Lemon Loaf Bundt Cake

T U E S D A Y S   W I T H   D O R I E

Special thanks to this week's hostesses:  

Truc of Treats & Michelle of The Beauty of Life

This is LOVE week. I LOVE lemons. This man named Norman LOVE was the contributing baker for this week's Baking with Julia recipe. I LOVE bundt pans. This week was the inaugural baking in the vintage copper bundt pan - a Christmas gift from my friend Elaine. She LOVES lemons too.

Sadly, Norman's "lemon" recipe included just lemon zest. All good, all fine, but being the lemon-LOVER, I upped the ante. In went the juice of one lemon, along with a few drops of lemon oil. On went a brushing of more juice, fresh out of the oven. Zing . . . I can already taste the tartness. Mr. LOVE's loaf garnered rather tart reviews at the office - "the lemony-est cake I've ever tasted".  And to top it off - this cake was a breeze to prepare - melted in place of creamed butter. No mixer required. A rich, dense, lemony pound cake with no mixer?

Gotta LOVE that.

– mike

Easter Chocolate Marshmallow Eggs

EASTER GREETINGS.  It was rather fitting this week's recipe from BAKED features chocolate. And even more fitting that it also includes light, fluffy marshmallow. Both an Easter tradition and quite a winning combination. Peter seems to think so too.

This BAKED recipe is actually a Chocolate Egg Cup - the cup being mini-muffin liners. When Elaine told me she was trying her Martha Stewart egg molds, I thought "ingenious". Little did I know there was a box of these molds on my basement shelf (go figure). Melted chocolate lines the molds (or cups) and a marshmallow  filling of sugar syrup whipped with gelatin sits inside. To top it off, more melted chocolate covers the filling and after a quick chill, these confections are ready to pop out and line your Easter basket - or dessert table.

I was rather impressed at how delicious homemade marshmallow is - even better sandwiched in-between bittersweet chocolate - ala Trader Joe's. Leftover melted chocolate lined some spring flower candy molds.

To try these eggs-cellent confections, hop on over to BAKED SUNDAY MORNINGS for the recipe.

 – mike