Ligurian Lemon Cake or Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
I witnessed a rare phenomena in my kitchen tonight that might prove that cooking and space-travel have in fact a lot in common. There was a black-out at sunset in my neighborhood that literally caused a lemon cake eclipse. Yup, a goddamn eclipse in my kitchen man! After the lights went-out and before my world turned to complete darkness, my room was filled with rays of lemon sunshine coming from the cake sitting on the window ledge. Lost in the excitement i went to grab my camera and stubbed my little toe on a piece of %@#& furniture before falling in agony on the kitchen floor. My dear readers, the picture above was taken under a lot of pain. I think you should know that i am ready for any culinary sacrifice for you. And that includes toe amputation.
When my zen-ness was restored and i focused on lemons instead of toes, i found this Pablo Neruda poem “Ode to a lemon” and read it by candlelight while munching on something.. well… lemony. It was delicious! When light came back, there was only a few golden crumbs on a black lacquered platter that looked like shiny meteorites in the night sky. It’s either that or I had too much vodka with the cake.. or maybe it was hallucinations.. or… was i abducted by..al..aliens!!?…
Nah!… hmm!?.. Naaahhhh!!.. But a bit spooky?.. yaaahh!
How we got from lemon cakes to aliens i don’t know, but i’m sure of this – the recipe comes from pastry chef extraordinaire Pierre Herme who definitely looks more like a melon than a lemon, but a melon with enormous talent. It’s simple, it’s good and it gets much of its depth of flavor from the unexpected addition of extra-virgin olive oil. The rapberries add a nice touch as well. Herme describes the cake as having a rich aroma, a light olive taste, and a soft texture. I think he’s about right. I mean i wouldn’t argue with the guy anyway… he’s about triple my size. The cake can also be dressed-up and covered with meringue and browned quickly in the oven. See recipe.
Now you decide my friends. Was it a lemon cake or a close encounter of the third kind i experienced?
(*the absolut ad was borrowed from here . Sorry absolut, couldn’t resist!)
Ligurian Lemon Cake
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1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
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1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
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1 cup sugar
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Zest of 2 lemons (removed with a zester and finely chopped)
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4 large eggs, at room temperature
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3 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
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1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
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7 tablespoons (31/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
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2/3 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil
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about 1 pint fresh raspberries
1. Preheat the oven to 350′F. Butter a 10-inch round cake or springform pan, dust the interior with flour, and tap out the excess.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder together and reserve.
3. Place the sugar and chopped zest in the bowl of a mixer and rub the ingredients together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Fit the bowl into the mixer with the whisk attachment in place, add the eggs, and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale and thick, about 3 minutes.
4. Set the mixer to its lowest speed and beat in the milk. Add the sifted dry ingredients, beating only until they are incorporated, and then add the lemon juice, warm melted butter, and olive oil, again beating only until blended.
5. Pour about one third of the batter into the prepared pan – it should be just enough to form a thin, even layer. Top with enough raspberries to cover the batter, then pour on the rest of the batter, using a rubber spatula to gently spread the batter to that it runs down between the berries and just cover them.
6. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately unmold it onto a cooling rack; invert so that the cake is right side up. Cool to room temperature.
7. For the meringue (optional), beat 1 large egg white in a dry and clean mixing bowl until it holds soft peaks. Add 1/4 cup of sugar in a slow, steady stream and continue to beat until the mixture forms firm, glossy peaks. Spread the meringue over the top of the cool cake using a metal spatula. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until lightly browned. Enjoy!
June 4th, 2008 at 1:33 am
This post reminds me of an episode of The X-Files…I used to love X-Files until they became obsessed and blamed everything on aliens HAHAHAHA…normally i despise most lemony/citrusy cakes, but since you’ve added some extraterrestial flavor to it..(cud u spell chk that for me hehe)…plus, u were in a lot of pain…i’d give lemony cakes another chance LOLLLL
June 4th, 2008 at 1:54 am
mmmm. toe jam and lemon cake!
June 4th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Avec le zoom on a l’impression que tu ajoutes une montagne de zeste!
En tout cas, bienvenue à bord de Entreprise
Be warned, Il y a une éclipse de gâteau à chaque fois que je passe dans la cuisine. Tu vas enfin pouvoir faire des lasagnes en forme de continuum spatiotemporel, veinard.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Oh, I know what you mean. For some reason I had stubbed my left fourth toe; I think the joint had been sprained and there was definitely a little internal bleeding and swelling. So I immobilized it to hasten the healing, when a few days later I stubbed it AGAIN! It was twice as painful.
I knew I recognized the name of this recipe! I have the book but I haven’t made it. The lusciousness of your pics are calling to me…
June 4th, 2008 at 5:25 am
I am so really cheezs off when I see such besutiful rasberries. Why? It is so expensive to get them in Kayel here!
June 4th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Zen you told you were going to add something misterious to your basket giveaway. Is that your toe? Did I guess it right? That would definetly make a good surprise for the winner!
The cake looks good and I agree with you, I would not argue with Pierre.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:32 am
nbuoyZen,
Dude! What exactly was in your luggage upon your return from Utopia?
Love your blog, and you are a total sweety, btw.
CK
June 4th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Mmmmm…me likey. A lot! Sorry about you toe. Are you sure you stubbed it? Or did the aliens do some kind of weird toe experiment on you and erase your memory? Things to ponder….
June 4th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Oh, the sacrifices you make for us!
Love the look of your lemon cake…!
June 4th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Zen man, this post cheered me right up on a dismal, drizzly Brooklyn morning! You are a comedy kitchen poet. And I sympathise about the toe – I have a lovely black one myself at the moment. While unloading furniture from the truck we went cross-country in I managed to kick the protruding wheel arch. Hard. Stubbed toes hurt WAY more than is reasonable, don’t they?
June 4th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Did you just call Pierre Herme a Melon!
June 4th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Now that is quite the story and quite the cake! I love its simplicity! Looks delicious!
June 4th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
“We open
the halves
of a miracle,
and a clotting of acids
brims
into the starry
divisions…”
Wait, wait, hey, you recite Neruda odes before chopping onions too? Wow, I thought I was the only freak doing that
This lemon cake looks great- I like lemon- flavored-anything too (except air fresheners), but I guess it’s your little toe that gave you close encounters w/ the third kind…have you been seeing stars? Hehe. Careful-
June 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
“come to daddy”
*cough* um…. I shall obey.
If that is Invader Zimm, he should say the following…
“Lemony fresh victory shall be MINE!”
June 4th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
this is GORGEOUS….
sorry about that toe buddy….
your inner zen will return.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
gonna make this cake!
June 4th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
I am making this one this weekend…No I am making this gorgeous cake today .
June 4th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
you are my hero! not only are you cooking during a blackout but also with a stubbed toe. as paris would say, “that’s hot”.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Oh, lemons and raspberries? Divine. Perhaps a divine abduction by the lemon gods?!
Great photo… thanks for sacrificing yourself for us!
June 4th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Pablo Neruda and Lemony Cakes…What a fantastic blackout moment. I mean, Neruda, lemon cake and blackout…that’s poetry by itself. E.T. wants some!!
Cheers,
JD
June 5th, 2008 at 2:52 am
You’re weird and funny.
Oh come on. That’s ridiculously good looking.
What Glamah said- Did you call him a melon?
June 5th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Pretty pretty cake! Heh, I get photos like that all the time because the light in my kitchen is wonky. :p
June 5th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
oh my, poor toe!
I’ve got a joke posted at steamy kitchen and can’t wait to hear your answer b/c I just know you’ll make me laugh!!!
June 5th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
WOW!! I never met a lemon cake (pie, bar, pudding … anything lemon) that I didn’t like.
Your recipe looks especially delicious. It is now tacked on the bulletin board (hint to wife).
June 5th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
That is HOT! You on the floor, in pain, taking a picture of a CAKE.
Marquis de Sade couldn’t have dreamed this up. Only a chef.
What’s next?? Noodles and you in a tourniquet??
June 5th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
That lemon cake looks really good!
June 6th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
look at those gorgeous raspberry combine with the cheesecake………!!
June 6th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I can just picture the whole scene, hilarious. The lemon cake looks beautiful, aliens and all!
June 6th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
PH looking more melon than lemon…ahahaha!! Only you
I hope the toe is better, we are a household of 17…now who is the alien?!!