It was my birthday this week!
I never got to pick my own birthday cake. Ever since I was little, my dad, professional cake enthusiast. picked out my cake. They were always gorgeous chocolate confections from Fortunato Brothers that tasted even better than the looked. To some that is. See the thing is, while my dad would marry chocolate if he could, I don't really like it.
So, this year, I took charge of my own cake destiny and attempted to get every single one of my favorite foods into one cake. Or rather loaves and a bunch of mini cupcakes.
I managed to cram in strawberries, almonds, corn meal, lemon and pistachios! With that many goodies, I didn't know how to name it so I just went with "dreamy birthday cake." Eight-year-old Yvonne, this one's for you.
Ingredients
makes 36 small cupcakes or 6 small loaves
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons corn meal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup ground almonds
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil
2 egg replacer eggs, prepared
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 punnet strawberries, sliced into small chunks
Topping
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
Dash vanilla extract
Dash almond extract
1 handful crushed pistachio nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Whisk together corn meal, flour, baking powder, salt and almond meal in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, lemon juice and zest, oil, milk, eggs and extracts until emulsified.
Add dry ingredients into wet in two batches being careful not to overmix.
Fold in strawberry pieces.
Method
Pour into lined cupcake trays or greased mini-loaf pans, filling 2/3rds of the way. Bake for 22 minutes if making cupcakes or about 32 minutes if making loaves. Test the center of the cupcakes or loaves with a toothpick to ensure they're baked all the way through.
Let your confections cool completely on a wire rack. If making loaves, I would suggest keeping them in their pans to serve. This is a very moist cake, and it won't be very cooperative if you try to flip them out of their pans.
Make the icing glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk and extracts. Spoon a dollop on top of each little cake and sprinkle with crushed pistachio nuts. Let set for a few minutes, then dive in!
Store in a covered container for up to one week.