Parties of a Cakely Proportion

Clearly, I am a lover of all things sweet and baked. So I decided, why not have a party where that's all you eat?! I mean, other than the obvious and eventual sugar crash and stomach sick from too much sweet food, it sounded like a wonderful idea. This weekend, it happened!

For it, I made a genoise cake, which is a bit like a really fluffy American yellow cake. Europe and Japan loves this type of cake--light, airy, and dry. To help it keep its moisture, I slathered the layers in a glaze of 1c water, 1c sugar, and 2tbs triple sec. The actual recipe comes from my new favorite cookbook! You can see this cake which was decorated with strawberries and whipped cream in the bottom right corner of the picture. The picture was taken early in the evening before everyone had arrived; the pickings here are sparse compared to the end result!


---
Be sure to have all ingredients at room temperature for this recipe! The key is to have a light hand and to not rush the folding process or you will end up with a dense, unpleasant cake.

Genoise Cake (from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion)
6 eggs and 1 egg yolk
3/4c superfine sugar
1/8tsp salt (1 pinch)
3/4c flour
1tbs cornstarch
4tbs unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place the eggs, 1/2c of the sugar, and salt in a baine marie, whisking until sugar dissolves and the mixture is just warm to the touch. Do not let the eggs scramble! If the eggs reach a temperature higher than 110F, your eggs will become a very sweet dish of scrambled eggs. Begin beating the eggs at medium-high. You will do this until the eggs triple in volume, and when lifting the beaters/whisk, the eggs fall in a thick, luscious ribbon and are slowly reabsorbed into the mixture. If you are using a stand mixer, this can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. A hand mixer will take considerably longer. If you choose to mix by hand, I pity you, but you will have some nice guns to show for it!

While the eggs are beating, whisk the flour, cornstarch, and 1/4c of sugar together, creating a bit of a dust storm in your kitchen. (You want this mixture to be light and airy because you will be folding it into the eggs, which are prone to falling.) Once egg mixture has increased significantly in volume and has become a light yellow color, using a large whisk, beging folding the flour mixture in. Add the flour in thirds. Pour 1/3 of your batter into a medium-sized bowl containing the butter and vanilla mixed together. Stir until uniform to lighten the butter-and-vanilla mixture. Fold in the rest of the batter.

You can pour/spoon this batter into a springform pan (30 to 35 mins baking time), 8" or 9" baking pans (20-25 mins; you must bake these all at once or the batter will be no good), or a jelly roll pan (14-18 mins). Do not open the oven while baking or the cake is prone to falling! The cake is done when the sides have pulled away from the pan. A cake tester is not needed.

It's not summer, but it's mighty warm

Despite the fact that it snowed two days ago (in April?!), it had been getting pretty hot. One day it had already hit 80, and tomorrow it should be in the mid-70s. So, while I think of key lime pie being something to eat to cool off in summertime, I think spring in Atlanta is often warm enough to go ahead and gobble one down. This recipe is based on my mother's; I know what she uses, but I don't know how much exactly, so I made this one. I don't like meringue on my key lime pie seeing as I'm allergic to it, so if you'd like to use the whites from the three eggs, 1/4tsp cream of tartar, and 1/4c sugar, go for it. Just put the meringue on when you bake the pie, and it will come out with beautiful brown and tan streaks. Key lime pie is simple, delicious, and refreshing. It is one of my favorite desserts. If you cannot find key limes, you may juice regular limes and a little bit of lemon to mimic the sourness of key limes, but it will not taste quite the same. Just don't use bottled lime juice.
---

Key Lime Pie
8oz shortbread cookies, ground
1/2c macadamia nuts, ground
1 tsp sugar
2tbs butter, melted
3 egg yolks
1 14oz can condensed milk
1/2c + large splash key lime juice (if you like it extra sour, which I do!)
1c heavy whipping cream
2tsp powdered sugar

If you wish to buy your own pie crust, bake it for 10 mins before baking the pie if not pre-baked. Otherwise, this shortbread macadamia nut crust is delicious.

Mix together the shortbread cookies, macadamia nuts, and sugar. Add the melted butter, and stir with a fork. Distribute into a pie pan, and bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Remove the crust and allow it to cool completely.

To prepare the filling, beat the egg yolks until light yellow and thick; this may take some time if done by hand, and it is very worth your while. Stir in the condensed milk until fully incorporated. Add the lime juice and mix well. Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake for 15 minutes.

While baking, whip up the whipping cream to either soft or hard peaks (whichever you prefer) and add sugar. Let cool, and spread over the top, making swirls and peaks. Place in refrigerator to chill at least 3 hours.