Vanilla Rhubarb Cake

 

I gravitate towards tart flavors. I prefer my gin and tonic to contain an entire lime, occasionally leaving a tiny wedge for Brandon. To trick myself into drinking more water, I squeeze in a whole lemon’s juices to make it more interesting. Those biting, wince inducing flavors are some of my favorites. Not sure why. It could speak to my personality, but I doubt it.

 

A week or so ago, as we wandered the Broadway Farmer’s Market, I was excited to find out what was in season. I imagined the market to be overflowing in magnificent produce since it has felt like spring here for weeks. Alas, I was disappointed. There wasn’t much variety, though there was an over abundance of rhubarb and leeks. I grabbed a few of the deep pink stalks, tinged with green.  Good thing I had the foresight to gather rhubarb inspired recipes just a few days before. (See Pinterest board)

 

Since I’m a timid and lazy baker, I chose the simplest recipe. Pastry Affair’s  Rhubarb Vanilla Pound Cake  was just the ticket. Easy, with little mess and my kitchen happened to have all the necessary ingredients. I wanted to use my precious, snappy rhubarb wisely, and not allow it to get too sweet or boring. This cake provided a quiet backdrop to enhance the tangy rhubarb flavor. Topped with minted strawberries, this cake was a perfect spring dessert. Be sure to accompany with a cup of excellent coffee to get the full effect.

 

From Pastry Affair

 

Preheat the  oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. Or if you don’t have one (like me) you can use a wider cake pan, and you’ll just get a thinner slice of cake. Wash and cut up a 2-4 stalks of rhubarb into about 1/2- inch pieces. Mix with about 1/4 cup of sugar and cook in a small pot or frying pan until it just gets soft, should be just 5-7 minutes.

Mix 1/2 cup butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until throughly mixed and light and fluffy. Add in one egg at a time , for a total of 3 eggs, and be sure to mix it in well. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste if you have that on hand. Add 1/3 cup of sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix well. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour until just mixed. Lightly stir in the rhubarb and its juices. Pour the batter into the pan, top with a sprinkle of sugar and bake for about 45-50 minutes.

 Enjoy warm from the oven or at room temperature.

Olive Oil Cake

I’m not much of a baker. At all really. It was a major feat of courage to make chocolate chip oatmeal cookies a few months ago. But, in my quest to be fearless in the kitchen, I’ve been dallying with some simple baking recipes and the results haven’t been too bad. I’ve made a version of Molly Wizenberg’s French Style Yogurt Cake a few times and once, at The Pantry’s holiday party, she tried it which was quite nerve wracking. Luckily she was very gracious.  That cake is super simple to put together, hence it being my practice cake.

The other night, in a deal made with the spouse that I would make an olive oil cake if he did the dishes, I searched about the interwebs for some new olive-oiley, lemoney, cakey inspiration. Some of the eye catching ones that are on my list for future attempts:

Smitten Kitchen : Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Cup of Jo: Best Olive Oil Cake You’ll Ever Have

Maialino’s Olive Oil Cake

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any fresh thyme on hand, but I made an herbless version of the “Tea Thyme Yogurt Lemon Olive Oil Cake” from Chindeep.com. Wanting to use my kitchen aid so I’d feel more “bakerey”,  I used it to mix the sugar and eggs for about five minutes to get them nice and creamy. This type of cake is incredibly basic. Mix the wet ingredients, add the dry and pour it all into a baking pan. Top off with a simple lemon glaze and there’s dessert! It came out bright and light, not too sweet. I bet some fresh, macerated raspberries would seriously add to the enjoyment factor. 

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

– Adapted from ChinDeep.com Preheat your oven to 350 and butter a baking pan or simply cover in parchment paper. Mix up 1 cup sugar and 3 eggs until creamy and smooth. If using a KitchenAid keep it going on low as you add ingredients. Add in 1 cup of cream or half and half or plain yogurt.  I used half and half  this time. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 cup of olive oil.

Separately, mix up your dry ingredients: 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and the zest of a lemon or two, depending on the size. If you wanted to add thyme, like the original recipe calls for, add in about a teaspoon or so. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine till just mixed.

Pour it all into a baking pan and into the oven for about 50 minutes. Check on it after about 40 just to be sure its turning golden and not getting too brown. Once its done and cooled, mix up a glaze with lemon juice and some powdered sugar to taste. Pour over the cake, slice and serve with hot coffee.

Akin Cake

By no means was I a demanding bride for my wedding this past June. There was one element however, that I was unwavering on.

The food at my reception had to be absolutely spectacular. And I wanted to find smaller, local vendors that really enjoyed and thrived on creativity while making a quality product.

Antique Taco catering our taco bar was  a quick and easy decision. But where to find a heavenly, decadent cake? There is no end to bakeries in the city and they probably all make wedding cakes.

But so many places concentrated on just creating a spectacle piece. I can just hear their brainstorming:

“A hipster-ey wedding? How about a burlap layered cake, with owls and ribbons and thick framed glasses and a pipe and mustaches with a mason jar topper and the flavor is … Irony and Lace .”

Yeahhhh, no thanks.

photo by T & C Photographie

I wanted to support a smaller business so I emailed my venue contact at Kitchen Chicago. Surely a rental kitchen space will have small catering recommendations!

It’s a Bingo!

She told me about Charin from Akin Cake. Check out her incredibly charming description here! Her mission statement spoke to my soul:

Food, taste, and flavor are delicate arts that should be partaken of and enjoyed by all.  If you remember biting into that first fresh strawberry of the season, the mouthwatering taste of mom’s apple pie, or the bonbons you ate after a bad breakup, then you know food has the uncanny knack of expressing emotions along with taste and sustenance.  Food creates long lasting memories by uniting us, capturing our thoughts, and evoking emotions words fail to describe… My goal, passion, and mission is to bring the art of taste and flavor exceptional foods offer to each and every cake I make so it will turn moments both grand and small into unforgettable memories.

After quickly skimming  her cake flavors, and mouth-watering photos,  I sent her an email. Charin was amazing to work with! She wrote back promptly, brainstormed with me and above all else, created astoundingly delicious cakes.

For an extra $150 she provides a wedding “package” that includes delivery of the cake(s), extra decor, a cake on your 1st year anniversary and a tasting of 3 cakes to help you decide. 

“mini” cakes for tasting.

With classic flavors and a few of her own inventions, you just know she is in love with creating the perfect cake. We settled on a small tiered Ramona Allison ( named for her late grandmother) and two sheet cakes, a  Vanilla Bean and a gluten free Hazelnut cake that was so fudgy and luxurious it was gone in minutes.

I love her descriptions, don’t you!?

Mint Mocha -quirky, intriguing, mysterious

S’mores – fire, goo, artistry

Peanut Butter and Jelly -mirth, playtime, yummy

Vanilla Bean – decadence, exotic, heavenly

If you are looking for a cake for an event visit Akin Cake and shoot Charin an email.

Your sweet tooth will be indebted to you.