Lemon cloud cake

Timelines are not my thing. I mean, why would I chart out a sequenced sketch of an assemblage I'd be tearing apart the moment it was set on the table?

Then again, why would I not? The answer to this would more so lean on the fact that I have a very part-time custom cake gig. So it would be prudent to accurately portion out the leftovers from the day job (time, energy, brain's capacity), working within the frames of my feeding mouths/cleaning house/washing dog vocations, to fashion cake scapes of such magnitude.

Couple this with the fact that I've set my heart on the scene at hand for such a while; you know, the deep desire to retell one of my childhood favorites through sugar paste.

I thrive on spontaneity. Granted, I occasionally sell my creations, and at random become the poster child of (ahem) organization and skill. Notwithstanding, the "work under pressure conundrum" my baking motto, leads to exponentially fantastic results. I do believe creative entity flows furious in those wee gaps of time right before presentation .

Lemon cloud cake is as good as King Arthur Flour makes it out to be. Impossibly moist, floaty soft with fluffy, plush interior, together with "want a piece of me?"as its tag line. It boasts an insane crumb, tightly packed, yet feather to the touch, all in a build encapsulating bright and happy.

The flavors align perfect to Spring celebration, in a theme defiantly bringing in hope to an era that can never have too much of it.

Lemon curd whipped in frosting and strategically placed between, brings punch. Iced with a light veil of silky Swiss meringue buttercream, today's cake is the embodiment of perfect dessert-ing.

Moreover, it goes so far beyond the "create and decorate" trajectory. As seen here, it can be fancied for party purposes, pomped in ceremony, or simply served as the informal centerpiece to an evening's high tea. For such reasons, cloud cake can turn a mere weeknight into an occasion and a slice or two should brighten up whatever the day might throw at you.

There it is,  labor of love pushed out of my door to come knocks at yours.

Because, isn't it nice to visit wonderland some point in life, even if it's in the form of a three layer cake?

I don't know what I liked more, the actual cake or all that it took to make it look this way. 

The cup/ saucer might've been the most time consuming. The molding was a breeze(in a bowl and over a saucer) ,but even with a good mix of gum paste into fondant, it took 24 hours to hold it strong. 

I used my own marshmallow fondant recipe for all the decorations and embellishments.

Sadly, Mad Hatter and Cheshire cat didn't join the crew. The window to add more and eat fresh cake wasn't narrow enough. Do you blame me for being in a hurry?

Adapted from King Arthur Baking's lemon cloud cake.

Lemon cloud cake:

Ingredients:

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter 
• 1 ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites + 1 whole egg
• 2 ¾ cup cake flour
• 1 ½ cups plain yoghurt
• 1 tbsp lemon zest

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour cake pans( 3- 8 inch rounds or 4 -6 inch rounds).
• Beat butter sugar and oil until pale and light in color.
• Add the baking powder, salt and vanilla extract.
• Beat in the the egg whites and egg until light and fluffy.
• In three additions, add in flour, alternating with yoghurt, starting and ending with flour. Mix in the lemon zest. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
• Spoon batter into cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.
• Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes then invert onto racks to cool completely.

Click here for the Swiss meringue buttercream recipe

Lemon curd recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 
• 1 tbsp  lemon zest 
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

• In a large microwave-safe bowl or measure cup, whisk together the eggs, sugar and lemon juice  until smooth. Add butter, stir to completely combine.
• Microwave on high power  for a minute. Whisk mixture to combine well.
• Continue to cook at high power for 45 second intervals, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, approximately 3-7 minutes.technically 175°F. 
• Remove from the microwave. Cover with tightly and set aside in refrigerator to chill before combining with buttercream for filling.

Notes: For the filling, I stirred a a third cup of Swiss meringue buttercream (you could also use regular buttercream) with a third cup of lemon curd until evenly blended.
Cover and refrigerate this lemon cream for 2 to 3 hours until firm.

To assemble the cake: Spread first layer with the buttercream frosting, stir the filling and spread a few tablespoons across the frosting and stack with the next cake layer. Repeat. After finishing off with the topmost layer. Frost the sides and cover the top with your buttercream frosting. Chill cake before serving.

That's crushed praline you see between the layers.

“There's no use trying,” Alice said: “one CAN'T believe impossible things.”

Synthesizing pieces and relics from the beloved tale brought back memories of grade school, where in my child mind, the rabbit hole existed in some stretch of universe. My maiden read of "Alice in Wonderland" was in Mrs. Herndon's third grade class (she would be one of my absolute favorite teachers). I went on to read it three more times at later points in my young life.  Like the book, cloud cake will certainly have a recurring role in years to come.

April:

2020: Giant bunny and carrot cake
2019: Oven roasted chicken shawarma
2017: Mixed berry coconut chia smoothie
2016: Spicy spaghetti with seared scallops and salami
2015: Marble cake
2014: Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream
2013: Quatro leches pudding
2012: Chicken wing 65

******

"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Luke 6:45 (NIV)

Buttered chapati (whole wheat flatbread)

Achromatic food rarely beckons my attention.  It's not as fun to photograph, which is big considering the space here is screaming for attention. Likewise, as opposed to brightly decorated ensembles, the desire to grab a few pieces, in shoot, is clearly not as strong.

There's also the uninspirational element that comes from attempting an iconic recipe repeated on the web countless times.. How could I chat with you on how exciting heated griddles and blistering doughs are when the contents of the matter has been discussed in the matrix of Google searches over 13000 times?

Moreover, my experiments with Indian flatbread are limited. At one point of my life, when I had the luxury to take a few fails, the work seemed to result in little dividend. Not counting the times I painted it though.

Today's story could end on a similar spiel. But, I urge you, read on to check if it resolves the above and turns out to be the exception. 

The bread on topic is chappati. In greater parts of India, it is known as roti, slight, puffy middled, griddle toasted and often the commoner's answer to gratifying sustenance. The couple of rolls dunked in a tiffin gravy provides a satisfying lunch. However, in a paramount desi meal, it occupies a grand spot, folded and tucked to the corner of a myriad of sides.

As a result, taking a look at these flattened pieces of durum most of a subcontinent passes off as dinner, you tread lightly on amending such an heirloom blueprint.

But, what if I tell you I made an adjustment that purists and flatbread theorists would nod their heads to? What if I said I found a way to create an on par to the curry it's meant to be soaked up with? 

What sets apart the thing I have for you from the original is the addition of two extra ingredients  Broken wheat and garlic powder are not ideally a part of chapati infrastructure, but they pave the way from ho hum to high praise. 

Subsequently, I need a moment to extol on the virtues of cracked wheat. It makes a solid difference, literally and figuratively. Fragments are nutty, lend chew, and give roti an artisanal look/feel/ flavor.

The dashes of garlic make it sufficient to eat, unpaired. But a saucy masala flanking it could do no wrong.

As simple as one, two, three, but as five star as you can imagine nourishment to be.

I believe that once you've tried what I've told you today, it will be impossible to make it any other way.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour ( I use King Arthur's white whole wheat flour)
• ¼ cup cracked wheat
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp( for covering dough) olive oil
• ¾ -1 cup water, more if needed

Directions:

• Whisk the together flour, cracked wheat, garlic powder, salt and sugar. Alternatively, you could use the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed.
• Stir in the oil and water, slowly incorporating and kneading, either by hand or using the dough hook and mixing on medium, until dough is soft and pliant.
• Roll into a ball and smear oil to cover it. Set aside tented with a tea towel, about 10 minutes.
• When ready, divide the dough into 8-10 equal pieces, depending how large you want your breads to be.
• Lightly flour the surface and press down a dough ball until lightly flattened. 
• Roll out each small disk using a rolling pin, to a diameter of 6-8 inches. Dough should have an even thickness. Repeat with each ball.
• Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat.
• Place one chapati on the skillet. Move it around and press edges with a spatula until heat bubbles form and puffs the middle.  Quickly flip it over and brown the other side. It should not take more than 30-35 seconds per side.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Spread pats of butter between and over warm chapatis. 
• Place them warm in a clean tea towel, covered in foil.
• Serve with curry.

Notes~

I lightly spritz the tops of the dough with a bit of water while cooking. Helps in making chapatis soft and puffy.

Spread the rolled dough discs out onto a a lightly greased or floured surface- you would need to clear some counter space for this.  Do not stack them between parchment or any other paper- they will stick together.

Atta, milled whole wheat flour is found in Indian grocery stores and is what's preferred. However, King Arthur's white wheat flour is a good alternative.

 Chapati comes together in no time and with a little extra effort you could whip up one of these to plate it with:

beef fry

beef mappas

chicken curry

butter chicken  

shrimp masala 

April~

2020: carrot and bunny cake

2019: oven roasted shawarma chicken

2017: carrot cake

2016: spicy spaghetti with scallops and salami

2015: bunny buns

2014: corn in seasoned coconut milk

2013: palappam

2012: sesame chikki

******

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." Isaiah 61:3