Stood Up Spice Cake

I got stood up by my friend Travis today bc he forgot his mother was coming to town. Yes, I do believe that. So rather than walking our dogs in the rain on this Sunday afternoon, I am home baking and he is at the airport, I guess.

A phone conversation with my sister led to the idea of a spice cake. Okay, it led to a spice cake recipe, and then the contents or lack thereof of my cupboards led to this specific spice cake. Stood Up Spice Cake,I'm calling it.

1.5 c unsalted butter - let come to room temperature while you talk on the phone with your sister
1.5 c sugar
3 eggs, also room temp so the batter doesn't curdle in that weird way that happens when the soft butter hits the cold eggs
2 1/3 c flour
2 t freshly grated nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
1 c milk
1 c dried cranberries
as much crystalized ginger as is left in the bag, chopped
1 c pecans, chopped

(leave out baking powder and other leavening bc you are busy thinking about your conversation with your sister. Don't worry, it will be fine.) edited the next day to add that it actually will not be fine. Put them in.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the milk and the dry ingredients alternately, about 3 rounds. Mix in cranberries, pecans and ginger and put in buttered bundt pan. Bake at 350 for one hour.

Next time I will try using brown sugar and 1/2 whole wheat flour, just to see.

vegetables are good for you, right?

I've been sick a lot this winter so am turning my attention to things that putatively increase health. Fruit, kumbuchu, cruciferous (that always makes me think of a brocoli stalk splayed out on a cross) vegetables and ginger tea.

When a friend introduced me to the blog Orangette the first thing I latched onto was a recipe for Sweet Potato Pound Cake. Have your cake and eat your vegetables too. The sweet potatoes at WFs have been super good, so I baked a few and banged out the cake pretty quickly. The directions were a bit odd. It's a basic cream the butter and sugar together, add the eggs one at at time, beating well after each addition kinda cake, but when you got to the part where you were alternating the dry ingredients with the milk, she only wants you to mix until just combined. I should have followed my instinct and beaten well, cuz the texture is a little odd. Not a great crumb.

If i'm feeling generous, I say it's good, but a bit sweet. Next time I'd use 1/2 c less sugar and make it all dk brown to increase the brown sugar taste. If i'm not feeling generous, I'd say that it's not really heavy enough to be a pound cake. And no matter which way I'm feeling I'll definitely have a piece after dinner. Gotta eat my vegetables.