A Little Bit of All Right

December represents the finishing of one cake book and the preparing for new one.  I have really enjoyed baking out of The Perfect Cake .  I have used several of their recipes for a special treat for my family (the microwave mug cakes were early favorites) as well as meal enders for special occasions.  The clear instructions have given me courage to try baking cakes that went a little beyond my usual comfort zone. The Cake Slice Bakers have a tradition of allowing each baker free choice of any recipe in that year's cook book for our December bake.  I chose a cake that had tempted me back in February but definitely felt outside my abilities, the Chocolate-Espresso Dacquoise. A dacquoise is a meringue that has finely chopped nuts folded in before baking.  For this cake, there are hazelnuts and almonds added to the meringue.  Often, you bake each layer separately, but  America's Test Kitchen recommends baking one long sheet and then cutting into four separate rectangles.  I mu

I've finally returned to baking from The American Cake .  I've actually baked this particular cake twice, once last spring and again in November for a work potluck.  In the book, it's called a Robert E. Lee Cake, but that seems a bit of misnomer since he neither created the cake or baked it.  So I rename in honor of the woman who did all the work (assuming she didn't just take credit for the work of one of her enslaved persons). This cake consists of a light lemon cake layered with lemon curd and covered with a citrus buttercream.  The lemon cake is one of the best I've ever made.  The buttercream is very tasty; the use of both orange and lemon juices really sets it off.  Where I've had trouble both times is the lemon curd.  The first time I made this cake, I followed the recipe as written.  The curd was very sticky, and I felt overcooked.  It was difficult to work with as it tore the cake when you tried to spread it.  The second time, I used my own lemon cu