Thursday, June 10, 2010

Key West Cake

Summer is here now and I'm all about fruity desserts.  Most recently I made this Key West Cake for a birthday.

The cake was sponge-like, and brushed with a rum simple syrup.  I made a mango mousse to sandwich between the layers.  The whole things was topped off with a ginger-lime frosting (made by folding homemade ginger-lime curd into whipped cream).  The curd was particularly delicious, combined with the cream it was airy, rich, and fruity all at once.

The individual components of the cake were all delicious.  Combined I am skeptical.  The ginger-lime flavor and the mango flavor seemed to cancel each other out.  Alone both were excellent, but in one bite the flavors were muddled.  If I were to make it again I'd go with the ginger lime flavor, fill the layers with the straight up curd, and ice it with the same icing. 

That's sounding really delicious to me right now, and I'm wondering how mint might be incorporated for a mojito flavor.  That I will ponder and perhaps re-visit.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Rhubarbalicious

I love spring time for so many reasons.  The new growth and warmth is such a sign of hope and re-birth.  There's the feeling that anything is possible.  And then there's rhubarb.  It's tangy sweetness is such a delight that I'm totally obsessed.

When I saw it recently a the grocery store I just couldn't resist.  When we had a dinner guest I decided to serve it as a pudding.  The rhubarb stewed with sugar until softened and thick, then folded into a from scratch custard.  The flavor was spot-on.  Texturally, I was a little disappointed.  The rhubarb hadn't been cooked quite long enough and it watered down the pudding slightly.  I still loved it, and scraped my bowl clean.

We served it with our triple ginger cookies.  The ginger was a great complement to the rhubarb and added a little crunch to the dessert.