perfectly Sunny in here!
Charles Dickens image courtesy specialcollections.vassar.edu
image courtesy C. Dickens
Could it be true that we appreciate specific things most fully when they are up against their extreme polar opposites?
Like this:
vs this:
After college, from 1977-1988 I had a corporate life. I had two best friends there. We were an unmatched trio, yet we would often howl with laughter. One of them ditched for a life of permanent sunshine in Arizona. The other ditched for Florida. (um, who’s the stupid one in this group?) He was obsessed with Charles Dickens. He loved to talk about which books he was re-reading. I remember him going on, most often about Dombey and Son. He also loved Ezra Pound and EE Cummings. I wasn’t suitably cultured and appreciative at the time, and when I sat at the lunch table and began reciting the dialogue of Out of Africa, line by line, his eyes would roll up into the back of his head. Since he was such an expert in literature, I sent him off in search of the source of “early though the laurel grows, it withers quicker than a rose”. He, of course, found it right away. Today’s post is dedicated to Barbara and Ken and all the memories!
We all know it’s one thing to have the brilliant blue sky juxtaposed against a serene white landscape. That will make me come as close as possible to appreciating the wonders of Winter, when I choose to think about it in those terms. Today, is just another story. Stepping outside to greet the morning and retrieve my NYT (it’s food day), which still isn’t here, I got a strong dose of the uglies. Today is one of those days you can’t describe other than to use the word bleak. Let’s just say that shoveling that lovely powder on Sunday was a lot better than today’s slush cum sleet cum snow. And, so, of course I thought of Bleak House – which sent a stream of memories flooding in…….
And, being that it is bleak outside, I decided that the best thing to do is to make something sunny and bright – to juxtapose against the uglies – as old man Winter heaves his last at us, I’ll heave it right back at him.
I have a nice supply of meyer lemons left and I am in the midst of a hazelnut infatuation right now. So, I thought I’d go to work on this:
a soufflé-like beauty, just out of the oven – heavenly fragrant and enticing 🙂
MEYER LEMON OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH HAZELNUTS – adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temp
zest of one large lemon or 2 meyer lemons
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, finely ground
extra virgin olive oil for brushing
muscavado sugar
Preheat oven to 350F. Brush a 9″* springform pan lightly with olive oil, line bottom with parchment, brush the parchment and sprinkle surface all over lightly with muscavado sugar. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, mix together the sugar and lemon zest until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the almond extract to the buttermilk; add to the egg mixture and blend. Add the olive oil in a slow drizzle. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer and blend in the ground hazelnuts with a rubber spatula. Do not over mix batter. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a cooling rack. Serve with a drizzle of your most fragrant honey, a dusting of powdered sugar and a few raspberries or blackberries! Enjoy!
* I originally used an 8″ springform pan for this cake. While it rose well, it fell afterward – I think the 9″ will be better.
Wishing you a lovely day and a bowl full of Meyer Lemons to enjoy!