Baking with Blobby

As you saw on 12 of 12, the Old Man's Running Group had one of it's 3 or 4 picnics that they do each year. Picnic implies lunch, but this is done right after a run, so.....it's like 09:00. Bagels, muffins and coffee are provided. We each are supposed to bring something else. 

You've seen me do breads or muffins. This time it is a loaf cake. More precisely a Pink Lemonade cake. 

I really was about to do a no bake thing, but it had chocolate and honestly, it's been mid-80s before 08:00 and I thought that wouldn't be great. Maybe another time. 

I should have gone with the no-bake option. But more on that in a bit. 

The pink lemonade cake isn't exactly labor intensive, but it seems to use a few bowls, but it is kind of clean as you go, so it isn't horrible.  ....and I technically, I think it is vegan. No butter. No eggs. Even the oil is vegetable. I suppose if you needed it gluten free you could substitute flours, but I can only do so much for so many people. 

Let's get cracking.......

Ingredients 

Cake 

 

3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar 

Zest of 2 lemons 

2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

3/4 teaspoon table salt 

3/4 cup (170g) water 

1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil 

1/4 cup (57g) freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 2 lemons 

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Soak 

2 tablespoons (28g) freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 1 lemon 

2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar 

Glaze 

1/2 cup (60g) fresh raspberries, plus more for serving 

1 to 1 1/4 cups (113g to 142g) confectioners' sugar, sifted 

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1/8 teaspoon table salt 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Line an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan with a parchment sling, then spray the parchment and the inside ends of the pan with nonstick spray. 

To make the cake: 

In a medium bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the sugar and zest together with your (clean!) fingertips until the mixture smells lemony and resembles damp sand. 

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and whisk to combine with the sugar mixture. Set aside. 

In a separate small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the water, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a flexible spatula to combine. It's OK if a few small lumps remain. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 45 to 48 minutes, until the top looks set, the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

This was my #1 downfall: the parchment paper sling. It was not smooth enough. This buckle in the paper would start a visual disaster once peeling the paper off. I would have been better just using no parchment. 

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then use the parchment sling to lift it out of the pan. Set it on the wire rack, upside-down, and peel off the parchment. 

To make the soak: 

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and sugar and whisk together until the sugar is dissolved. Use a pastry brush to brush the soak all over the bottom and sides of the cake. (Brushing the soak onto the bottom, as opposed to the crusty top, allows more of it to be absorbed.) Let the cake cool completely, about an hour. 

To make the glaze: 

While the cake cools, make the glaze: 

Place the raspberries in a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl. 

Using a flexible spatula or the back of a spoon, smash and press the berries through the strainer to extract as much juice as possible. I used clean hands, as it was quicker. Discard the seeds left behind in the strainer. 

Gradually mix 1 cup (113g) of the confectioners’ sugar into the raspberry juice, stirring until smooth. Slowly add the remaining confectioners’ sugar as needed until the glaze has a thick but pourable consistency, like honey. (When you drizzle it back into the bowl, the lines should hold for at least a few seconds.) Whisk in the vanilla and salt. 

Downfall #2. The instructions say how many raspberries and how much sugar to use, but not how much actual raspberry juice. There was a lot of juice, so it took a LOT of sugar to get to the consistency, and I still don't think it is right. I probably need two tablespoons - tops! - for this. Way overboard and it soaked the cake more than glazed it.  It would end up sticking the cake to the Chinet I placed it on to set-up. 

(yes, Chinet - I was going to a picnic!)

I also forgot to get a pic of the cake after I 'glazed' it.  This was the next morning when we tried to salvage the cake, but pre-cutting it into bite-sized pieces before going to the event. 

Turn the cake right-side-up on the wire rack and set the rack onto a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cake. Spread it all the way to the edges so that some glaze drips down the sides; an offset spatula is a helpful tool here. Set aside to allow the glaze to set, at least 30 minutes. 

To serve, cut the lemonade cake into slices and garnish with a few fresh raspberries.

This is the cut-up version for the picnic. 

People claimed to have loved it. 710 said he did and that it had intense lemon flavour, though the raspberry flavour did not come through. It should have intense lemon flavor - zest in the sugar, juice in the mix and a lemon juice soak. 

Should I do this again, I'd just learn from my mistake. Again, visually, it was iffy, taste was a solid A.