Tuesday, April 13, 2010

TWD—Swedish Visiting Cake

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“Oh, Hi, Mom, could you take my picture, I colored all over my nice pants and both shoes and some paper with this really cool bright yellow pastel type crayon I found.  And don’t worry, I didn’t get any on your bed!  Thanks, Mom.  I sorry.”  (SIGH!)

Tuesday’s with Dorie this week was a perfectly simple cake chosen by the fabulous Nancy from The Dogs Eat the Crumbs.  Nancy is great to help a lot of us bakers out by posting on the P&Q her quartered (or halved or third-ed or even smaller!) recipes and many helpful ideas about the recipes each week.  (I hate math and especially fractions, so thanks Nancy!)  She chose Swedish Visiting Cake (pages 196-197 in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours) for us and like many, I’m sure, when I first saw the cake, I wasn’t that excited to make it.  But I was intrigued by the fact that the cake is so simple you can make it in no time and have a great dessert ready.  So Sunday night as I was making dinner, I got out all the ingredients for the cake and whipped it up while preparing the last few things for dinner (multi-tasking here, you can’t do that with a lot of recipes!)  You can get the recipe for the cake on Nancy’s blog.  It really is a great one to have when you have last minute company. 

I was excited to use the cast iron skillet I got for Christmas and have only used one other time so far—for the Tarte Tatin we made back in January for TWD.  Get this—I followed the recipe!  I know, I know, what is wrong with me?  Okay, one MINOR change.  I ran out of vanilla.  So I used 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (instead of 1 teaspoon) and used 1 teaspoon almond extract (instead of a half).  They were both optional to the recipe, so really I could do whatever I wanted to there, right? 

Cake going in the oven.  Oh, wait, first I had the extreme pleasure of doing this--

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The rubbing of the zest into the sugar!  It doesn’t even involve chocolate and it’s one of my favorite things to do in baking.  (Simple pleasures, right.)  Mix a few things here and there and then the cake was ready for the oven.

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It baked for 30 minutes.  After it had only been out of the oven for about 15 minutes (at the most), Kevin wanted a slice.  (Shocker—Kevin wanted cake.  The key here is that there was no frosting, it’s really frosting that he hates so much.  I know, let’s not talk about the craziness of that!)

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He put a dollop of some Cool Whipped Cream on top.  (We had some that needed to be used or else I would have whipped some real cream, although, I still prefer the fake, bad-for-you stuff.  I am a skim milk drinker only and I think whipped cream reminds me too much of drinking full fat, whole milk (I can barely even stand 2%).  Anyway, back to the cake.  Almost never in the history of me participating in Tuesday’s With Dorie has Kevin ever really tasted a cake, savored it and given me some good, honest feedback.  But this simple little cake was it.  He REALLY liked it!

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I mean, he was even saying things like, “I like how moist it is inside but I really like the crunchy top from the sugar and almonds.”  We’re talking real opinion here.  I was almost in shock.  I usually have to really prod him about some of these recipes to get an “It was alright.” out of him about things.  He often just eats to fill his tummy as fast as he can and doesn’t really taste his food.  He liked the almond flavoring (although I decided it was a little too strong, and actually next time I make this cake, I want to try it with no vanilla or almond and maybe add a little lemon flavoring.  I wanted to taste the lemon more than we did with this one.

That said, I really liked the cake.

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So did the boys.  They each had a piece.  (Taylor had to pick off all the nuts from his, but still ended up eating the whole thing.)  I really thought they’d all think this was too boring and not like the almond flavoring.

Scott ended up eating two pieces and finishing a good half of Parker’s.  (Parker is just not a really big sweets eater.  Sheesh, how would THAT be?)

Kevin had gone to a meeting at church after downing his piece.  When he got home a few hours later, there was about two pieces left.  He asked if he could finish the cake.  Kevin finished a cake.  You just might not realize the significance of that.  He. doesn’t. like. cake.  I’m not sure I can convince myself to make such a simple, kind of boring cake for his birthday, but I wouldn’t doubt if this is what he requests then.

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And that was the end of that only hours after pulling the cake out of the oven.  I call that success!

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And I call this little stinker dadgum cute!

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This one, too, but he’d be SO mad at me if he knew I put this on the blog.  I did not take these pictures and I don’t know if Kevin was letting Sam use the camera or what, but this is a good interpretation of the usual kind of pictures of Scott we get—he’s a blur and trying to duck out of the pictures.

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He will go out of his way to NOT STOP for a photo op.  This is the best we got.  Hi, Scottie!

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Beautiful night (Monday).  Lovin’ springtime!  Riding scooters and bikes and blowing bubbles all evening.  Didn’t capture any pictures of Taylor and Parker.  Parker was hurt by a basketball to the head.  Our neighbor wanted to make him feel better, so he took him for a ride in his Porche.  Parker thought that was pretty darn cool.  Thanks, Ron!

37 comments:

mike said...

What great photos - how on earth do you have time to bake such great stuff? I'm hoping the color crayon is washable. :) The cake looks fantastic as is - and it WAS, wasn't it? One of the best cakes - glad Kevin thought so too!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

If Kevin liked it I think anyone will ahahahah! After all the times you said before he doesn't like cakes!!! So now you know, whenever you have to bake a cake, just leave one part unfrosted for him ;)

Paula said...

Unlike Kevin, I'm all about the frosting so this wasn't my absolute favorite. But it's nice that his favorite is so easy to make.

Oh my goodness, your youngest is SO, SO cute. So what happened about the yellow color?

Lisa Ernst said...

Congratulations on making a cake your whole family likes! What a surprise, huh? As I scrolled down, I couldn't help but think I'd find some kind of chocolate variation, but then I realized the lemon sugar topping just wouldn't be compatible with chocolate. :-)

Kevin doesn't like frosting????? Well, I don't like that sugary stuff used on cheap grocery store cakes, but home made butter cream or ganache -- so good.

Cristine said...

Your cake looks yummy!

Pamela said...

Too cute with Sam and his yellow crayon! Hope nothing is permanent. :o) The cake looks like an absolute success at your house! Great job!

Bella Baker said...

wow! you finally found a cake that Kevin loves! yes - I would DEFINITELY call that success! This was a winner with my family too!

Jacque said...

My 11 year old does that too, ducking out of pictures, and it drives me crazy! Oh well, good to know he's not the only one.

I'm glad to hear this cake was such a stunning success. Looks are deceiving, huh? I liked it too.

Michelle said...

"Swedish Visiting Cake" is such a cute name and the end results looks so good. But what doesn't look delicious covered in almonds!

Joe said...

Sounds like an awesome brunch cake that you don't need a ton of time to make!

Flourchild said...

It didn't last time in our home either. Im glad your boys enjoyed this recipe. It is a keeper!

Valerie said...

Kevin sounds like my husband. He doesn't like sweets much, but when he does it's the things I consider boring (vanilla ice cream...). Glad you found someting he did like.

And Scott sounds like my Alex, always doing his best to avoid cameras.

Hindy said...

Wow, an all round family success! Bravo. Lovely photo of the lemon and sugar!

vibi said...

Huh? with all the suave chocolate, gooey caramel, colorful sprinkles and what nots you add to your confection, you have hubby that still doesn't like cake???

Life is indeed, full of mysteries we might never understand! LOL

But I understand why he loved that one, it dissapeared in a flash here too!

Beautifully done, Katrina... and I guess there is no winner amongst us this week, for well... it was kinda simple and plain. Great tasting but ...simple and plain.

Pam said...

I've never had a cake like this before - it looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Who doesn't like frosting?!? More for the rest of you, I say. Glad this was a big hit with everyone.
the lemon chips are something like flavored white chocolate. My dad picks up these unusual items at an amish store somewhere in MO.

Leslie said...

This one is a keeper if Kevin wanted to finish it! If he asks for it for his birthday you could make two of them in cake pans and fill it with whipped cream/topping...

shriya said...

Beautiful and lovely pics. I never tried cake like this before. Yummy and it looks delicious.

spike. said...

Success! Great to hear this was enjoyed by non cake eaters. I really need to try this one- everyone posted rave reviews.

Shandy said...

Awesome cake and photos! Love how cute your boys are in the pics too. When you end up with the WHOLE dessert gone, then we know the recipe was a hit . . .Yay!

Jaime said...

wow someone put a whole tsp? i wonder how that tasted! your regular version turned out great.

Mimi said...

I'm all about the frosting, but I loved this cake. My kids devoured it in record time. They decide that since it was so easy to make that I should make them another one. I didn't.
btw that Sam is too cute. I would be a terrible disciplinarian with him.
Mimi

Jules Someone said...

Wow! This was a huge hit! Glad something at your house was easy... ;-)

Unknown said...

Katrina, your posts and all of your photos make me simultaneously want to have kids tomorrow and never have them! The boys are SO cute but I'm neither a patient nor a laid back person and crayon all over everything would stress me out.....but he's so cute, how do you get angry at a face like that?

Anyway, your cake looks fabulous! I agree, the lemon was overpowered by the almond, but I didn't mind.

Tia said...

cool whip is one of my guilty pleasures too. and reddi-wip aerosol stuff too. lol!

Jessica said...

I love all of your pictures from the cake to the boys. How great! Except for the yellow pastel crayon -- not so great.
Your cake looks absolutely delicious and amazing. The empty skillet is certainly proof of it's tastiness! I'm glad your family enjoyed this treat.

natalia said...

Ciao ! What fantastic kids you got !! And the cake to of course !!

megan said...

Great post! I think you convinced me to try this cake. I love almond and I love easy! :)

Anonymous said...

Multi-tasking in the kitchen is definitely not my strong suit, unlike you! Your cake looks yummy! Isn't this the most unassuming cake ever? I would have skipped this one for sure and totally missed out on the fabulousness of this cake!
I don't understand how Kevin doesn't like frosting on cake! So foreign to me. ;) The Beau loved this one too - he didn't take it to work to share. =)

TeaLady said...

This was a fantastic cake wasn't it. Yours looks just perfect. I like the Whipped Cream, eh, Cool Whip on top.

Cute kiddos.

noble pig said...

I'll come visit if you make this for me...YUM!

Anonymous said...

Yay for Cool Whip! I need to try this one - as much as I like fancy desserts, the simple ones are so good.

I live in SE Wisconsin. It's not unheard of to get hit by lightning, but it sure doesn't happen to everyone. I guess we were just "lucky."

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I love coming by your blog for a little visit into your busy life with those adorable boys. But as cute as they are (and they ARE cute!) the coolest thing this week is that your hubby loved this cake, and ate at least 3 pieces! That's an accomplishment that only TWD can bring about, because otherwise we wouldn't try some of these recipes, right? Thanks for baking along with me this week.

Kayte said...

Looks really wonderful. I cannot believe, however, that you did not chocolate this up somehow. I fully expected at least a chocolate drizzle over here. Don't you just love summer and the boys with all those legs and kneecaps and big feet, etc.??? After a winter of having jeans on all the time, it was always such a shock to me each year how much they had really grown when it was summertime and the legs came out! So cute.

Julie said...

I love the looks of this cake and that it's made in a skillet. And it's name is just too cute :)

Emily said...

That's amazing! Kevin liked the cake! I'm jealous that you have people to feed desserts to. I end up throwing most of mine away.

Your boys are too cute!

This cake looks great!

Unknown said...

Wow this a sure success, if Kevin liked it!! Lol!! I like to taste the actual cake too, and not only the frosting, so I'm baking this one sooner rather than later!