FOLEY'S FOLLIES

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

My Maiden Voyage

Here goes, this is my maiden voyage into the blog world and to be honest I'm feeling like the TITANIC! However, I have eight fantastic women, Bloggin Betty's in their own right, cheering me on..

As I blog on I will talk more about my interests, adventures and passions that surround my life now that I am retired! As you can tell, I'm totally head over heels for my 4-legged babies! Being able to finally spend the time doing what you love is such a treat for me and at times still can't quite believe I have finally arrived... OLD age does have its perks...

ONE of my interests has been 'egged' on by the women mentioned above..FOOD! (Cooking and baking to be exact) Unfortunately I never took the time before to experiment with new recipes, flavors and ingredients. Would you believe I had never split a vanilla bean before now..always kept things easy and just used vanilla extract!

I won't overwhelm you all by telling you my other "firsts" all at once. Over the days and weeks to come I will let you in on my successes and failures in the 'foodie' world! With that said, I will share a scrumptious new recipe I made this past weekend...




Classic Lemon Pound Cake

Recipe from Cook’s Country Cookbook

Cake:
1 ¾ C flour
½ tsp bkg powder
½ tsp salt
¼ C sour cream
1 ½ Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 ½ Tbsp grated fresh lemon zest
1C & 2 Tbsp sugar
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter
5 large eggs beaten @ room temp

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, Grease & flour a 9x5” loaf pan

Sift flour, bkg powder & salt (Set aside)
Stir sour cream & lemon juice in separate bowl (Set aside)
Using fingers toss lemon zest & sugar together in large bowl until clumps are gone
Add butter to sugar/zest mixture & beat at med-high speed until light & fluffy. (3-6 min)
Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the beaten eggs in three additions, mixing until smooth & scraping down the bowl after each addition. (The mixture will begin to look curdled) With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of flour mixture, followed by ½ of the sour cream mixture. Repeat with 1/3 flour mixture and remaining sour cream mixture. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until combined. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape the batter into prepared floured pan, smooth top and gently tap the pan on work surface to settle the batter. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. (55 to 70 minutes, depending on oven)

Syrup:
¼ C granulated sugar
¼ C fresh lemon juice (3 lemons)
While cake bakes, stir sugar & lemon juice together in a saucepan over med-high heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack. Brush the top and sides of the still warm cake with the syrup and cool completely, about 2 hours.

Glaze:
½ C confectioners sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Whisk together the sugar & juice in bowl until smooth. Spread the glaze over the cake, allowing some to drip down the sides. Let the glaze set for at least 15 minutes before serving.

NOTE: I sprinkled the top of mine with some lemon sugar for an added delicate crunch!

17 comments:

Cynthia said...

Congratulations Barb on the inaugural post of your new blog.

What a great start and what a great first recipe ... the lemon pound cake.

I love the picture of you, "The Original Foley's", and your pets, EVERYTHING!!!

Good job, Barb. I truly look forward to reading more (no pressure). :)

Kathleen said...

Congratulations! Many happy adventures in blogland!
Love the cake, and look fwd to your posts!

Carol said...

Great first post, Foley :) you're off and running! and what a start. That Lemon Loaf is fantastic! Geat pic! Copied and pasted. Have to try!

Love the original Foley's! and the kiities and pups! Such cutie pies!

A Grain of Salt said...

Barb, I love it! Great start! Yes, we'll be cheering you on!!! I really love the old photos...sweet. And you have adorable babies! Well, I already drooled the first time I saw your lemon pound cake... looks just as good that second time around. Looking forward to your next post.

Suzy said...

Bravo Barb!! I love it already. You are off to a fabulous start. Love the original Foleys :-) Can't wait to see and here about all the 4 legged antics going on at your house. Now that you've taken the plunge the rest will fall into place.

Debbie@Mountain Breaths said...

Barb, I am so excited that you took the plunge!

Thank you for introducing us to the Foleys and your four legged friends. You know that Kiki says hello too :-)

Your lemon pound cake is calling my name. Over the weekend, I was admiring some of recipes in the book "Under The Tuscan Sun", and copied a recipe for lemon cake. I'll make yours now!

Again, welcome to blog land. You will enjoy it, and there is ALWAYS something to talk about.

And tell your sons about the blog when you are ready....my son often refers to something he saw on my blog :-) I have many local friends and family that look forward to reading it, but they prefer not to comment on the blog. They email me instead!

Marsha said...

Fantastic, Fun & another Favorite!

Barb, a great first entry and a beautiful look to the blog. I love the title and sub-title and look forward to many new posts. I will add you to my favorite list and look forward to seeing your beautiful photos!

Cathy said...

Yay for you! Your first post is terrific. I had no idea when I started my blog how much fun it would be and what a great learning experience it is. I'll be stopping by often.

Schnitzel and the Trout said...

WOW! I found you on your first blog. Enjoy! I never dreamed I would get so involved back in October when I started. Have fun. I grew up in eastern Iowa.

Foley said...

Thank you all so much! Exciting and intimidating at the same time...will try my best to keep it interesting!

Anonymous said...

Hi Barb and welcome to Blogland! Oh, I think you've done well on your first post! This cake looks awesome and I have a suggestion...since you love to cook why not join us for Foodie Friday each Friday! You'll get lots of exposure and lots of gals will come to see you!
Again, welcome!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Four Paws and Co said...

Hi Barb! Welcome to the world of blogging! Your lemon pound cake looks sooo good! Oh btw, I've never split a vanilla bean either! ☺

I'm so in love with your fur babies! I have 5 dogs. We lost our kitty last August. I still miss him so.

Diane

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Isn't being retired great? I love it! And I love my fur babies, too...4 cats!...Debbie

Creative Classroom Core said...

Lemon cake reminds me of my childhood :) This recipe looks delicious! Great photo!

Anonymous said...

Lemon pound cake sounds delicious.

Good luck blogging!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Congratulations, Barb on your new blog and first post. The lemon pound cake looks fantastic! I'm saving this recipe :)

La Table De Nana said...

Hi Barb..I just found you and your lemon loaf!
Good job!