Citrus Tart, Blossoms Sweet: Lemon Zucchini Loaf Cake (Eggless) with Lavender Glaze
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| Citrus Tart, Blossoms Sweet: Lemon Zucchini Loaf Cake with Lavender Glaze |
I have just completed Blood and Wine, the last DLC of CDPROJEKTRED's masterful franchise that is the Witcher 3, and now Geralt of Rivia's saga is officially over.
...Awwwwn man. And now i feel like such an empty shell.
If you've read one of my prior posts where I gush on Game of Thrones, you know how much I love characters with undefined and blurry moral boundaries. And there are so many well-written characters in this game: each with their own complicated, colorful personalities and oftentimes questionable motives to live through the hard world that is the Witcher's. Two other strong points that set this fantasy RPG apart from the others for me revolves around how story-driven it is: first of all, the lore behind the Witcher's world is exceptionally rich, backed up by a series of Polish novels written by Andrzej Sapkowski. Secondly, there is an element of choice and consequence to the game which makes you feel as though the decisions that you make during a quest, or whether you decide to pick up the quest at all, are meaningful. The branching narratives, often with morally grey dialogue options, will shape your relationships and experience, triggering multiple reactionary endings.
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| Look at this view! |
Finally, the world is absolutely breathtaking - the details that have been put into the architecture of the cities, the design of the creatures we encounter in the wild... Every corner of the map looks as though it has been meticulously handcrafted. Add to that instrumental soundtracks that render the backdrop and atmosphere so, so beautifully immersive, the Witcher 3's open-world is a joy to explore. Even the side quests and secondary characters are unique and don't feel like they're just fillers or piggybacking on the main game. The side quests are like Matryoshka dolls, surprisingly elaborate and able to stand alone with their own stories.
Sigh. Alright, I'm done unloading my emotional attachment to this game.
This loaf cake is inspired by one of the great cutscenes in The Witcher 3, and probably one of my favorite moments in the whirlwind of the main quest. More specifically, by a verse in "The Wolven Storm" performance sung by Priscilla the Minstrel.
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| To dream of raven locks entwisted, stormy Of violet eyes, glistening as you weep (8) |
I would have preferred staying true to the lyrics, but comestible lilac and gooseberries are rare commodities in my areas (b-but can you imagine a lilac and gooseberries loaf cake? :3).
Back at my childhood house, we used to have an absurdly tall lilac shrub. "Absurdly tall", from the perspective of a 6 years-old, of course. Midsummer, the stalks would bow under the ample weight of flowers, swaying voluptuously to and fro when prompted by a breeze. I'd tiptoe and cup the heavy stalks to fill the palm of my hands to the brim, dive my nose into the blossoms and inhale deep. Then I'd pull back, my cheeks brushed with a filmy veil of dew, and try to hold on to the rich scent as long as I could.
I would have loved to be able to incorporate that aroma in some baked goods. Searching for edible flowers in the city, however, is like a game of Finding Waldo on hardmode. Lilliputian Waldos. The next best thing I found were dried culinary lavender buds at La Moutonnière, in a corner of Marché Jean-Talon. Lavender being more fragrant than lilac, however, I wanted to bake with a fruit that'd confer more tartness than berries to be able to counterbalance the floral aroma.
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| Public market in the heart of Little Italy: Jean-Talon |
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| Dried lavender buds, fit for culinary purposes :) |
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| A little wink to our local produce ;) Zucchini baskets from Quebec's farms |
The addition of zucchini in this loaf cake recipe is something that I have been meaning to try for a couple of summers now. My guess was that it worked the way carrot shreds would in carrot cake, tenderizing the crumb and allowing the cake to retain additional moisture, a role that is usually fulfilled by fat ingredients. My only worry with this vegetable was its flavor: what if it just tastes like a sweet zucchini?
...Well, it doesn't :D!
I fooled both my parents before telling them that there was zucchini in this. I have also doubled the amount of lemon zest usually put in lemon loaf cakes, so the citrusy flavor is lovely. As for the lavender glaze, it gave the cake an interesting and soft summery feel. It's the kind of baked good I could see brought to a bridal party or a baby shower.
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| Lemon Zucchini Loaf Cake drizzled with Lavender Glaze |
Lemon Zucchini Loaf Cake with Lavender Glaze
Servings: 1 * 9x5x3 inch loaf pan OR 10 slices of 1 inch (2.5cm) thick each
Ingredients:
Lemon Zucchini Loaf Cake (Eggless):
2 cups / 235 g cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup / 150g grated zucchini, lightly packed (to give you a rough measurement idea, a medium 375g unpeeled zucchini gave me 275g when shredded)
1 tablespoon / 4g lemon zest of two large lemons (~87g/lemon)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup plain or lemon-flavored yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk (Substitute: 1/2 cup milk + 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice - let stand 5 minutes)
2 flax seed eggs (recipe below) - Substitute with 2 large eggs
Lavender Glaze:
6 tablespoons milk, separated
1 tablespoon culinary dried lavender buds
1 cup powdered icing sugar
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| Dried lavender buds bought at La Moutonnière |
Flax seed egg (For 1 flax seed egg):
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
2 1/2 tablespoons water
To make one flax seed egg, mix 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 2 1/2 tablespoons of water. Let stand for about 10 minutes or until it gels slightly and becomes viscous. It will have the consistency of young egg whites (VS aged egg whites that seem thinned out).
For this recipe, you need 2 flax seed eggs. Alternatively, you can just use two regular large eggs.
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| Ground flax seeds! |
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| The consistency of flax seed eggs :) |
Preparation:
1. Grease and line the bottom of a 9x5x3" inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whip the flax seed eggs for a few seconds to incorporate a bit of air and lighten the mixture (it will look paler). Add the yogurt, oil and sugar. Keep beating using a hand-mixer or your whip attachment until everything is incorporated. Then, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and buttermilk. Mix well to blend.
4. Gently add the grated zucchini, folding it a couple of times to incorporate it to the liquid mixture.
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| Grating zucchinis :) |
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| Liquid components whisking, |
5. Create a well in the middle of the flour mix. Add the liquids components to the well. Using a rubber spatula, gently blend both dry and wet components, making sure to break and moisten the pockets of flour. Stop mixing as soon as all the ingredients are incorporated. Do not overmix. If there are a few stray lumps, smooth them out with the spatula.
6. Pour your batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes at 350F, or until the top is nice and golden.
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| Batter ready to be caked :) |
Lavender Glaze:
1. While the loaf cake cools down, make the glaze: In a small saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons of milk with 1 tablespoon of dried lavender buds, and warm the mixture up on medium heat. Let the lavender milk simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring quickly and constantly.
2. Remove from heat. The lavender milk will have evaporated quite a bit. Add the remaining 2-3 tablespoons of milk, depending on how much your mixture has evaporated. You want to have a final volume of 3 tablespoons of liquid in the saucepan.
3. Add the powdered icing sugar and return saucepan to the cooking surface. Melt the sugar on medium heat, stirring constantly until your glaze is smooth. If the glaze isn't thin enough, dribble in an additional tablespoon of milk.
4. While the loaf cake is still warm, pour the glaze over it. Let it set before slicing.
...Alright, time to start NG+.
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| The pre-nom: sliced loaf cake |
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| And... Nom. |
...Alright, time to start NG+.
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