Lemon Heaven~

Thanks to my aunt for providing me a steady supply of lemons from her lemon tree, I have been baking up a frenzy these days. Lemon tarts, lemon cheesecakes, lemon cream. I looked at all my baking pans today and noticed that I haven't used my bundt pan in awhile, so lemon bundt cake it is!

This lemon cake is the most lemony-flavored cake I've ever tasted. And if you like lemons as much as I do, drop what you're doing and make this cake...RIGHT NOW! Not only does the cake contain lemons galore, you pour lemony syrup on top, followed by a generous amount of lemon icing to finish this heavenly treat. The cake itself is actually sugar-free because I substituted Splenda for the sugar...so eat away!

Here's my adaptation of Ina Garten's Lemon Cake using a bundt pan instead:

I love sifting!


The glaze on top. I didn't use as much sugar so it was kinda watery, but delicious!


My little baby out of the oven, ready for its lemon syrup bath.


Finishing touch...lemon glaze. I like that the icing wasn't think, but very light.




Final product: Moist, lemony, cake with a pound cake-like consistency, although it's not as dense as normal pound cakes.


Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar (Splenda is OK for you diabetics)
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup plus 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one bundt pan
2. Cream butter and 2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Mixing at medium speed, add eggs, one at a time, and lemon zest.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Add flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to butter and sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Divide batter evenly between loaf pans or one bundt pan, smooth tops, and bake for ~45 minutes, until a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.
4. Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves.
5. When cake is done, carefully Invert it onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon lemon syrup over it. Let cakes cool completely.
6. For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cakes, and allow glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Strawberry season is here!

I get so excited when my local strawberry farms start selling big, juicy, SWEET strawberries. A good strawberry can make any day brighter. Strawberries aren't as versatile as many other fruits, but it seems there is one perfect reason why the strawberry exists in my book...fresh strawberry pie. Add some bananas and banana cream to it and you've got yourself a perfect wedding of flavors.

I wanted to make a pie, but for some reason, I couldn't find my pie pan. Maybe I don't have one in my house. Who knows with all the pans I have purchased over the past few years. Anyways, I decided to make a strawberry banana cream TART to welcome spring.



I used Ellie Kreiger's recipe for Banana Cream Pie, then added strawberries with glaze on top. I didn't use the graham cracker crust, but used a pie crust instead.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 12 graham cracker squares (6 full sheets)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 1/3 cup, plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sliced banana (3 medium bananas)
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. In a food processor, process graham crackers until finely ground. Add butter and 1 tablespoon of water, and process until the crumb clumps together. Press crumb mixture into bottom of pie plate and about 1/2-inch up the sides. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then let cool.

In the meantime, make the filling. Put the gelatin in a small bowl; add 3 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup of sugar and the flour. In a medium bowl lightly beat the milk and eggs together. Add the egg and milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk so the flour and sugar dissolve. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes, until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened. Stir in the vanilla extract and gelatin. Set aside to cool slightly.

Arrange the sliced bananas on the graham cracker crust and pour the pudding on top. Place in the refrigerator until the pudding has set, about 3 hours.

Whip the cream with an electric beater. When it is about halfway done, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, then continue whipping until fully whipped. Put the whipped cream in a plastic bag, concentrating it in 1 corner of the bag. Snip that corner off the bag and squeeze the whipped cream out of the bag in a decorative pattern around the pie.

When life gives you a lemon...make lemon cheesecake

I love love LOVE lemons and everything containing lemons! Um...except for lemon skittles. Springtime always makes me see everything in yellow. I want to wear yellow clothes (though I don't have any), see yellow flowers, but most importantly, eat yellow things.

Can anything be better than mixing lemons with cheesecake? I can't think of anything. I bet you can't either. So here is a low-fat, almost sugar-free lemon cheesecake for those who love sweets as much as I do, but can't afford to eat it in its full-fat, full-sugary goodness. I promise, you can't even tell it's almost healthy. :)





Recipe adapted from Paula Deen's "Joanne's Almost Fat-free Lemon Cheesecake" recipe! Amazing, huh? Who knew that "low-fat" was in her vocabulary.

Crust:

• Cooking spray
• 1 3/4 cups fat-free vanilla wafer cookie crumbs, or any fat-free cookie crumbs of your choice
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

(I actually just used the crust recipe from my pumpkin cheesecake recipe because I didn't have vanilla wafers on hand. Use splenda!)

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages fat-free cream cheese
• 1 cup fat-free sour cream
• 2 cups sugar or sugar substitute (recommended: Splenda)
• 3 large eggs or 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Lemon Curd:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup sugar or sugar substitute (recommended: Splenda)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits, or any fat-free butter substitute

Directions

Make crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly spray a (9-inch) springform pan with cooking spray. Mix crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up side of pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden and crust is set. Cool on rack.

Make filling: In large bowl with electric mixer on medium-high, beat cream cheese and sour cream for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar or sugar substitute. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until incorporated. Beat in zest and juice. Pour into crust. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until center is almost set, but still slightly jiggly. (Do not overbake, as it will firm as it cools). Let cool completely.

Make lemon curd: In the top of a double boiler, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, egg, egg yolk, and sugar or sugar substitute over gently simmering water. Whisk until hot and frothy, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in butter and continue whisking for 7 minutes or until thickened and coats back of spoon. Remove from heat and cool for 30 minutes.

Run a thin blade around the edge of the springform pan and remove sides. Transfer to a serving plate. Spread lemon curd over top. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Garnish with raspberries and zest, if desired. Cool cheesecake in refrigerator several hours or overnight before serving.