Veselova Elena/Getty Images
Poppyseed Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
It’s hard to top this classic recipe with a twist from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ Summer Schott Pastry Maker created for The Barn at Rocky Fork Creek in Columbus, Ohio. Instead of using eggs as a base, Schott uses buttermilk, which she says “really brings out the flavor” of the sweet and tangy in this lemony dessert.
Serve cake with cream cheese frosting as directed below or sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with fresh berries. For another variation, Schott suggests, “add some whipped cream and you’ve got a unique take on shortcake.”
Components
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 3 ounces of sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons of lemon zest
- 3 ounces lemon juice
- 9 ounces blended oil
- 2 cups buttermilk
cream cheese frosting
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F and prepare Bundt pan by lightly oiling and flouring or using a flour-based cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the egg, mix and keep.
3. In large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, poppy seeds and lemon zest. make a hole in the center of the mixture.
4. Mix the liquid ingredients. Pour half of the liquid ingredients into the hole and start mixing. Gradually add the remaining wet ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Pour a little less than half of the mixture into a prepared Bundt pan. Carefully pour the cream cheese mixture into the center of the mixture, making a circle around the center of the pan.
6. Pour the rest of the mixture so that it covers the cream cheese filling. Use a butter knife to divide and swirl the cream cheese mixture.
7. Bake for one hour or until the cake is springy to the touch and a wooden pick inserted comes out clean.
8. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, then remove from the pan.
Prepare the cream cheese frosting
1. Beat the softened butter with a hand mixer or mixer until fluffy. Add a third of the powdered sugar and mix until combined.
2. Add the cream cheese and mix until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the remaining icing sugar in two batches and mix until fully incorporated.
4. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
If serving immediately, drizzle the frosting over the cake while still in the pan. Otherwise, refrigerate the frosting at room temperature and shake again before serving. The frosting can also be heated slightly in the microwave until it reaches the desired consistency.
Ginger Date Cake with Caramel Feta Sauce
Hedy Goldsmith, executive pastry chef at Abbalé Telavivian Kitchen in Miami Beach and author of Baking Out Loud, says this British dessert has long been part of her repertoire. “It’s always a big favorite, because it’s so fluffy,” says Goldsmith, adding that because Bundt pans have an extra side (created by the hole in the center), they tend to bake more evenly than round cake pans. conventionally.
After this cake comes out of the oven, cover it with a warm caramel sauce, a step that Goldsmith says beautifully binds the cake and sauce together. The recipe calls for one kilo of dates. be sure to use the Medjool variety, she advises, as they soften nicely in warm water, making them more pliable and easier to use. Also, Medjool dates have a stronger caramel flavor than other dates.
Components
- 1 kilo of fresh Medjool dates, pitted
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 2 1/2 cups hot water
- 1 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 4 ounces candied ginger, chopped
- Caramel sauce with feta cheese
- 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream (double cream)
- 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (reserve 1 ounce for garnish)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F and prepare Bundt pan by lightly oiling and flouring or using a flour-based cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine the dates and baking soda. Pour the hot water over the dates and mash with a fork until soft and mushy, about 5 minutes.
3. Separate the seeds from the vanilla and put them in a large bowl. Add and beat the sugar, egg and egg yolk until the mixture turns pale yellow and forms the consistency of smooth ribbons when poured into the bowl.
4. Add and stir in the date mixture, incorporating it completely. In another small bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Gently fold the flour mixture into the date mixture, adding the ginger until combined.
5. Pour the mixture into the Bundt pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.