the aroma of plain
Plain is good. Plain can even be fascinating. And if it’s cake, its texture and flavor are probably (and typically) unvarnished—certainly not overwrought by too many authoritative ingredients vying for attention.
The structure of exquisite cake, a tall and buttery treat, is developed with whole eggs and just enough baking powder (a mere 1/2 teaspoon is used with a total of 4 cups flour) to reinforce its height and elaborate its internal structure. The scents of vanilla, lemon, and orange combine to create a softened sweetness, the lightest suggestion of scent: the trio of extracts also helps to banish the sense of “egginess” occasionally present in butter cakes with a significant dairy presence.
A well-rounded view of a slice of cake has the polish of golden on the outside and is softly flaxen within, its texture built on the intersection of heft and moistness. Three-quarters cup of heavy cream helps out. The cake is good enough to act as the foundation for another dessert, such as a layered composition of fruit, custard, and cream, but, day-old and sliced, can be relegated to a two-sided toasting and slathering with apricot jam and softened salted butter. Did I say “relegated”? The latter would be no less sublime—and reason enough to bake with “leftovers” (such a tragic word) in mind.
In a kind of flavor coda, working the scent of nutmeg into a butter-concentrated batter seemed like an idea worth the hunt. Nutmeg, with its certain old-timey appeal and specific taste, is a kind of spice talisman for me. I remember nutmeg, along with mace (nutmeg’s own enveloping cover), as prominent spices in my grandmother’s pound cake and in one of my mother’s sugar cookie recipes. Many bakers sniff out its aroma and add it lovingly, while others banish it. I am in the former camp and have built a cake batter to include it. The effect is the tender, both in texture and feeling, result of two baking memories.
Though in the same category, the two cakes that follow have enough individuality to be identified as different. Those of you who are emotional about the baking process know just what I mean.
exquisite cake
serving: one 93/4-inch cake, creating about 16 slices
ahead: 2 days
buttery scented batter
3 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
1 cup unsifted bleached cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups superfine sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
confectioners’ sugar, for sifting on top of the baked cake
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Film the inside of a plain, one-piece 93/4-inch tube pan (6 inches deep, with a capacity of 18 cups) with nonstick flour-and-oil spray.
For the batter, sift the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 5 minutes. Add the superfine sugar in 3 additions, beating for 1 minute after each portion is added. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing for about 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured. Blend in the vanilla extract, lemon extract, and orange extract. On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the heavy cream in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl thoroughly with a rubber spatula after each addition. Add the lemon juice and beat for 1 minute longer.
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 25 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until risen, a deep golden color on top, set, and a wooden pick inserted into the cake withdraws clean. The baked cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.
Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 12 to 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto another cooling rack, lift off the pan, then invert again to stand right side up. Cool completely. Store in an airtight cake keeper. Just before slicing and serving, sift confectioners’ sugar over the top of the cake.
notes
• the presence of lemon juice helps to tenderize the cake batter
• the cake is baked in a plain, one-piece 93/4-inch tube pan (6 inches deep, with a capacity of 18 cups); a plain, one-piece 10-inch tube pan (41/4 to 41/2 inches deep, with a capacity of 18 cups) may be substituted, reducing the baking time by 5 to 6 minutes
• use a finely serrated knife to cut the cake
exquisite cake
nutmeg nostalgia: a sentimental butter cake
serving: one 10-inch cake, creating about 16 slices
ahead: 2 days
nutmeg buttermilk batter
3 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups superfine sugar
4 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
nutmeg butter glaze
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Film the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan (generous 33/4 inches deep, with a capacity of 14 cups) with nonstick flour-and-oil spray.
For the batter, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderately high speed for 3 minutes. Add the sugar in 4 additions, beating thoroughly after each portion is added. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing for 45 seconds after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl thoroughly with a rubber spatula after each addition.
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until risen, set, and a wooden pick withdraws clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
Prepare the glaze while the cake is baking: place the chunks of butter, the sugar, and nutmeg in a small, heavy saucepan (preferably enameled cast iron). Partially cover the pan and place over low heat to dissolve the sugar, stirring once or twice. Remove from the heat, uncover, and set aside.
Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto another cooling rack. Lift off the pan. Place a sheet of waxed paper underneath the cooling rack to catch any drips of glaze. Rewarm the glaze, uncovered, and brush the mixture over the top and sides of the cake. Let the glazed cake stand for 30 minutes, slice, and serve, or cool completely. Store in an airtight cake keeper.
notes
• in general, and especially for this cake, the whole nutmeg should be reduced as fine as possible, using a nutmeg grater
• use a finely serrated knife to cut the cake