lemon zest in a large bowl, working with your fingers, rub them together until the sugar is moist and thoroughly imbued with the fragrance of lemon. Add the vanilla bean seeds and work them into the sugar. If you are using vanilla extract, add it later, after you have added the eggs.

4. Add the eggs and whisk them into the sugar, beating until they are thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in the extract (if using), then whisk in the cream, followed by the lemon juice. Continuing with the whisk, or switching to a large rubber spatula, gently stir in the dry ingredients in 3 or 4 additions; the batter will be smooth and thick. Finish by folding in the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions. Pour the batter into the pans, smoothing with a rubber spatula.

5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. As soon as the cake goes into the oven, make the syrup. After about 30 minutes in the oven, check the cakes for color- if they are browning too quickly, cover them lightly with foil tents.

SYRUP
1. Making the syrup: Stir the water, two strips of lemon zest and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar melts, then bring to a boil.

2. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool.

1. When the cakes test done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 5 (the first one stuck – I suggest leaving them until completely cooled…) minutes before unmolding them and turning them right side up on the rack. Place the rack over a baking sheet lined with wax paper and, using a thin skewer, cake tester or thin-bladed sharp knife, poke holes all over the cakes.

2. Brush the cakes all over with the syrup, working slowly so that the cakes sop it up. Leave the cakes on the rack to cool to room temperature.

Lemon loaves and cakes are among my favourite desserts, so I decided to prepare the lemon bread recipe I like best. However, I soon discovered I seriously misplaced the cookbook the recipe exists in. I opted to give another recipe a try, and this one is as good as the other one I know and love (and lost).

The recipe is just for a lemon loaf, but I wanted to make it a bit more dynamic, so I added a whole of of blueberries to it. Lemon loaf without blueberries is great. Lemon loaf with blueberries is even better! My favourite part of this loaf is the glaze, and I wouldn’t do without it. I like my glaze a bit tarter, so I added some extra lemon juice to the mixture.

The resulting bread is excellent. Wonderfully moist, with light lemon flavour and blueberry bursts. It’s simple to prepare, and I love it.

Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze
adapted from Grandma’s Touch

LOAF
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp grated lemon rind (I probably added about 3 tbsp)
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups blueberries, lightly tossed in flour (I used almost 2 cups)

GLAZE
3 tbsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

LOAF
1. Cream butter. Gradually blend in sugar and eggs. Beat until light and fluffy.

2. In a separate bowl, blend together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon rind.

3. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk.

4. Gently stir in blueberries.

5. Turn batter into a greased 5 x 9″ loaf pan.

6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 – 60 minutes or until loaf springs back when lightly touched. Cool on cake ack for 5 minutes.

GLAZE
1. Combine sugar and lemon juice. Pierce loaf all over with a skewer and pour lemon mixture over the hot loaf.

When cool, remove loaf from pan.

I recently had to make a dessert that didn’t contain any gluten. There are lots of gluten-free recipes out there, but most of the time, they call for some gluten-free concoction of rice flours, and seeing as I’m not all that interested in investing the time or energy to finding and mixing up these flours, it was easier for me to just come up with a flourless dessert.

Or so I thought. Everything contains flour!

After picking my brain and cookbooks for a long time, I finally came up with the idea of a pie in a coconut crust. I figured a coconut crust probably couldn’t withstand a long baking time, pies like pecan were out. I needed a cold pie, something that would go well with coconut…so out came Baking: From My Home to Yours, and I prepared the lemon filling for The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart. Lemon cream and coconut – how could it go wrong?

It was great. The coconut crust was very easy to prepare, and it tasted exactly like a macaroon, very sweet and delicious. I patted it down in an ungreased pie plate, baked it for about 20 minutes, and it came out perfectly browned and it held together very nicely.

The lemon filling was absolutely stunning though. The work it took was unbelievable though, and so I don’t know if I would be willing to put forth the effort again. I created a double boiler out of a pot and a bowl, and whisking the lemon cream for (at least) twenty minutes, while the bowl slipped around, while trying to hold a candy thermometer in there, proved to be more trouble than it was worth.

But the taste is fantastic! Not as rich as one would think, very light, tart and lemony. I found the textures between the filling and the coconut crust to be a little off, but their tastes complimented each other perfectly. I halved strawberries and circled the pie with them, and they added a great touch – I wouldn’t want to eat the pie without them. I was able to make two 9″ pies from the lemon cream recipe.

Overall, a great dessert! Perfect for these summer days!

Lemon Cream Pie with Coconut Crust

COCONUT CRUST
1 1/2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
3 tablespoons butter
1 egg white

1. Mix all three ingredients together.
2. Press mixture firmly into a 9″ pie plate
3. Bake for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees F

LEMON CREAM
adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (10-1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, at room temperature

Getting Ready: Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

1. Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

2. Set the bowl over the pan, and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk—you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience—depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

3. As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

5. Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (The cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days and, or tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.)

6. When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.

This past weekend, I was in charge of making my aunt’s birthday cake. I chose what I thought would be a relatively simple one that would be perfect for a spring birthday: Lemon Poppy Seed Layer Cake. Though I did hit some snags with the cake along the way, it ended out being a great choice. Very light, and bright the the flavour of lemon. I am a fan of all lemon desserts, and this one did not disappoint. The cake is buttery and slightly crunchy with all the poppy seeds, the filling tart, and the icing absolutely wonderful. In fact, the lemon frosting was my favourite part, and I know I will be using the frosting recipe over and over for a variety of desserts.

So – where did it all go wrong?

First of all, the cakes didn’t really rise enough to cut into half. This was okay though – a two layer cake is fine with me. Perhaps next time I’ll make a third cake layer and turn this into a three-layer cake, but it did work with the two. Besides for the not rising thing, the cakes were fantastically moist and flavourful.

Second, the recipe suggests greasing and flouring the cake pan. Well, I did this, and the first cake (thankfully I only have one 9″ pan, so I was making one cake at a time) stuck to the bottom, making it completely impossible to remove. I had to make a third cake, and this time, lined the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. The cakes popped right out that way.

Third, the lemon filling was more of a glaze – it didn’t thicken enough. It wasn’t awful – it soaked through the bottom layer of the cake, making it quite moist and lemony. Not a problem! Next time, I would use a recipe for a more successful lemon curd, or I would use this filling as a glaze and then spread some frosting on top of it.

The cake was enjoyed by all, and I fell in love with the frosting. I had leftover “filling,” so I drizzled a tablespoon over each slice of cake as well.

Lemon Poppy Seed Layer Cake
adapted from Robin Hood’s Baking Festival

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Two 9″ round cake pans, greased and floured (I greased the pans and lined the bottoms with parchment paper)

CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour (or 2 ¼ cups cake-and-pastry flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 1/3 cups butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla
4 eggs
½ cup milk
¼ cup poppy seeds

FILLING
2 eggs
2 tbsp grated lemon zest
6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup butter, softened

FROSTING
½ cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ cup light (10%) cream

CAKE
1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Cream butter in a large bowl on medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Add dry ingredients alternately with the milk, mixing lightly just to blend. Fold in poppy seeds
4. Spread batter evenly in prepared pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

FILLING
1. Beat together eggs, lemon zest, juice and sugar in small saucepan. Add butter
2. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cool Completely. Mixture will thicken upon cooling. (Prepare several days ahead, if desired. Refrigerate until using)

FROSTING
1. Beat together all ingredients until smooth and creamy (I had to add some extra lemon juice to bring it to a spreadable consistency)

ASSEMBLY
1. Cut cake layers in half horizontally to make four layers.
2. Place on layer on serving plate. Spread half of the filling on top of it.
3. Place second cake layer over filling and spread that one with some frosting.
4. Place third cake layer on top of frosting and spread the remaining filling.
5. Top with the last cake layer. Cover sides and top of cake with the frosting.