Wednesday, June 25, 2014

SYTYCD Season 11 Callbacks and Top 20 Reveal

Oh man, I've said it before and I'll say it again, callback week is the hardest week to recap! I've done my best, but pardon me if it's a bit all over the place! On the judging panel for callbacks are Nigel, Mary, Adam Shankman, Twitch, Tara Lipinski, and Irina Dvorovenko.

As always, callbacks start with everyone doing a solo again for all of the judges, since most of the judges have not actually seen any of them up to this point. They don't give feedback here, but they do get rid of some people right at this stage. Out of 157 people, 36 people get cut.

Recap/review of So You Think You Can Dance Season 11 - Callbacks and Top 20 Reveal by freshfromthe.comThe first choreography challenge of the week is hip hop, with Chris Scott and Jasmine from season 10 teaching them the moves. They have just an hour to learn the routine in couples. They stop the class at 9pm, but don't actually perform until the next morning. A few people get some special coverage, including Marie Poppins, Jessica Richens, Steven Kador and his partner Malene, a ballroom dancer, Caleb Brauner and Trevor, who they really liked in auditions. After performing for the judges, Marie gets by by the skin of her teeth, Jessica has to dance for her life, the duo make it through although it's pretty rough, Trevor gets cut, and Caleb gets cut as well, even though I thought he did pretty well. After dancing super sexy for her life, Jessica makes it through.

The next round is jazz with Sonya Tayeh, the same day, and only an hour to learn the steps yet again. And they have to perform right away. Getting more special attention this round is Steven Kador, though he seems to really struggle with the routine, and ends up going home. Twelve more dancers get the boot, including b-boy Shafeek and Marie Poppins. Jaja has to dance for her life, and she gets through.

Up next is ballroom with Dmitry and Anya. Someone gets an elbow to the mouth and loses half a tooth! They get the night to practice their routine this time. Valeria Rockey and Zack Everheart, two tappers, and they do it well, making it straight on through. Jaja is joined by Emilio, who made it into the top 20 last year but couldn't go on the show after getting kicked in the nose, so he's back this year. They do pretty well, actually, and make it through.

And for the last round of choreography, we've got contemporary with Travis Wall. Bridget Whitman gets a special call out, but she has a bit of a misstep in her routine, and she must dance for her life. The others all seem to make it through, not a lot of time spent on this round. Bridget's dance for her life results in her barely making it through to the next round.

Recap/review of So You Think You Can Dance Season 11 - Callbacks and Top 20 Reveal by freshfromthe.comOf course, here is the best part of callback week - the group routine round. They're down to 29 boys and 21 girls, only 50 of them left. They're in groups of five and then pick a random song and must make a routine from it. This is always when tempers flare, since they are so tired and crazed at this point. It's funny because a good deal of the routines always end up being pretty bad. The first one we see that is actually decent features Zack, Malene and Johnny, so their prospects are looking pretty good.

That leaves 44 dancers left to be whittled down to the top 20 - which leaves them just one last chance to prove themselves to the judges, with their final solo and some words. We see Ricky Ubeda, who we've seen glimpses of throughout callbacks but not much straight focus. I still think he's going to make it on, and you know what? Can I make a bold prediction? I think he may be top four material.

And I guess we are going to the top 20 reveal now? I wasn't sure. Most of these names aren't going to mean a lot quite yet, but there is a winner among them! Do you have any early favorites (apart from Ricky, duh)?

In the top 20:
Ricky is the first one to be called in, and duh, he makes it on the show, obviously. 
Jessica
Jacque
Teddy
Stanley
Carly
Emilio makes it back on the show again, which is nice because he looks really good.
Bridget
Valerie
Zack
Jourdan
Casey
Emily
Nick
Tanisha
Serge
Malene
Marcquet
Brooklyn
Rudy

Some of the noteworthy people who did not make it on... Jaja, the Krump girl, Johnny Waacks, and Erik "Silky" Moore, whose audition I really liked.

And... I'm spent! Until next time!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Crack Pie

Today I bring to you something you may have already heard of. Or maybe not. I confess, being from the West Coast, I had not even heard of Momofuku Milk Bar until my boyfriend told me about it and bought me the cookbook. Now I've been indoctrinated into the world of crack pie, and oh man, it really is that good. Yes, this is the infamous Crack Pie straight from Christina Tosi's recipe book. Or, you know, whatever she decided to put in the cookbook, because who can be sure what really goes on in the Milk Bar kitchen?

Recipe for Christina Tosi's Crack Pie by freshfromthe.com

Anyhow, this pie really is pretty crazy addicting, which is why I suppose it's called crack pie to begin with. It's sort of like a pecan pie without the pecans, basically just a gooey, sugary pie with a sweet, crunchy crust that is just as yummy as the filling itself. When you're baking it, you're wondering how it's going to turn out, because it just looks like a bunch of eggs and sugar and how can that work? Well it does!



But this isn't a super easy recipe, you know. It does take some time to put together if you're going to make the whole thing from scratch. First, you have to make the oat cookie for the pie crust. Then you've got your filling, then you put that all together. And on top of all that, once it's baked, you have to wait another four hours until you can eat it! Oh man. No one likes waiting for delicious pie, but it will be worth it.

I actually halved the below recipe, as I did not think having two of these pies around would be a great idea. In the original recipe, it also calls for this stuff called corn powder for the filling, which is basically just food processer-ed freeze-dried corn, except freeze-dried corn is not very easy to find, so I decided to use flour instead, and you know what? It turned out just fine. Not that I have a real crack pie to compare it to side-by-side, but this is the next best thing to going all the way to New York City!

Crack Pie by freshfromthe.com

Christina Tosi’s Crack Pie from the Momofuku Milkbar Cookbook.

Ingredients:
  • 1 recipe Oat Cookie (below)
  • 1 Tablespoon tightly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 recipe Crack Pie Filling (below)
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a food processor, or with your hands if you don't have one, combine the oat cookie, brown sugar and salt until it is broken down to a wet sand. Transfer those crumbs to a bowl with your melted butter and knead until the mixture is moist enough to form a ball. If necessary, you can add some more butter.
  2. Divide the oat crust evenly between the two pie pans (use 9 inch rather than the 10 inch she calls for in the book). Using your fingers, press it down to cover the bottoms and up the sides of the pans. Put those both on a sheet pan, divide the filling evenly between the two, until they are about 3/4 full.
  3. Bake for 15 minutes, until they are a golden brown color, but still very jiggly. Reduce oven temperature down to 325°F and cook for an additional 5-15 minutes. I say that big of a difference, because the original recipe calls for 5 minutes, but I had to keep it in for more like 15 to get it to stop being jiggly around the edges.
  4. Take the pies out of the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Let them cool down to room temp, or you can wrap them up and stick them in the freezer for a bit to get them cool faster. Then stick them in the freezer for a few hours to condense, then transfer back to the fridge for at least an hour to get them ready to eat.
  5. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on there and dig in!


Oat Cookie

Ingredients
  • 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
  • pinch baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cream the butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high for about 2-3 minutes, until fluffy and pale yellow. Scrape down the sides, and on low speed, add in the egg yolk. Increase the speed back to medium-high and beat for 1-2 minutes until the sugar granules dissolve.
  2. On low speed, add in the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix for a minute until it all comes together. It will be slightly fluffy.
  3. On a Silpat-lined sheet pan, spread out the dough until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for about 15 minutes until it looks like a giant cookie - browned around the edges. Cool completely before using in the above. Generally you can make the filling and by the time you're done, it will be cool.

Crack Pie Filling

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk powder
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 egg yolks
Instructions
  1. Using a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, brown sugar, milk powder, flour, and salt on low speed until evenly blended.
  2. Add in the melted butter and mix it for 2-3 minutes until all dry ingredients are moist.
  3. Add in the heavy cream and vanilla and continue beating on low for 2-3 minutes until all white streaks are gone. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  4. Beat in the egg yolks until they are just combined - don't aerate it, make sure it's on low.
  5. Use the filling right away, or you can stick in the fridge until you're ready, up to one week.

Recipe adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook

In photos:


The oat cookie mixture all together. I forgot to take photos of the steps, but that's okay! 


Spread that over a silpat-lined baking sheet.


Bake that at 350F for about 15 minutes until it looks like so. Let that cool completely while you make your filling.


All your dry ingredients get mixed together until evenly distributed.


Mix in your melted butter until it's all moist.


Mix in your heavy cream and vanilla until all white streaks are gone.


Then add in your egg yolks until it's nice and even and glossy. I transferred to an airtight container into the fridge for a bit while I made the pie crust.


Take your oat cookie and crumble it up with the brown sugar and salt until it's like a light sand, then add in your butter and mix up until it can be formed into a ball.


Press that into your 9 inch pie pans. It will NOT cover 10-inch pans, so don't try. You maybe can't tell, but this is extremely thin.


Divide your filling between your two pie tins until they are 3/4 full. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, then reduce temp to 325F and bake for additional 5-15 minutes until the sides are no longer jiggly.


It will come out looking something like this. Let this cool to room temp, then cover and stick in the freezer for a few hours. After that, stick back in the fridge for another hour.


And finally, you can dig in! You can also sprinkle the entire pie with powdered sugar, or just as you take our individual pieces...


This pie looks unassuming, but you will NOT be able to eat just one piece.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

SYTYCD Season 11 Auditions - Atlanta

It's the last week of auditions for So You Think You Can Dance, this time in Atlanta. Somehow it seems like it's been taking forever and has passed by really quickly at the same time. This year, the callback round will not be the famous Vegas Week, which is definitely odd, as I haven't been able to type straight through to Vegas this whole time either. Change! Bah! Anyway, on to tonight's auditions in Atlanta...

Lil Buck joins Nigel and Mary for the first night of auditions.

Mariah Reives - Jazz. She loves putting humor in her dancing, but it feels very stagey, broadway-y, that is... pretty fake. Her actual dance moves are really good, though. She gets a standing ovation, though. Straight on through.

Erik "Silky" Moore - Hip hop. Auditioned twice before as a tapper. They're spending a lot of time with him, even pausing his audition, which is a little weird. He's actually really good, lots of personality in his movement and as Nigel said, musicality in his movement. The amount of time they're spending on him makes me think he might be going pretty far. He gets straight through.

Kelly MacCoy - Jazz. I guess it's just a thing for jazz dancers to be a little face-y? She's doing a lot of hair and face work and not a lot of actual dancing other than flipping her body around. She gets a ticket, though, which I'm not really sure about. Eh.

Recap/review of So You Think You Can Dance Season 11 - Atlanta Auditions by freshfromthe.comChristopher "Mr. Strange" Griffin - Founding member of Dragon House, where Cyrus and BluPrint came from in previous seasons. I'm not sure about his song choice, but he does have some good moves. Straight through.

Conrad Dechabert - Auditioned before, they apparently said he was too feminine before, and now he is covered in tattoos. Determined to be more masculine this time. It was pretty strong dancing overall. He gets a ticket.

Taveaus "Dynamic" Woods - Hip hop. Fik-shun is his best friend. He's quite a bit more reserved than Fik-shun though. When he dances, though, he comes alive. He's so fluid in his moves, definitely a unique style apart from Fik-shun. He heads on to choreography. He doesn't get through... it was pretty bad.

Brandon "Sideshow" Feinster - Funk style, popping and locking. Although as Nigel points out that he wasn't doing much pop-locking. It was a bit more fluid. He does a lot of talking back, which is never very good for prospects. He doesn't get through, mostly because of that I believe, and he keeps ranting after.

For day two in Atlanta, Jenna Dewan-Tatum joins the judging panel.

Ricky Ubeda - Contemporary. He has some crazy extensions. He's just really awesome in general, really. I can see him going really far in the competition. Nigel even comments that he can see him going all the way, and he gets a Mary woo hoo. Straight through.

Marissa Milele - She made it to the green mile last season. She's super strong. I feel like she could beat some people up. A lot of tumbling moves. She gets a ticket.

Recap/review of So You Think You Can Dance Season 11 - Atlanta Auditions by freshfromthe.comElaine Kimble - Sad story about her mom having a stroke, and she has the same hole in her heart that caused her mom's stroke. Thankfully she is a good dancer too. Judges think she played it a bit safe. Through to choreography. She makes it through.

Brandon "Crazy Legz" Jacobs - ATL Cranking. Cranking is kind of like... fast stepping? His freestyle before the music seemed better than his actual routine, but it was still pretty good. Can he do other things? Send him to choreography, but he doesn't make it through.

Angelina Granitz - She comes off as a bit strange and kooky. Her dancing is much darker and more emotional. Nigel comments it's almost like two people, and I agree. She becomes a different person when she's dancing. She goes straight through.

Cristina Moya-Palacios - Contemporary. She's pretty dang good, has good extensions. Strength to her movement even though she is so tiny. They give her a ticket without even talking to her at all.

Jerrod Swain - Animation popping and ATL cranking. He has a lot of humor in his movement that actually comes across pretty genuine. Not sure how much real dancing he is doing, but it is a lot of fun. He gets through to choreography, but he doesn't make it through.

Well, that's it for the auditions! Next week is callbacks, which is often one of my favorite weeks of the show, but also one of the hardest to recap. Do you have anyone you are rooting for yet? I think that Ricky kid from tonight is probably going to make the show. That one Krump girl, if she can do other stuff even halfway decently probably has a good shot as well, as we hardly ever see hip hop style girls make it very far.

Until next week!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Strawberry Shortcake

Growing up in Portland, sometimes we would head over to this one restaurant that was famous for its strawberry shortcake. The restaurant in question is called Tebo's, and it's kind of almost an assembly line situation. You go in, wait in line and order things as you move down a sort of buffet, with little plastic tags informing those doing the cooking on the other side of the barrier what you're waiting for. Anyway, I have fond memories of ole Tebo's, and they are due in no small part to the strawberry shortcake.

Recipe for Strawberry Shortcake by freshfromthe.com

This homemade version is more like biscuits with strawberries and whipped cream. Yep, it's a drop biscuit recipe! And you know what? It works just as well as regular shortcake. For reals, try it and just see. I don't think you'll be missing anything. Though I'm not sure Tebo's would agree!



It's funny, though, because I forget how great strawberry shortcake is until I have it again, and then it's like whoa, I have been missing out! There's not much better than fresh strawberries tossed in a bit of sugar with some warm biscuit and whipped cream. Or even some vanilla ice cream. I've been having the ice cream variety the last couple of times, and it's pretty damn good as well. Whatever your heart desires, you can't really go wrong. Unless you're like my stepdad and are just not a fan of whipped cream in general, then I suppose you're going to go for the ice cream straight off the bat.
Go forth and eat this deliciousness! For reals.

Strawberry Shortcake by freshfromthe.com

Strawberry shortcake using biscuits instead of the traditional shortcake. Yum!

Ingredients:
    For the Biscuits:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cold buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter, for brushing biscuits
  • For the Strawberries:
  • 16 ounces strawberries, washed and sliced
  • 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • For the Whipped Cream:
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 475°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and buttermilk and stir until the butter forms small clumps.
  2. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just incorporated. With a greased 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop level amounts of batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. The biscuits should be about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until the top are golden brown, 12-14 minutes.
  3. While the biscuits are in the oven, prepare your strawberries. Mix the sliced strawberries with the sugar and set aside. Also stick your mixing bowl and whisk attachment you will be using for the whipped cream at this point.
  4. Once the biscuits are golden brown, remove from the oven and brush the tops of the biscuits with the remaining 2 Tbsp melted butter, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
  5. For the whipped cream, assemble your bowl and whisk attachment, then mix together the cream and sugar on medium-high until it reaches stiff peaks.
  6. Stick down a biscuit, top with whipped cream and strawberries, and go to town! You can also, of course, substitute in vanilla ice cream for the whipped cream, or heck, if you're feeling really adventurous, do both!

In Photos:


In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.


In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter and buttermilk until the butter forms small clumps.


Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just incorporated. Don't overmix.


Using a greased 1/4 cup measure, scoop out level biscuits onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Stick those in the oven for 12-14 minutes until the tops are golden brown.


 Stick your mixing bowl for the whipped cream in the freezer at this point, and also get to work on your strawberries. Mix the sliced strawberries with 2 Tbsp granulated sugar.


The biscuits are ready!


Brush the tops with the extra 2 Tbsp melted butter, and set on a wire rack to cool.


Now it's time to make your whipped cream. Beat with your whisk attachment the heavy cream and sugar until it forms stiff peaks. It can be used right away or you can stick it back in the fridge and give it a quick whip when you're ready to use it.


Assemble that baby and dig on in!


Resistance is futile.


See?

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

SYTYCD Season 11 Auditions - Los Angeles and Philadelphia

It's interesting that this season they are splitting up the audition cities every week so far. I think I kind of like it? That way the judges get mixed up every week. Perhaps it's for time rather than any other artistic reason, but I'll pretend. How are you all feeling about this season so far? I was just reflecting on how they don't really show bad auditions anymore. Do you guys remember the days of the wacky auditioners they would feature? Thank goodness those days are gone. We just want to see good dancing, and that's why we shall again ignore a certain Bieb.

First up tonight... the second half of the LA auditions with Christina Applegate as the guest judge. And here we go...

Serge Onik and Alla Kocherga - Ballroom couple - Latin ballroom? Serge made it to the green mile last year but not onto the show. I have to say he is one of the better ballroom guys I think I've seen audition so far. Got a little bit distracted by her dress going up a wee bit too high at the end of the audition. They're straight on through of course.

Recap/review of So You Think You Can Dance Season 11 - Los Angeles and Philadelphia Auditions by freshfromthe.comTimothy Joseph - B-boy. He's doing a lot of flips and such, though I'm not sure there's a lot of dancing going on. More gymnastics and general craziness. They all comment on how they're not sure of his actual artistic nature because of his lack of facetime. They say he can go through to choreography but he's picked up an injury so... will he go on? Dun dun dun. He bows out.

Casey Askew - Contemporary. His style reminds me a bit of Travis Wall. A lot of emotion combined with a lot of quality dancing, and he is straight on through.

Jourdan Epstein - Ballet. They spent quite a bit of time on her backstory about her brother battled addiction, which was what her dance was about. I don't know that I would necessarily get that just by watching the dance, though you can tell it is about something. She goes straight through.

"Johnny Waacks" Gibson - Waacking. He previously auditioned back in season nine, and they're still laughing over the name. I'm still not sure I entirely understand this form of dancing, but it was an entertaining audition. Enough to get on the show? He goes to choreography. He makes it through to the next round.

Malene Ostergaard and Armen Way - Latin ballroom. He previously auditioned last season and was the one who accidentally dropped the girl on her head. Whoops. They have a lot of chemistry together and did quite well. They go straight through.

And that's it for Los Angeles... now it's on to Philadelphia. Joining Nigel and Mary this time around is Misty Copeland, prima ballerina.

Bridget Whitman - Contemporary. I like her song choice. Quiet, and showcases her dancing skills, which are quite good and emotional. She goes straight through. I could see her doing quite well on the show. We'll see!

Amir Sanders - Ballet. Funky ballet? Not sure of the song choice, since it seems maybe too in your face about a point. They are mostly complimentary but do have a few criticisms, and send her to choreography. She makes it through, and I would've been really surprised if she hadn't.

Recap/review of So You Think You Can Dance Season 11 - Los Angeles and Philadelphia Auditions by freshfromthe.comLandon Anderson - Ballroom, he brings Jenna from last season to audition with him. That split move thing was pretty crazy. He seems like a pretty strong dancer, pretty masculine for the ballroom style, which is good. He goes straight through. They also invite Jenna back as an all-star, which I suppose isn't a huge surprise since they don't have many ballroom all-stars.

Shafeek Westbrook - Tried out previously in season nine and had an attitude problem in Vegas. Hip hop. He's super strong and has some crazy moves, though could use some work on transitions. Send him on to choreography. He makes it through.

And... for day two of Philadelphia, they have Billy Porter joining them on the judging panel.

Stanley Glover - He has a really sad backstory of his mom dying when he was really young and none of his biological family coming to claim him at the guardianship hearing, which is awful! Sheesh. He does contemporary. He has a very strong, animalistic style that goes along really well with his music choice. I'm kind of rooting for this one! He goes straight through, duh.

James "Banks" Davis - Krump. He got shot twice in his knee and almost lost his leg. This is a much quieter style of krump than I think I've ever seen on the show, and it's quite cool. Not so angry as I'm used to, and I really like it. Billy comments on him being a storyteller and I agree, it was full of story in there. Through to choreography. Sadly, he doesn't make it further.

I guess they must not have had many great dancers in that second day of Philadelphia because it was cut rather short! Next week is the last week of auditions before heading into callbacks. Do you have any standouts so far that you think might make the show? Personally I think that Stanley kid from tonight's episode has a real shot at it. Perhaps Bridget as well. Sometimes it's hard to tell, though, but I believe I did have some good predictions the last few years, so who knows!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Monday, June 9, 2014

Kentucky Butter Cake

Sometimes, magic happens. Like, you're not quite sure what to bake. You wanted to bake something with fruit, but that requires going to the grocery, and well, that just sounds not fun. And you're sadly low on actually many important baking ingredients. But then you come across a cake that uses just about everything you do still have in the kitchen, and you know what? It must be meant to be.

Recipe for Kentucky Butter Cake by freshfromthe.com

Thus, Kentucky Butter Cake. Why exactly is this called Kentucky Butter Cake? I admit, I really don't know. I assume it must originate from Kentucky, or have some special meaning there or something. But you know what? It's good in any other state too, or any other country for that matter. You would think that maybe it would be too sweet with the amount of sugar in it, but it's actually not overly sweet! Crazy, I know. It's quite a dense little cake thanks to all of the eggs in there, and also nice and moist thanks to the glaze that gets to seep down inside. I'm never quite sure of bundt cakes because I feel they tend to have too rough of an outer crust compared to the inner goodness, but this one turned out pretty well. I baked it five minutes less than the recipe originally said to, and that may just be because of differences in the pans we used, but yes, I think that helped to not make the crust too hard.

One thing you can nearly always say about a bundt cake is that it looks pretty! I assume if you don't let this cool completely you may have a bit of a cake disintegration on your hands, but I let it cool until my pan was only just slightly warm to the touch in the middle still, and it came out very easily. The best part about this cake, apart from the taste? It's super easy to make! So get on it!



Kentucky Butter Cake by freshfromthe.com

A simple recipe for a classic butter cake – just make sure to let it cool completely before you take it out of the pan!

Ingredients:
    For the Cake:
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • For the Glaze:
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter
  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a bundt pan (or spray with cooking spray, which is what I did). Set aside for now.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
  3. In a different large bowl, cream together the butter, buttermilk, vanilla and eggs. Then, slowly add in your dry ingredients from earlier and beat for 3 minutes at medium speed until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape down the sides halfway through.
  4. Pour into your prepared pan and bake at 325°F for about 55-60 minutes, until a tester inserted comes out clean.
  5. In the last 10 minutes of the bake time, prepare the glaze. Combine the sugar, butter, water and vanilla in a small sauce pan and heat on medium-low until melted, but don't bring to a boil.
  6. When the cake is done, poke holes throughout the cake while still in the pan, and pour half of the glaze over it. Let the cake cool COMPLETELY in the pan. Once it is cooled, you can take it out and place it on a plate, then brush over your remaining glaze. You may want to re-heat the glaze so it goes on smooth. Brush over the entire cake until it's all gone! Then slice and serve.
Recipe via Simply Scratch

In Photos:


Preheat your oven to 325F and then get whisking your dry ingredients together. Dry ingredients this time include the sugar! I know! So weird!


After you've mixed together your wet ingredients, which I forgot to take a photo of, combine those with the dry ingredients and beat for about 3 minutes. It'll look a bit like this.


Then plop that into your prepared bundt pan, and stick that in your oven for 55-60 minutes, when a toothpick or tester inserted in the center comes out clean.


About ten minutes before your cake is done, prepare your glaze. Melt sugar, butter, water and vanilla over medium-low heat until just melted. No boiling here.


When your cake comes out of the oven, poke holes all over that baby with a skewer or toothpick or even your tester.


Then drizzle half of your glaze over it! And then, and this is the hard part, let it sit like that until COMPLETELY cool.


Once it's cooled, plop it out onto a plate, and then brush with the rest of the glaze until completely covered. You may need to heat your glaze back up for this.


Slice in. See how much glaze is there in the middle and revel in how moist it will be later.


Take a piece and enjoy!