Lemon Cake

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 2 tbsp. lemon or orange juice 2 large eggs 2 tbsp. lemon or orange rind 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup milk Glaze: 2 tbsp. confectioner’s sugar 2 tbsp. lemon or orange rind

DIRECTION:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Grease 8” loaf or square baking pan.
3. Line bottom and sides with parchment paper.
4. Cream butter, gradually beat in sugar.
5. Add eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition.
6. Stir in lemon or orange juice and rind.
7. Combine flour, baking powder and salt, blend into egg mixture alternately with milk, starting with flour and ending with flour. Mix well and pour into pan.
8. Bake at 350ºF for 50 – 60 minutes. Cake is done if tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove cake from oven, poke holes on top of cake.
9. Mix glaze and drip over cake. Cool for 5 minutes, remove from pan and transfer to rack to cool completely.

Preparation and baking time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Serves: 12

Pound Cake

INGREDIENTS:

3-1/2 cups flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. baking powder 1 cut butter

1-1/2 cup sugar 4 eggs at room temperature 1 cup milk 1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTION:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Sift flour with salt and baking powder.
   
2. Cream butter very well. It should be light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually, about 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition until light. The mixture should be creamy and smooth in texture, not grainy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
   
3. Combine milk and vanilla. Add flour mixture to creamed butter alternatively with milk, adding flour fist and last (divide flour into 3 parts and milk into 2 parts). Stir only until well blended. Do not over beat so cake will be light.
   
4. Grease and line with waxed paper two 8-inch round layer pans; let paper overhang slightly on the side so it’s easy to remove cakes from pans. Bake cakes side by side on the middle rack for 30 minutes.
   
5. Cake is done when a toothpick or wire tester inserted in the center comes out clean. It should be lightly browned and beginning to shrink from the edges of the pan. Remove from the oven. Cool cake in the pan on a rack for about 5 minutes, then cool it our of the pan, on a rack.
   

Pound Cake Loaves:

1. Bake cake in two 9”x5” loaf pans, lines with parchment paper, in a 325ºF oven for 55 to 60 minutes. May be garnished with candied peel or cherries.

Preparation and baking time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Serves: 8 to 10

Double Crust Pastry

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup each cold shortening & butter 3 – 4 tbsp. ice water

DIRECTION:

1. Sift flour and salt into bowl. Take butter and shortening from the refrigerator, cut into small pieces, and with fingertips blend rapidly into flour mixture until evenly distributed and mixture resembles small peas. Evenly sprinkle water 1tbsp. at a time over dough, quickly blending with a fork.
2. Pat lightly to form a ball. Chill for 1 hour. Divide dough equally into two for 2 single pie crusts or make 1 part slightly bigger to make a double crust pie using the larger part for the bottom.
3. Unbaked Double Crust Pie – Prepare bottom crust as about but trim pastry 1 inch larger than the pie pan. Do not flute or crimp. Roll out smaller ball of 4 simple slits on the pastry to vent our steam. Fill bottom crust as directed. Moisten edge of bottom pastry with water. Place top pastry over filling to cover the pie, flute edges to seal. Trip excess pastry. Brush top with milk.
4. For Baked Pie Shell – Preheat oven  to 425ºF. After trimming edge of pastry, prick bottom and sides with fork, weigh down with dried beans. Baked for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove foil and beans at once. Return to oven and bake for 3 more minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before filling. Bake as directed.

Note: Pastry tastes better with butter if you don’t mind the cholesterol. It has less calories but more sodium when made with margarine.