Things have been a little crazy over here in Casa de B&B. Sufficed to say, I’m finding there are not enough hours in most days. But, some things are important enough that you make time for them. Like cake. And friends.
I’d like to tell you about our dear friends, Chris and Karen. They have a lovely little blog, The Peche, and it is because of our blogs that we met. But somewhere along the way, our friendship became less about bloggy things and more about, well, just really enjoying each others’ company.
The year before last, Chris and Karen and their three littles moved away from New Jersey. I was sad. Really sad. And then we got to see them on our drive back from Texas in March, and we had this fantastic dinner at a restaurant in Atlanta called Cake & Ale.
I ate a superb entree that night, but if I’m honest, the only things I remember about that meal are realizing how much I missed Chris and Karen being local, and the salt and pepper cookie I had for dessert.
It pleases me to tell you that Chris, Karen, and three of the sweetest, craziest, smartest, adorable kids we know are now living within 10 minutes of our front door. Last Sunday, we stopped by to return their cake carrier and the two little Fisher Price horse visitors left at our house by mistake.
You should know, I’m from the South. We don’t return plates, casserole dishes, or indeed, cake carriers, empty. So I made Chris and Karen and the littles a cake. A Southern cake, found in a New Orleans compilation cookbook, circa 1959.
Decadent and eggy, with a crispy crust and a sweet glaze, Bishop’s Cake is definitely my new favorite pound cake. The traditional recipe calls for vanilla extract in both the cake and the glaze, but I chose this opportunity to try out my new “Buttery Sweet Dough” extract emulsion from King Arthur Flour.
You know that smell that hits you when you step into a bakery? Sweet notes of citrus and vanilla, and everything there is to love about baking? That’s what you get in the Buttery Sweet Dough emulsion. I kind of want to put it in everything, even my coffee. But if you’re not in to ordering special ingredients, just use vanilla extract in both.
So have a piece of cake. In honor of friends who just get you, and don’t mind when you gift them with a cake that already has a slice cut – because luckily, they get you.
Bishop’s Cake
Adapted from River Road Recipes published by The Junior League of Baton Rouge, 1959
makes one Bundt cake
Ingredients for the Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Buttery Sweet Dough extract or pure vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour
Ingredients for the Glaze
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough extract or pure vanilla extract
1/8 cup milk
Directions for the Cake
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a standard Bundt pan, and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl, cream together room temperature butter and granulated sugar until they are well mixed.
Add eggs, lemon juice, and extract, then mix again, beating until light and fluffy.
In a separate smaller bowl, measure out 2 cups of cake flour. Either sift or whisk well to aerate the flour, then add it to the wet mixture, combining on low speed until the flour is just incorporated.
Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, then invert the Bundt pan onto a cooling rack. Tap the pan a few times until the cake releases onto the cooling rack. Allow it to cool on the rack for 20-30 minutes.
While the cake cools, make the glaze.
Directions for the Glaze
In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, extract, and milk. Mix vigorously with a whisk until powdered sugar is completely dissolved.
When the cake is cool to the touch, spoon glaze over the cake.
Now dig in!
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
I love the pools of glaze hiding in all the cake ridges. So yes, save me those parts, thanks.
Me too, Kristan. Sugar high like whoa, but SO worth it!
So glad to have you to as friends and as close neighbors. Thank you for the kind words.
And thank you for this cake. It was spectacular.
Really glad you guys liked it, Chris. Dinner, soon, yes?
Yes!
This post made me tear up a little (I’m just a softie deep down). There’s really nothing better than friends that GET you.
What! Not big bad Casey! (Actually, I’m really kind of proud I made you tear up, I did my very best to convey that sentiment in the post. Given that you fit in the same category of friend, someone who just ‘gets’ me, I hope that you know every word I said about Chris and Karen applies to you too.
You and Chris and Karen almost make me wish I lived in New Jersey.
Haha, Jen. You can always come visit.
Oh this cake..and Buttery Sweet Dough Emulsion is my favorite. In the world.
It’s pretty awesome, right?
I wish more people knew to return containers with treats in them :)
It’s all about the home training!
I really need to find me a Southerner to loan all of my dishes to. ;)
I also think I need to get some of that sweet dough emulsion. I’ve never experimented with anything other than the standard vanilla extract and now I feel like a foodie failure.
Karly, you’re not a foodie failure at all! But get on the KAF train, girl. In a hurry!
So great to have Chris and Karen back in NJ, where they should be! I certainly don’t know them the way you so but I adore them none the less and I’m so happy they’re here again. This cake is wonderful and I definitely want to try that Butter Sweet Dough extract. I always look at it and wonder what I could use it in and I’ve been so intrigued by it. Now I have the perfect thing to give it a whirl!
Kate, that stuff would be good in pretty much any baked good, even paired with vanilla too. You should definitely pick some up!
Good friends are essential! Oh and I love that this cake came from an old 1950′s cookbook. Those ‘old school’ recipes are always great and they always have the best names!
Totally agree, Heather. My favorite recipes are always the ones I find in the oldest cookbooks.
Oh this cake sounds incredible, that smell is probably the best smell in the world!
Kathryn, I wish I could ship some to you, but I think customs might take issue. You’ll have to get some the next time you come over.
Ohhhhh .a.m.a.z.i.n.g.
And I love Lorann Emulsions! They make everything a lil’ bit better!
This was my first experience with them, Leslie, but I’m hooked!
Looks delicious. Love your blog and glad that you and your friends are now closer.
Mary Ann, thanks so much for such a sweet comment!
Thanks for this recipe! I am a big fan of pound cakes in bundt pans…and speaking of bundt pans, this one is beautiful! Is it the rose-shaped one? I haven’t actually seen one in a store but hope one will find its way to me someday. Where’d you get yours? Thanks again for the recipe, and generally a great blog I often look to for inspiration!
Hey McKinze, thanks so much for your sweet comment. This is indeed the Rose shaped Bundt pan. I got it on one of the Woot sites, I think Home.Woot – they do 1 special every day, unless they’re having a “woot off” where they sell things until they run out and then move on to another product. I think I picked it up for $15, which is a great deal for a NordicWare pan!
This look lovely, I like all that hiding glaze …so yummy
Love everything about this post, from the story, to the cake, to the pan. I want this cake! Yum! I also love the southern tradition of returning plates and casserole dishes with food in them. I think up north we worry we won’t return them clean enough…filling them with more food takes care of that, and sends some love back to boot. What could be better? :)
What a sweet post; it almost brought me to tears! So glad that Chris & Karen are close by to you again – they are definitely good people. :-) And I agree with the sentiment of never returning a pan without something in it for the return trip. :-)