Best Buttermilk Dessert Food

BASIC BUTTERMILK CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 with rack in the middle of the oven. Butter cake pans and line the bottoms with wax paper or parchment paper cut to fit. Butter the paper. If making cupcakes, use paper liners or butter the cupcake pan.
• Beat the butter and sugar at medium speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy in a large mixing bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time. Scrape bowl and beaters to incorporate.
• Sift the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. Add one quarter of the dry mixture to the butter-egg mixture and then add the vanilla and a third of the buttermilk. Repeat beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scraping well after each addition.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans and spread to the edges with a spatula. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
• Cool in pans of a rack for 5 minutes. Turn pans onto the rack, remove parchment paper or was paper and cool completely before frosting.

TEST KITCHEN'S FAVORITE BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda for 30 seconds. Toss butter into dry mixture to evenly coat, then press between your fingers to create flower-petal shapes and return to bowl.
• Slowly drizzle buttermilk over flour-butter mixture (to evenly distribute) while stirring with a fork. Stop stirring when dough begins to form but mixture is still crumbly. Transfer to center of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather dough with your hands, pressing firmly to bind, and flatten it into a 6-by-10-inch rectangle. Lift parchment along a short end of dough and fold in half, forming a 6-by-5-inch rectangle. Turn dough 90 degrees; gently reflatten to 6 by 10 inches. Fold in half again and flatten slightly into a 6-inch square.
• To keep things easy, form the dough on the same tray it's baked on. Cut it into thirds in both directions with a large, sharp knife, to form 9 biscuits. Brush tops with buttermilk. Bake until puffed, golden brown on top, and hollow-sounding when tapped on bottom, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a kitchen towel-lined basket; cover to keep warm. Serve with butter and jam.

"BEST EVER" BUTTERMILK POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour large bundt pan.
• Spoon flour into measuring cup, add to sifter and when all 3 cups are added, sift.
• Combine flour, sugar and baking soda in mixer bowl of standing mixer (hand-held OK if that is all you have) and mix on medium speed for 30 seconds.
• In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs, then add buttermilk and flavorings and mix.
• Add softened butter and 1/3 of wet mixture to dry ingredients, and mix on medium speed until ingredients are just moistened.
• Scrape bowl down, then beat on high for 1 full minute, turning bowl several times and scraping down sides at least once.
• Add remainder of wet ingredients in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition.
• Remove mixer bowl, scrape any batter off beaters into bowl, and with rubber spatula mix batter a few turns to insure that it is well mixed.
• Pour batter into prepared pan, and firmly tap pan on counter top to pop any bubbles in the batter.
• Place on middle rack of preheated oven and cook until done, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• If cake bakes longer than 50 minutes, you can butter a piece of foil and lay on top to avoid overbrowning.
• Don't fret if top splits in a circle concentric to the pan -- that is proper for this cake.
• When done, remove to wire rack; cool for 5 minutes, then invert pan and remove (may need to loosen edges with thin knife).
• Do not cover until cool.