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| Maple Molasses Spice Cake, with homemade maple syrup. |
Around this time last year, I found a recipe book at a swap meet that contained recipes with instructions like “bake in a medium oven until done.” I love these kinds of books, and they’re even more fun when you cook with friends. Since I’m still making friends in Los Angeles, I reached out to my blogger network to see who would be interested in “swapping” recipes from the book, starting with Lindsay of Rosemarried. We have since then grown to almost 30 accomplished bloggers who participate every month, creating their own recipes out of a vintage one I release every month. Today is our one year anniversary of the swap, so please check out all of our posts below and wish a Happy Birthday to us!
It wouldn’t be a “birthday” post without a look back across the last year. Lindsay and my first posts were to remake a Persimmon Pudding. I was working out of a kitchen I had been in for two days, meaning I didn’t yet understand the oven’s hot spots or know where anything was. Worse, (for me) it was raining that day and the light to photograph was not ideal. It made me wonder if the thought was a good idea at all.
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| The Sand Hills of Nebraska. |
This year, I’m writing this post from the passenger seat on a road trip. I flew back to New York from Los Angeles to pick up my loving compadre after a project, and we decided to make a lazy ten-day trip out of it, visiting friends and family along the way. For this post, my laptop is in its rightful spot, the Sand Hills of Nebraska whizzing by outside. I recreated this recipe in my aunt-in-law’s kitchen in a suburb of Chicago, and my mother-in-law had to race me to the store at 7:30am for a lemon so I could photograph the cake. She brought me maple syrup for the occasion that a friend of hers made this season. (I've never worked with homemade maple syrup before!) In a way, it feels as ramshackle as the first Recipe Swap post. The difference is, I’m now comfortable with the process of the monthly posts, and the journeys they take me on. Not all the photos are spectacular. Not all the recipes are perfect. But, they are, and we are sharing our discoveries and progress with each other.
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| Breakfast along the way, Detroit, Michigan. |
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| Leaves at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois. |
Thank you all for reading and supporting the recipe swap. More importantly, thank you for giving us all reasons to keep writing, photographing and posting about food.
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| Late harvest, backyard, Detroit, Michigan. |
This month, we’re remaking, what else, a cake, to celebrate! The original recipe was Maple Syrup Cake. My take on it is a Maple-molasses spice cake with lemon whipped cream. Light and easy.
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| Bar at the old library, Burwell, Nebraska, my favorite place in the world. |
Please be sure to take the time to visit everyone’s posts below, and Happy Birthday to us!!
Maple Molasses Spice Cake
Burwell General Store
Serves: 8
Equipment:
Stand Mixer
9"x 9" baking pan
Ingredients:
Dries, whisked together in bowl:
1 3/4 cups white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp fresh ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 tsp espresso powder or finely ground coffee
1/4 tsp salt
In stand mixer:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
Wets, mixed together in bowl:
3/4 cup grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup molasses
Topping:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
grated lemon zest
Method:
Preheat oven to 375F.
In stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and slowly incorporate. Add 1/3 of the dries, then alternate with 1/3 of the wets, and slowly incorporate until everything is combined. Pour into greased baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the middle when pressed will spring back. Remove from oven and let cool. Whip cream into stiff peaks, adding a touch of maple syrup. Top with lemon zest, and serve to loved ones.
