Feast Day & Cake

Feast days are becoming rather a big deal here of late. Monday we celebrated with all the pomp and sugar we could muster. Beatrix was heard to say throughout the say, "Its my birth--I mean FEAST-day!" She wore a princess dress the whole day because she insisted her patron saint was a King. I wasn't about to correct her. She wanted a flower cake so the girls picked a large basket of pink blossoms from the profusions that has recently entered our spring days. Yay! I love blossoms.

And now for the cake. I have to say, I have never been good at making white cake from scratch. In fact, I have only attempted it twice and both attempts were unservable. Well, enter Alice Waters. And her 1-2-3-4 Cake. Never again will I buy a boxed cake mix. Never. This cake was BY FAR the most delicious cake I have EVER tasted (and though it might be because of our Lenten sugar-starved taste buds, I think not).

I changed up the recipe slightly--nothing major. But I will put it below.

Alice Water's 1-2-3-4 Cake 

(with additions)

Butter 2 round cake pans liberally.

Separate:

4 eggs

Measure:

1 cup milk

Sift together:

3 cups white flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a mixer, beat until light and fluffy (6 min, about):

1 cup butter

Add: 

2 cups sugar

Beat the butter and sugar until very light and pale (about 5 minutes).

Beat in 4 egg yolks, one at a time, very slowly. Continue beating until light and pale.

Add:

1 teaspoon vanilla

Into the bowl of sugar/butter/egg add cup of milk and flour mixture alternately. Mix until just combined. 

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs whites until soft peaks (I left it to go mediate a dispute and came back to the eggs being very DRY--I used them anyway). Add into the cake batter slowly (i.e. fold in). 

Pour batter into pans and bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

My Additions

Spread homemade strawberry jam between the layers. Frost with Yogurt Frosting (1 1/2 cups homemade yogurt, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cups melted butter).