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Old Fashioned Pound Cake

From my Kitchenaid Cookbook:

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. butter, softened

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

6 eggs

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Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl.  Add butter, milk, vanilla an almond extract.  Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer.  Turn to Stir Speed (lowest speed) and mix about 1 minute.  Stop and scrape bowl.  Turn to Speed 6 (highest speed) and beat about 2 minutes.  Stop and scrape bowl.

Turn to Speed 2 (low) and add eggs, one at a time, mixing about 15 seconds after each addition.  Turn to Speed 4 (medium high) and beat about 30 seconds.  

Pour batter into greased and floured 10 inch tube pan (I use bundt pan).  Bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  I begin checking at about 50 minutes--this is so much better if it's not overbaked.  :)  Cool completely on wire rack.  Remove cake from pan.  

Yield 16 servings.  

Ultimate Lemon Layer Cake for baby Joseph's Birthday...

ETA: If you have a precocious cook in your home, get them to make this, because you will never have time to do it yourself--quite a time-consuming cake, that's for sure! :S Thank goodness Meg was in charge! :)

It was delicious, so delicious that my Dad (who usually turns down dessert) had TWO servings!

Here's a picture:

Lemon Layer Cake: Serves 10-12

Lemon curd filling

1 cup fresh lemon juice, about 6 lemons (no bottled, please)
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin, plain
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
6 large egg yolks, from large eggs (reserve egg whites for cake)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and frozen

Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 egg whites, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, but still cool

Fluffy white icing

2 large egg whites, from large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (again, no bottled)
1 tablespoon corn syrup

For the Filling: Measure 1 tablespoon lemon juice into a small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over the top.
Heat remaining lemon juice, sugar, and salt in medium non-reactive sauce pan over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot, but not boiling.
Whisk eggs and yolks in a large non-reactive bowl.
Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot lemon-sugar mixture into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until mixture reaches 170° and is thick enought to leave a trail when a spatula is scraped along the bottom of the pan, about 4-6 minutes.
Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved. Stir in frozen butter until incorporated.
Pour filling through a fine-meshed strainer into a bowl.
Cover surface with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm enough to spread, about 4 hours.

For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350°.
Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg milk, egg whites and vanilla.
In a mixer bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; mix at slow speed.
Add butter one piece at a time, continue to beat until mixture resembles moist crumbs and no visible butter chunks.
Add all but 1 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes.
With mixer running, add remaining 1/2 cup milk mixture, beat 1 mintute more.
Divide batter evenly between cake pans.
Bake 23-25 minutes or until toothpick in center of cakes comes out clean.
Loosen cakes from side of pan with a small knife, cool in pan 10 minutes then remove from pan onto greased wire rack, remove parchment paper, invert again and cool completely.

For the Icing: Combine all ingredients in a mixer bowl or heatproof bowl.
Set over medium saucepan filled with 1-inch of simmering water.
Cook stirring constantly until mixture reaches 160°, 5-10 minutes.
Transfer mixture to mixer bowl (if needed) and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until mixture has cooled to room temperature and stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes longer.

Assembly: Cut each layer in half horizontally. Spread 1 cup of lemon filling evenly on each cake, (except the top layer) leaving 1/2-inch border around cake. Place top layer on cakes, smooth out any filling that may have leaked from the layers. Refrigerate while you make the icing. Spread icing on cake.

Meg's favorite brownies

From one of my favorite mysteries series!

Uncle Tom's Butterscotch Brownies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Makes 16 brownies.

1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups dark-brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour (I use unbleached white AP flour but want to try a WW pastry and see what happens)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
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Butter a 9-inch square cake pan. Mix all of the ingredients together in large bowl, combining them well. Spread mixture in the cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until dry on top and almost firm to the touch. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then cut in 2-inch squares.

*I often double this recipe and use a 9x12 pan. You will need to almost double the baking time and cover with foil for the last 20 minutes or so...