Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze

Nothing spells summers like lemons (and of course mangoes!). I remember when my Mom would bottle sugar-lemon syrup and store it for quick shikanjis during summers. This has been on my "to-bake" list for a very long time. A simple easy recipe which promised a flavorful cake and did it live up! It had the tang and the crunch - from the glaze and had a very light texture. I made a small batch in a 6 inch bundt pan, cutting the original recipe into 1/3rd.

Pre-bake the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 6 inch bundt pan. Beat the butter, sugar and salt till light and fluffy, do this well - I think it added a lot to the lightness of the cake. Add the egg and beat well. Add the baking powder. Add milk and flour, a small portion at a time and mix till you get a smooth mixture. Stir in the lemon extract. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes till a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. The baking time would have to increase as you bake a bigger batch.

Stir together the sugar and lemon juice for the glaze as the cake is baking. Remove the cake from the oven when done and let it cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and have the right side up. Pierce the top with a fork and give the glaze a stir. Start brushing the glaze onto the still warm cake. Brush on more till all of it is used up.

Let the cake cool completely before slicing. The cake turned out lovely! I did up the quantity of the lemon extract. The only change I would make for the next time would be to use the lemon rind for a more natural flavor.

Ingredients:
Cake

1/3 cup unsalted butter

2/3 cups sugar

1/3 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

2/3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup maida/ all purpose flour

1/3 cup milk

finely grated rind of 1 lemon OR 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Glaze

1/6 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Apple Pie

I am a chocolate person. That is how I divide desserts in my head - Chocolate & Fruit. I would most usually pick up the chocolate ones given a choice except for this one which is very special to me. I can't resist this apple-y cinnamon-y flavor, in fact I am finding a new love in all things cinnamon-y...

So, I thought high time I got to baking this. Almost all experiences of making one spoke about their intimidation by the crust - so here i sat intimidated by a thing i had not even started to start. Further, all recipes I read spoke about store bought pastry crusts which are not available here. Next up, search for making the crust from scratch and all of them required a food processor to make the dough - I don't own that either! Searching next for a handmade homemade crust got me to this which included a great tip for those attempting it by hand. I figured the food processor was necessary to not have the butter melt when handling it by hand. This lenghtened the process but in the end the crust shone no less than the filling.

For the apple stuffing I decided to go by this recipe which spoke about macerating the apples in sugar which causes the apples to release their juices. While most recipes took an easier route just adding the sugar and spices to apples and piling them in the crust, this one explained that doing so would leave a gap between the top crust and the apples when baked as they would tend to shrink. And I can vouch it worked, the filling had a delicious caramely taste with apples that were tender and juicy to taste.

I used Fuji apples, 4 of them for an 8" loose bottomed pie/ tart pan that was 1" high.

For the crust

Freeze the butter for at least 30 minutes.In a bowl whisk together the flour and salt.

Grate the butter into the flour and using a rubber spatula, form roll it into the flour so that it is evenly coated.

Sprinkle some water over it and continue to mix with a spatula/ fork till the dough starts to stick together adding water as required. Roll it into a disc on a clean surface, wrap in a plastic cling wrap and refrigerate for atleast an hour. Remove dough from refrigerator. If stiff and very cold, let stand until dough is cool but malleable. Roll one dough disk on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan and gently press dough into sides of pan leaving portion that overhangs lip of pie plate (this would be later used to seal the edges) in place. Refrigerate while preparing fruit. Prepare the top crust similarly and refrigerate when not in use.

For the filing

In a large bowl combine the sliced apples with the sugars, lemon juice, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to three hours. Next, drain the apples  for about 15-30 minutes or until you have about 1/4 cup of juice. Pour the juices in a heatproof big enough bowl and add the 2 tablespoons (28 grams) of unsalted butter. Place in the microwave and boil the liquid, on high, about 5 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to about 1/6 cup and is syrupy and lightly caramelized.

Putting it together

The crust was buttery and flaky, though I felt i could have rolled it thinner. The filling and the crust made for a great pie and one happy confident me.  

Remove the top pastry crust from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes so it has time to soften. Do not wait for it to get totallly soft but just so long as it takes to yield under your rolling pin. Transfer the drained apples slices to a large bowl and toss them with the corn flour. Pour the reduced syrup over the apples and toss to combine. Pour the apples into the chilled pie crust. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with a little water and then place the top crust over the apples. Tuck any excess pastry under the bottom crust and then crimp the edges using your fingers or a fork. Using a sharp knife, make a few 2-inch (5 cm) slits from the center of the pie out towards the edge of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill the pastry while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Cover the floor of the oven with an aluminium to catch any overflowing juices. Place the lower rack in the oven and the pie tin over it. Bake for 30 minutes. Place a foil ring over the edges and continue to bake at 160 degrees C for 20 more minutes till the crust is golden in color and the apples are tender (not mushy) when tested through the slits. Transfer the pie to the wire rack and let it cool till it reaches room temperature. I left it overnight in the face of consistent advice to not dig into fruit pies immediately.

Served it at room temperature with whipped cream!

Ingredients

Pie Crust

21/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
6-8 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed

Apple Filling:

4 apples (around 500 grams) peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick

25 grams granulated white sugar

28 grams light brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 tablespoons corn flour