I met Christianna, CM for short, the amazing woman behind Burwell General Store on Twitter and that was it, we were instant friends. I am fond of this type of irony- our blossoming friendship which is based on something old-fashioned and real and honest namely, the shared love of real food and recipes was built on such a thoroughly modern platform. Anyway, upon meeting CM, I loved the name of her blog, I loved the food she was cooking, her literary voice, and the real feeling of community she fostered. Right away, she introduced me to Lindsay from Rosemarried and I was hooked on another new blog written by an incredibly talented and very sweet woman. When she invited me to join her recipe swap in January, it was just a little too close to the deadline, plus she hit upon my secret fear of frying with the fritter challenge.
The recipe swap involves bloggers creating our own versions of recipes from a funny little book Christianna picked up at a junk store, All-Day Singin’ and Dinner on the Ground. This month’s recipe was “Company Time Lemon Cake” which totally spoke to me. I love citrus of any kind, but especially lemons. Friends bring me lemons off of their trees, I buy lemons practically by the gross, I’ll make lemon marmalade, lemon curd, lemon syrup, custard, cake, pancakes, preserved lemons, well you get the picture. As far as desserts go, I’d rather have lemon than chocolate any day and I think they’re pretty and sunny and they smell better than anything. It was fascinating then, that I had such a difficult time deciding what I would make for this swap.
In the end, it was the name of Lindsay’s blog (Rosemarried) that set off my imagination, “ah ha! Brown sugar, lemon, rosemary!” I am pretty in love with this cake. You should have lots of rosemary caramel left over, but that’s okay too, because it tastes great with chocolately things or over ice cream. It also goes really well with a spoon!
Thanks so much to CM for inviting me along, I can’t wait for the next one. Mine’s gonna be vegan, for sure, considering I’ll be in the middle of a month-long vegan cleanse. Now, go check out some of these other bloggers! I think you’re going to love how amazingly creative they’ve been with their creations!
- INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE
- 6 oz butter
- 1 ½ muscavado sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
- 2 ½ cups unbleached pastry flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 oz milk
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- INGREDIENTS FOR ROSEMARY CARAMEL
- 3 six inch sprigs rosemary
- ¾ cup water
- 1 ½ cups of organic WHITE sugar
- 1 ¼ cups cream
- INSTRUCTIONS FOR CAKE
- Preheat to 350º
- Cream butter and sugar until really smooth and fluffy in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachemEnt
- Add eggs and yolks 1 at a time
- Add in zest and rosemary
- Sift flour / baking soda fold in with milk
- Add lemon juice
- Bake 45 minutes in a well greased parchment paper lined 9” round pan
- INSTRUCTIONS FOR ROSEMARY CARARMEL
- Boil rosemary sprigs in water for 7 minutes
- Measure water, it should equal ¼ cup, if not add or subtract until it measures ¼ cup exactly and return to pot with sugar over low heat until sugar dissolves.
- Raise heat and boil until sugar and water turns a toasty caramel color stirring every so often with a wooden spoon. Watch carefully as sugar can go from perfect to burnt very quickly. (process takes 5-7 minutes)
- Turn down heat, and gradually whisk in cream.
- You can add some of the boiled rosemary sprigs back in for a more rustic sauce or leave them out for a more refined one
Serving suggestions:
Top with thinly sliced lemons (or sweet lemons) and serve with a dollop of crème fraiche.
Sabrina,
I've been waiting for this post since you emailed us with the idea. All of my favorite things wrapped up into one recipe. I love the savory aspect of the rosemary, the richness of the caramel and brown sugar, and the brightness of the lemon. I would order this over just about anything on a dessert menu, hands out. I bet you could make a killer cocktail with the same ingredients too! Love it!
Mari
Thanks so much, Mari. I love savory in desserts too. The best dessert (hands down) I had last year was a warm polenta cake from Flour + Water served with corn ice cream and basil syrup.
X
Sabrina
Basil is one of my favorite flavors…sweet or savory! That'd be a fun recipe to try and recreate.
holy smokes. Rosemary caramel? Yes please. I have to make this recipe. This looks wonderful. Also, on a vintage geek note: love the embroidery in the background and the ceramic white bunny. I think we might be vintage kitsch kitchen twins.
Thanks Lindsay, I keep meaning to tell you, too, that you're the spitting image of a friend of mine (also a vintage queen). She's a fabulous burlesque dancer and a darn good cooker too! Thanks for loving my bunny (not really vintage). I bought it at a store called Therapy here in SF. I have little white sparrows too. The tablecloth is from France and was my grandmother's. I love it ever so.
X
Sabrina
Can't help but laugh at your comment Sabrina. Linds, if food and PR don't work out, try Burlesque!
Lovely! I am so glad to have done the swap together! This looks beautiful, and I can't wait to see your next creation, if you still want to swap with us! What a privilege to have you in the group.
Thank you so much for having me. I’ve really had a blast and can’t wait for the next one. You are a peach!
OMG…I'm salivating reading this! To die for!
Mary,
Did you see all of the other bloggers on this recipe swap? There are some awesome gluten free ones! Like Toni from Boulder Locavore’s orange cake with cocktail to boot! Will you join in our next swap? I would love that!
XXX
S
I would be honored!!!!!
Your cake is absolutely divine. My mom is coming to visit an she will be delighted with your cake, particularly because of your use of rosemary. The lemon and rosemary pair so well together and it's refreshing to see it used in a a sweet like cake.
Ms Joy, thank you so very much. I hope you and your mum have a nice piece of cake and an even nicer visit.
X
Sabrina
This is such an interesting recipe. I would never think of including Rosemary in a cake. Potatoes yes, cake no. But this looks delicious and I am interested to try it.
Shari from http://www.goodfoodweek.blogspot.com
Hi Sabrina! I read this earlier toay but had some difficulties leaving you a comment. Looks great! I was so intrigued by the rosemary caramel, like Mari beelined here several times before you posted. Love the approach and it really sounds delicious. Glad you are part of the 'Sisters Who Swap and Chef Dennis'…..my new name for us.
I love that you went with rosemary. Such an interesting flavor. Experimenting with caramel infusions is so much fun.
wow!!! A rosemary caramel..now that is just amazing! who would have ever thought of that!!!
you did such a great job on your entry for the swap, I would love to try a piece of your delcious creation, great job on the presentation too!
Cheers
Dennis
I think using rosemary in a dessert is bold and unexpected. I like that! Now I have to try your version and Chef Dennis'. Great idea, this recipe swap.
This cake look so moist & delicious! Happily I have a huge pile of lemons and rosemary is the only herb on my roof terrace that seems to be alive.. The parsley and coriander are not happy!!
Oh my, wow wow wow – that is stunning! Rosemary, lemon, and caramel… what a combination of flavors…that's beautiful! Thank you for the recipe!
This looks amazing. The rosemary caramel is particularly interesting; I've never seen anything quite like it. Thanks!
What a great combination of flavors!! This looks so light, but delectable!
I love this combination! I have been on a bit of a rosemary kick ever since I purchased a plant for Thanksgiving. Mostly I have been using it in savory dishes, but I am so glad to see this recipe because now I know what my first dessert with rosemary will be.
This cake looks beautiful!
I am literally speechless! I love the flavor combination and the presentation is BEAUTIFUL!
That looks delicious. Rosemary and lemon are the best friends of the world. I love the rosemary caramel idea.
I totally agree with you, Sabrina: lemon over chocolate any day of the week! The photo of your cake is stunning! I'd never thought of making a lemon cake with rosemary but it soulds very tasty.
This cake sounds wonderful! I love the addition of the lemons and rosemary caramel on top!
Thanks so much Amy. I love to walk the line between sweet and savory.
Wow Sabrina, gorgeous idea! I am always intrigued by lemon desserts! I am looking forward to your other creations with this group! Sounds fun!
Thanks Ilke! It's a really fun group. Next month I'll be in the midst of a vegan cleanse so the recipe should be interesting.
The cake just looks beautiful.
Thank you so much Joy!
how much in advance do you think that you can make this one?
Well, it\’s a very moist cake. I\’ll bet it would be fine a few days in advance. You might actually be able to freeze the cake part, but no guarantees.