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!
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.