How baking went from boring to amazing for me

I had always found baking boring. I like the flame and passion of cooking, the savory smells, the easy way you can fool around with recipes and make it your own. Cooking was always instinctive to me, I loved how you could improvise and just go with the flow. Baking was always tedious. If you didn’t get the steps right, the measurements perfect or have the right-sized pan, it was almost certain you were headed for disaster. I never had the patience or the discipline to deal with the step-by-step recipes. Plus add that to the fact that, well, I never really had a sweet tooth and would always reach for a plate of cheese rather than a slice of cake.

Since I found out I was pregnant, things have changed somewhat. First off, I suddenly developed a craving for the sweeter life. I wanted French toast for breakfast. A slice of pie for merienda. I’d go to the mall to buy cookies and sneakily eat them. I once went practically every day for almost three weeks to get peanut butter frozen yogurt at Pinkberry, refusing the loyalty card because I didn’t want to admit to myself how many of them I ate. 

I also developed a sudden sincere interest in baking and one of my goals for the year was to get better at it. And not pour-from-box, crack-one-egg baking, but to really make something special. You see, my ultimate dream is to bake my own children’s birthday cakes. For them to be excited about mom’s special cake and not something that is store-bought or ordered. Something that is delicious enough that they won’t care about it not having cool decor or fancy icing.

In my almost-30 years of life, I have never once gotten a cake right. Muffins and cookies were straightforward enough but ever since my last two catastrophic attempts at a cake some 10 years ago (one was more like burnt dough and soup and the other was a big pile of chocolate poop), I had never given it another go.

For the past two months I had a strange craving for Sara Lee’s pound cake. It was one of those mysteries: when you don’t want it, it’s always there, and then suddenly you want it and, well, it’s practically as elusive as a white unicorn. I decided to take matters into my own hands and brave the dreaded cake recipe. I adapted a recipe I saw on Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa for a lemon pound cake and thought I would give it a bit of an herbed twist with some fresh rosemary sprigs that I had. I can also proudly say that I managed to successfully switch up some ingredients to make it more accessible for us locally and make a fantastic cake with absolutely no mixer.

It was a true labor of love doing everything the old-school way, creaming butter and sugar by hand, mixing the ingredients delicately… And as my biceps were burning from the citrusy, sugary workout, I realized that the one ingredient I finally had to make this right that I never did before was patience — something that is not only essential for pastry making but for those long, sleepless nights of early parenthood, as well as for the rest of my life in this new adventure.

And as I was putting on the final touches and garnishes, elated with pride about how amazing everything turned out, I looked to my belly and said to my baby, “You can come out now, mama’s ready!”

Here’s my recipe below and please visit www.thegypsetters.net for more ideas on how to use this cake base and turn it into other delicious desserts, plus what was my inspiration behind the bright, summery flavors.

Lemon rosemary pound cake

(Adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe

Makes 2, 8-inch round cakes)

Ingredients for the cake:

2 sticks of butter at room temperature

2 1/2 cups white sugar

4 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup lemon zest

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup lemon juice

3/4 cup filled with one 125g package plain unsweetened yogurt (preferably Greek), then filled to the top with milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary plus 1 or 2 large sprigs for the syrup

Ingredients for the glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

4-5 tbsps lemon juice

1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 176 C. Butter and flour 2 8-inch cake pans, preferably spring-form pans to make things easier. Line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and 2 cups sugar, either by hand using a wooden spatula or a mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. If you’re using a mixer, use medium speed and add the eggs one at a time and the lemon zest and rosemary.  If not, make sure to incorporate one egg properly before adding another using the wooden spatula. In another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another smaller bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the yogurt and milk mixture and the vanilla. Add the flour and yogurt mixture alternately to the egg and butter mixture, making sure to fully incorporate each ingredient before adding more. Divide the mixture evenly between the two cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

While it is baking, make a syrup out of the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup lemon juice. In a small saucepan, cook these ingredients along with a sprig of rosemary over low heat until the sugar completely dissolves. Turn off heat and let sit. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan. Remove the cakes and set on racks. Spoon the syrup over them and then allow to cool completely.

In the meantime, make the glaze using the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk together to make a smooth consistency and add the chopped rosemary. You can adjust consistency by using more or less lemon juice.

When the cakes are completely cooled, pour the glaze on top and allow it to drip down the sides. Let it set for a few minutes. You can garnish it with some fresh strawberries and a sprig of rosemary. Serve it immediately with more sliced fresh strawberries. If you eat it right away it will have a nice moist and fluffy texture if you refrigerate it a little it will be denser and richer like a pound cake.