House Cake
I had a vision before I had children that my quaint and spotless kitchen would be filled with freshly baked treats - homemade cookies in a cookie jar, some kind of cake or other confection would always sit upon the counter, and my children’s eyes would twinkle in awe.
The reality is that having three little boys rarely allowed the time needed to bake and have random treats lying around. On most days I felt it was a win if we each made it through intact. Don’t worry, we did bake together, and cookies and other sweets were made for every occasion. Birthday cakes were planned and made to order for the birthday boy of the day, but I never did live up to my ideal.
My sons are grown now, but in an abundance of luck they are close by. I don’t remember when or why it started, but for quite some time I have been making a cake that regularly sits on the counter under a cake dome. I know! It has a number of names - mostly because it is infinitely adaptable, but I’ve taken to calling it ‘house cake’. It’s an easy cake that isn’t too sweet, has no fussy layers, and has the added benefit of being a ready receptacle for some of the too-ripe fruit, scrapings of jam, extra nuts chopped for another recipe...pretty much anything goes. It took me a while to see, as days passed and the cake diminished bit by bit either because Rob walked by or a boy came home, that perhaps my pre-children vision had come to pass, just a little late and much less spotless.
Recently I had a long conversation with an old friend who happens to be an accomplished chef. He said that now he cooks certain dishes just for the aroma that fills his house. He doesn’t need to eat any of it anymore and will give it to friends and neighbors, but the smell is the thing which is evocative for him. Maybe that’s partly why I make the house cake. Certainly it smells delicious while it’s baking, but by having it on the counter I can briefly conjure a time I imagined that never really was and then concentrate on those who now pass by and whittle away at the treat that sits atop the counter.
House Cake
(this is the basic recipe)
1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg (optional)
10 tbls butter - melted
1 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)
¾ cup buttermilk
2 eggs
¾ - 1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tbsp turbinado sugar (regular sugar will do fine, as well)
Preheat oven to 350° and butter a 9-inch springform pan. A regular cake pan will work as well, I just appreciate the ease of the springform pan.
Whisk together the dry ingredients (first 7 ingredients) and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to the edges. Place the blueberries on top and gently push them down slightly into the batter. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, testing after 30 to see if a tester inserted into the center comes out clean with a few moist bits attached.
Cool on a rack. Remove the springform ring and whittle away…
Notes:
Today I realized I had no turbinado sugar left, but I did have some leftover lemon sugar (‘recipe’ follows), so that’s what I used to sprinkle on the cake before baking.
I also had about a teaspoon of chopped candied ginger that didn’t make it into ginger cookies earlier in the week, so in it went!
If you have chopped nuts, fold in ½ - 1 cup after you’ve combined the wet and dry ingredients.
I have made this cake with chopped apples instead of blueberries, and I’ve also topped it with sliced peaches. Feel free to swap out the cinnamon and nutmeg for anything that appeals to you or is a better option for your fruit of choice. Also remember that the lemon zest is optional.
If you use jam instead of fresh fruit, simply dollop it over the top of the cake (I usually use between ¾ and 1 cup of jam. Mix up the flavors if you like - I rarely have enough of one kind). Carefully push the jam into the batter as you would for a jam cake.
Lemon Sugar:
According to Bon Appetit, a good ratio for lemon sugar is 1 tbsp lemon zest to 1 cup sugar. This is very adaptable, so never discard lemons without zesting them into some sugar first. After that, simply massage the zest into the sugar to release the lemon oil - that’s it. The texture of the sugar will change and become something like wet sand. Store in a covered container.
