Buttermilk Cake With Sour Milk Jam And Gin Poached Cherries Recipes

BUTTERMILK CAKE WITH SOUR MILK JAM AND GIN-POACHED CHERRIES

Steps:

• For buttermilk cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour pan. Whisk baking soda, salt, and 2 cups flour in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour pan. Whisk baking soda, salt, and 2 cups flour in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and 1 1/4 cups butter in another medium bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and scraping down sides of bowl.
• Reduce mixer speed to low and, with motor running, add dry ingredients in 3 additions alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
• Bake until cake is golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool before turning out.
• DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
• For sour milk jam:
• Bring milk and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar; reduce heat and simmer gently, whisking occasionally, until mixture measures a scant 1/4 cup, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; let cool (it will thicken as it sits). Whisk in crème fraîche, cover, and chill.
• DO AHEAD: Jam can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• For gin-poached cherries and assembly:
• Bring cherries, gin, sugar, juniper berries, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan; reduce heat and simmer until liquid is syrupy, 6-8 minutes. Let cool.
• Spoon a few dollops of jam onto plates. Tear cake into pieces and arrange around jam. Top with cherries and fennel fronds.
• DO AHEAD: Cherries can be poached 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

BASIC BUTTERMILK CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 with rack in the middle of the oven. Butter cake pans and line the bottoms with wax paper or parchment paper cut to fit. Butter the paper. If making cupcakes, use paper liners or butter the cupcake pan.
• Beat the butter and sugar at medium speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy in a large mixing bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time. Scrape bowl and beaters to incorporate.
• Sift the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. Add one quarter of the dry mixture to the butter-egg mixture and then add the vanilla and a third of the buttermilk. Repeat beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scraping well after each addition.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans and spread to the edges with a spatula. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
• Cool in pans of a rack for 5 minutes. Turn pans onto the rack, remove parchment paper or was paper and cool completely before frosting.

BUTTERMILK POUND CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add alternately with buttermilk and beat well. , Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 325° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.