Okay, so this post isn't really about the tea party at all. It's really about the cake I made FOR the tea party...but I'll tell you a bit about the tea party anyway.
I had a tea party last Saturday with some girls in our ward during the Priesthood session of General Conference. I think every girl, deep in their heart of hearts, would admit that a real live tea party is one of the coolest things you can do if you're a girl, besides give birth or something.
Anyway. Tikla and I started planning last Sunday, and ever since, I have been dying to make a delicious and beautiful cake for our quaint little tea party. Since I had, oh, I dunno, A HUGE BOX full of fresh citrus fruit straight from my Uncle Scott's backyard in California, I decided to make it a citrus cake.
Now, follow along closely, because I kind of made up the recipe. Or, rather, I created a cake from a pastiche of recipes. First, I started with a buttermilk cake recipe from an amazing cookbook that Lauren Estay got us for our wedding. The batter was okay--but I think I might have overmixed it because it turned out pretty holey. You know what I mean. But the flavor was still good.
Next, I stole the glaze recipe from Carrie's Amazing Banana Bread Recipe (which IS amazing, by the way) and used fresh-squeezed citrus fruit juice (blood oranges, tangerines, oranges, and a touch of lemon) instead of OJ. I poured the glaze over the cakes in the pan and let them marinate (so to speak..although technically that's for meat, right?) overnight in the fridge. The next day I made a Creme Fraiche frosting recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It kind of has a cheesecake taste, but it's still light and not too sugary.
The cake was beautiful, if I do say so myself! Today I feel like a real live housewife. Here are some pictures of the sumptuous cake, along with its beautiful cake stand (another gift from Lauren...my chef friend!).
I had a tea party last Saturday with some girls in our ward during the Priesthood session of General Conference. I think every girl, deep in their heart of hearts, would admit that a real live tea party is one of the coolest things you can do if you're a girl, besides give birth or something.
Anyway. Tikla and I started planning last Sunday, and ever since, I have been dying to make a delicious and beautiful cake for our quaint little tea party. Since I had, oh, I dunno, A HUGE BOX full of fresh citrus fruit straight from my Uncle Scott's backyard in California, I decided to make it a citrus cake.
Now, follow along closely, because I kind of made up the recipe. Or, rather, I created a cake from a pastiche of recipes. First, I started with a buttermilk cake recipe from an amazing cookbook that Lauren Estay got us for our wedding. The batter was okay--but I think I might have overmixed it because it turned out pretty holey. You know what I mean. But the flavor was still good.
Next, I stole the glaze recipe from Carrie's Amazing Banana Bread Recipe (which IS amazing, by the way) and used fresh-squeezed citrus fruit juice (blood oranges, tangerines, oranges, and a touch of lemon) instead of OJ. I poured the glaze over the cakes in the pan and let them marinate (so to speak..although technically that's for meat, right?) overnight in the fridge. The next day I made a Creme Fraiche frosting recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It kind of has a cheesecake taste, but it's still light and not too sugary.
The cake was beautiful, if I do say so myself! Today I feel like a real live housewife. Here are some pictures of the sumptuous cake, along with its beautiful cake stand (another gift from Lauren...my chef friend!).
I love the way cakes look on cake stands...sigh.
And look how pretty the cake stand looks with the lid on! I feel so domestic!
Oh, and by the way, why have I never before heard about parchment paper? For flat cake pans, it is a dream come true. You line the bottom with parchment paper and the cakes come out like a dream. Wow. My whole life of ruining cakes by having them fall in half when I try to get them out of the pan is over. The parchment paper discovery has been one of the biggest improvements to my meager life, besides, you know, getting married and stuff.P.S. Today I'm making lemon bars, as suggested by my dear cousin Aubry. I'm sorry the rest of you don't have fresh homegrown citrus like Tim and I do, but hopefully your lemon bars will still turn out mostly good.