Today is my Great Grandmother's 94th birthday! My grandmother, Anita, had all of the local family over for a wonderful brunch. She made waffles and Spanish chorizos in eggs. Yum! My family has a strong Spanish heritage and as far as I know we have always eaten these Basque chorizos. My great-grandmother is not Basque herself, but Castillion. Her father carried the title "De Van Espre". Now that Spain has no noted royalty none of this matters, but the love of the chorizos lives on through generational cooking.
There isn't much I could add to such a wonderful meal but I asked if I might bring a cake. I have really been liking making cakes lately, since Christy's birthday was so nice. To make a cake for a woman of 94 who has eaten many, many wonderful things is a little nerve-racking, but hey, it's the thought that counts!
I didn't have the ingredients for my signature yellow pound cake so I tried a Martha Stewart "moist yellow cake" recipe. I followed it to the T, but still it was NOT moist. The lemon curd, however, was perfect (also thanks to Martha's web-site) and added the moisture needed to save the cake. I won't use the cake recipe again and I won't offer it here either.
I used a brown sugar meringue buttercream frosting and had a ball decorating the cake. My great grandmother is named Flora (meaning "flower/plant"). She is an amazing gardener with many awards to her reputation as well as a private garden plot at her home-away-from-home senior residence. I tried to deck the cake with flowers and vines in her honor. So fun!! She loved the flowers and had a little help blowing out the candles from my son, Albie.
Brown-Sugar-Meringue Buttercream
Makes 6 cups
1 1/4 cups lightly packed light-brown sugar
5 large egg whites
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer, combine light-brown sugar and egg whites. Place the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water; whisk until mixture becomes hot to the touch, about 5 minutes.
2. Return bowl to mixer stand. Whip mixture with the whisk attachment until cooled, about 12 minutes. Switch to paddle attachment; add butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in vanilla. If not using immediately, transfer to an airtight container, and store at room temperature up to 8 hours.
LEMON CURD
Makes 1 1/2 cups
3 large egg yolks
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, (2 lemons)
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir sides and bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove saucepan from heat. Add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth.
Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to avoid a skin from forming; wrap tightly. Let cool; refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 2 days
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