Lemon Cake

I used my tax return to buy a Kitchen Aid Pro 5 Bowl-Lift Mixer last week at Costco for $270. The Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker I’d been coveting was next to it for $50. Now I can take both off my Amazon Wish List. My buddy Jer was out visiting from New York for a few days. He and I went to Jr. High together and have been friends ever since. Jer and I spent Friday afternoon makin’ stuff:

• White Cake from the Kitchen Aid recipe book. I swear I followed instructions (with the exception of substituting oil for shortening) and even sifted pastry flour but it was too dense to be satisfactory. My sister Lainey’s 30^th birthday was Friday so I made her the cake (in the picture
• Peach/Basil Sorbet – AWESOME. I didn’t use a recipe, which turns out to be the way I should continue to cook. I just added sugar and chiffonade of basil to fresh peaches and froze.
• Lime/Thyme Sorbet – Eh. I followed the Cuisinart recipe (although I did steep thyme in the simple syrup) but it’s too sweet and all the sugar prohibits freezing to a hard-enough texture.
• Lemon Curd – Turned out nicely. I used it between the layers of Lainey’s cake.
• Candied Lemon Peel – ADDICTIVE! You boil slices of lemon peel in water and drain 3 times. Then cook in a simple syrup and place on a bed of granulated sugar when translucent, cover with more granulated sugar and you’re done.
• Tea gelato – We followed the Cuisinart recipe to the letter, with all 97 steps. On Step 96 Jer burnt the milk (in which tea’d been steeped) and we had to throw the whole thing away.
• Lemon/Cream Cheese Frosting – 8 oz. cream cheese, leftover lemon curd (about ½ cup), 4 c. powdered sugar. Mix. Yum.