So it is playoff hockey time. This year it is twice as nerve racking, for both my teams have made the playoffs(sorry Ivonne about the Leafs). Luckily, my teams are in separate conferences and really only have the chance of playing each other in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That would tear me apart.
This is the time of year that my husband says he has no idea who I am, he thinks I have been abducted by the NHL. I will admit that I tend to go off the deep end a little. I swear constantly like a drunken sailor. I throw things(mostly balled up socks). I only watch about half the game because I work my stomach into so many knots that the minute the other team gets in our zone and has a chance to score I switch the channel and scream, “BAD ZONE, BAD ZONE!” I also, out of superstition, eat the same thing over and over again based on what I was eating the first game my team had their first win. Last year it was pea soup(so not doing that again…my team made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals…and that was a lot of soup). Two years before that it was sour licorice and macadamia nuts. If you are not a hockey fan none of this makes sense to you…and that is okay…you can go hang out with my husband.
Since my mind and body(if you ask my hubby) are otherwise preoccupied in the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup I need to stick with simple food, as I am sure to miss a few ingredients if it is a complicated. Today I was at the store stocking up on rare types of flour(the Daring Bakers were talking about flour and I went flour buying crazy) but I also ran across key lime marmalade! I was so excited, for I am after all, on a key lime kick. I also found some luscious, red, ripe strawberries that wanted to come home with me too. This cake is super easy and I do love the addition of the key lime being soaked into the cake…really does give it a little something extra. If you can’t find the treasure of key lime marmalade like I did you can use an alternative jam.
All that being said…the race is on. GO FLAMES!!!! GO SABRES!!!
Basic White Cake
INGREDIENTS:
2-1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
3-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 egg whites, at room temperature
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9″ round layer cake pans and line the bottoms with waxed paper; set aside. Sift flour, sugar, and baking powder into a large mixer bowl. Add butter, milk and vanilla.
Beat on slow speed until blended. Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add unbeaten egg whites (yes, UNbeaten – that’s the trick), and beat two minutes longer at medium speed.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until cake is light golden brown and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool 15 minutes in pans, then carefully remove layers from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
Source: Adapted from busycooks.about.com
Other ingredients:
Rose’s Key Lime Marmalade(If you can’t find just use orange marmalade or a jam of your choice)
sweetened whipped cream
fresh cut strawberries
To Assemble:
Cut cake into three layers, try not to butcher it as badly as I did.
Melt marmalade in a saucepan until it becomes sauce like.
Place a cake layer on a plate and brush with key lime maramalade. Layer with sliced strawberries and then whipped cream. This really is just a matter of taste and how much you want of each ingredient.
Place second layer on top and repeat.
Place thrid layer on top, this time brush with marmalade and top with whipped cream and place some strawberries on top for garnsih.
Tanna says
Those strawberries are fantastic! and I sure like one of these, I’d promise to be very quiet while you swear and watch the game.
joey says
The picture of the strawberries is stunning! Wish I had a slice of that cake now to go with my coffee 🙂
Hope one of your teams win! 🙂
gattina says
Such a gorgeous cake wish I could eat it everyday!
errr… I will hang out with your hubby then 😛
Lydia says
My husband is a rabid Canadiens fan, so no celebrating in this house. Perhaps I can make this recipe and cheer him up.
Lisa says
I love, love, love the addition of the key lime brushed on the cakes.. fabulous. Am jealous, have never seen that kind of marmalade around here. *sigh*
Sara says
If the Flames don’t start kicking some ass soon, I don’t know what i will do.
Patricia Scarpin says
Those close ups are mean, Peabody.
Jia says
That just looks like heaven right about now.
gilly says
Wow – yum! No amaranth, thought? LOL!
I love the comment about throwing balled up socks… it’s the furniture and nik-nack friendly way to vent!
Jenny says
Yummy!
I will cheer for the Flames with you (former Calgarian here), as long as they aren’t playing Ottawa, but can’t cheer for Buffalo with you, sorry!
Kristen says
That is my kind of cake! Beautifully done.
Jeanne H. says
Dearest Peabody,
I do hope both your teams win. Oops, I guess that would be cruel in the playoffs, but baking will relieve the stress, no?
M’mm, key lime marmalade, watch out – here I come!
Best, Jeanne
winkies6 says
Um, YUM!! We are all over that key lime kick! Bring it on!
Chris says
This looks amazingly delicious! And, Peabody – you know I love your blog, but I must say….Go Thrashers… 🙂
Elle says
Nothing like a passionate fan. Hope one of your teams wins it all!
The cake is lovely, but will you really eat it until the end of the season. Better than soup, but you’ll need to do jumping jacks when changing channels for the BAD ZONE time. 🙂
Bea says
Si funny to see your wonderful cake here. I was literally flipping through some magazines yesterday and was reminded that this cake style had been on my list for over a year — even readers emailed for a recipe, ahaha — never got to do it last year 😉 A good reminder!
sher says
My mother and you would have made a great team watching the games. She was just like you and it’s one of the things I hold dear to my heart, remmebering how she would get so excited as she watched the action. Well, look at that cake!!! What a beautiful way to express hockey fever!
Glenna says
Beautiful!
Cheryl says
I just bought two pints of strawberries and I am seriously considering changing what I originally bought them for to this beautiful recipes. Well done.
I love a girl that loves hockey. It really is the best of the four sports.
sandi @ the whistlestop cafe says
I have a weakness for strawberry shortcake. The Rose’s key lime is a great secret~ I’ll give it a try.