Buttermilk Cake With Sour Milk Jam And Gin Poached Cherries Food

BUTTERMILK CAKE WITH SOUR MILK JAM AND GIN-POACHED CHERRIES

Steps:

• For buttermilk cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour pan. Whisk baking soda, salt, and 2 cups flour in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour pan. Whisk baking soda, salt, and 2 cups flour in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and 1 1/4 cups butter in another medium bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and scraping down sides of bowl.
• Reduce mixer speed to low and, with motor running, add dry ingredients in 3 additions alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
• Bake until cake is golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool before turning out.
• DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
• For sour milk jam:
• Bring milk and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar; reduce heat and simmer gently, whisking occasionally, until mixture measures a scant 1/4 cup, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; let cool (it will thicken as it sits). Whisk in crème fraîche, cover, and chill.
• DO AHEAD: Jam can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• For gin-poached cherries and assembly:
• Bring cherries, gin, sugar, juniper berries, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan; reduce heat and simmer until liquid is syrupy, 6-8 minutes. Let cool.
• Spoon a few dollops of jam onto plates. Tear cake into pieces and arrange around jam. Top with cherries and fennel fronds.
• DO AHEAD: Cherries can be poached 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

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.

MOM'S BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the cake: Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch cake pan with butter. Combine the flour, sugar and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer or mixing bowl. Combine the butter, cocoa and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil while mixing. Add the cocoa mixture to the flour mixture, along with the buttermilk eggs and vanilla, and beat for 3 minutes. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan before turning out on a rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting: Make the frosting as soon as the cake is out of the oven. Combine the butter, buttermilk and cocoa in a small saucepan and bring to a boil while mixing. Combine with the confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth. Spread the frosting evenly on the cake.

LEMON & BUTTERMILK POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and flour a loaf tin measuring 22 x 11 x 7cm. Sift the flour with a pinch of salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the lemon zest. Gradually add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix the buttermilk with the lemon juice. Fold the flour mixture into the batter, alternating with the buttermilk and lemon mixture.
• Scrape the batter into the loaf tin and bake for 40-45 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to sit for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack with a tray underneath it. Set the cake the right way up.
• To make the syrup, put the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Pierce the cake all over with a skewer then, while the cake is still warm, pour the syrup over slowly. Leave to cool.
• Gradually add the lemon juice to the icing sugar and mix until just smooth. If runny, put in the fridge for about 10 mins - you don't want it to set, you just want it become a little firmer. Pour or spread the icing over the cake (the bits that drizzle down the side will be caught by the tray under the cooling rack). This icing won't set hard, but do leave it to set a little before serving.

SIMPLE BUTTERMILK COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve about 1 cup butter crumbs.
• Stir buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract into remaining crumbs until batter is just combined; pour batter into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle reserved butter crumbs over batter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERMILK CAKE WITH A SOUR CREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Butter a 10-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Cream together the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, continue beating until thick and light.
• Sieve together the cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and flour.
• With your mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients in 4 portions, alternating with the buttermilk and coffee, beat until all is very well blended.
• Pour the batter in the springform pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Run a knife around the edge of the cake and let the cake cool completely whilst in the pan.
• Make the frosting just before you need it.
• Mix together the sour cream and the icing sugar, whip the cream until stiff, then mix the two creams together.
• Release the cake and turn it upside down on a platter.
• With a serrated knife cut the cake into layers (I use a piece of sewing thread to cut the cake).
• Spread frosting over one layer, carefully replace the other layer on the top and spread the rest of the frosting over the top and the sides.
• Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.