Awesome Day Cake!

It was a good day at work today…but then the traffic happened.  I’m not good with traffic, it turns my good days into cranky pants ones.  By the time I stopped at Target for some things and picked up a gift and made it home I was not so happy.  But a few kisses from my puppy and a glass of wine I was on my way to repair!

Another thing that makes me happy is baking things.  I wanted something simple, mostly because I don’t have a lot in the pantry/fridge right now and I wanted to make sure I’d get to eat it tonight! I remembered a cake I read about on the blog Orangette that I always wanted to try and haven’t.  I made it pretty much exactly as the recipe says and boy did it improve my mood. 

It was simple and delicious.  I drank it with a glass of milk and life was good.  My mother would probably need some whipped cream and fruit or something, the flavor’s not like WHOA but more small and satisfying.

One of the best things about it is that the top gets kind of golden and crusty so you cut off a piece and the middle is all moist and delicious and the top has a bit of a sugary crunch! 

Orangette got it from a recipe called the Busy Day Cake by Edna Lewis.  It’s basically a vanilla nutmeg cake.  The nutmeg is more of a scent, very light but definitely there.



yum

Vanilla-nutmeg cake (or Busy Day Cake)

1 stick (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp.  baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 good pinch freshly grated nutmeg, or more
½ cup 2% milk

Prepare a spring form pan and pre-heat oven to 375

Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each one then add in the vanilla and mix.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

Starting with the flour add 1/3 of it to the butter mixture and combine, then add 1/3 of the milk alternating until you end with the flour mixture.  Mix until just combined and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes until done.  Cool for a few minutes and run a knife around the pan, release the spring form and cool on a baking rack.

I had a piece warm and it was delicious!  I also had to cook it a lot longer than the original recipe calls for, almost 45 minutes, so I guess it just depends on your oven. 

On the Orangette blog she talks about creaming butter with a mixer versus by hand.  I mix almost everything by hand even though I have a stand and a hand mixer.  I think it’s what I find most satisfying about baking almost as much as eating the finished product.  I can’t say for sure but I think you can taste that little bit of extra love.

This phone does not have a good camera, it tastes better than it looks!