Gone baby gone and an Arnold Palmer

First off, I am horrible at commitments. Good thing I don't have throngs of followers or this absence could have caused an uprising. I wish I could say this is the end of my neglect dear blog, but Graduate school is starting soon and I am feeling as though my 400 sq ft apt will not make for the best baking facility. BUT, today, of today ladies and gents, I have for you, a golf classic turned cake. Arnold Palmer!

I found this recipe as I thumbed through my mother's Southern Living. Almost followed the exact recipe but I did make one change. Here is their original recipe:

Southern Living Sweet Tea-and-Lemonade cake
Shortening
1 1/2 C boiling water
3 Family sized tea bags
1 C butter, soften
2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, room temp
3 1/2 C cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. table salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Now, I hate cake flour. I have never, ever, literally ever had any success with it. So I chose not to use it and make the conversion with all purpose. I followed the directions here. As a warning, it might change the way your cake turns out. There is a whole explanation here. Bake at your own risk.
Also, if you are making cupcakes, you do not need the shortening. Just get those cupcake liners out and loaded into the pan.

First, Boil the 1 1/2 C water and pour them over the tea bags in a heatproof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it steep for about 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags and let the liquid cool (room temperature is fine) for another 20 minutes. You will only need 1 C for the cake batter.

Preheat the oven to 350. Beat the butter until creamy then slowly add the sugars in, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and make sure it is blended well before adding the next egg. In a separate bowl, combine flour (cake or not), baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Alternate adding the flour mixture and 1 C of tea to the butter batter.

This is important. These cakes do not rise as much as normal cupcakes. They rise, but not that much. Fill the cupcake papers with a little more batter than average. Then bake for about 13 minutes. Let them cool and start on the frosting.

Lemonade Frosting
1 8oz. cream cheese, soften
1/4 C butter, soften
6 C powdered sugar
1 TBSP lemon zest
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice

Mix the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar a cup at a time. Once the frosting is all incorporated, beat in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat on a high speed until light and fluffy.

I chose to do a rough frosting on my cakes for the look. The frosting is sweeeeeet so you don't need too much.

This is the first time in over a year I have made regular sized cupcakes. No regret, but I still favor mini cupcakes.

 

I hope I keep up blogging this time. I will try my hardest. 

Until next time!