Rosemary Cake

There was a request for the Rosemary cake recipe- I have to credit this to not being my invention, this was a Nigella Lawson recipe- and easily one of my current faves. The recipe came from "How to Be a Domestic Goddess- Baking & the Art of Comfort Cooking". Although, I have modified it slightly. I got up on Monday morning to make it for my Chinese class Monday night for my teacher's Birthday- so made it (following the original recipe) except for the last step of adding the milk, then put it in the fridge. After work, I took it out of the fridge, mixed in the milk, but found the dough a little hard from being in the fridge all day...so I added an extra tablespoon or two. Scraped it into the pan & into the oven it went. It finished about 5 minutes early, so I took it out & went to class with it. Now these classmates have had this cake before, it's kind of a "standby" for me- very easy, very quick, always have the ingredients at home, but this time, their eyes were rolling back in their heads. No Kidding. The compliments I got on the cake this time were even higher than what I'd ever received before.

When I got home I thought it would be a good time to start on a project we had discussed a few times amont our single Mamas group- a "Village Cookbook." So, I started typing up recipes. As I typed up this one, I realized I missed out on an entire 1/2 cup of flour from the original recipe!! No wonder it was so buttery rich and wonderful! So...this is my newly adapted version. Minus the self rising flour, (I added in the required leavening agents), minus the extra 1/2 cup of flour, and with the option of going with the rosemary or without. Honestly though, I can't think of possibly making it without the rosemary. It's simply amazing!

Rosemary Cake/Cake in a Pinch
Adapted from “How to Be a Domestic Goddess- Baking & the art of Comfort Cooking” by Nigella Lawson (ahh Nigella…)
Serves 8-10
I always make this with the rosemary, and it’s always a hit. Please…make it one time with the Rosemary! It sounds a little strange to have a savory herb in a sweet cake, but you will be amazed at the wonderful mild taste it imparts! I accidentally forgot the last ½ cup of flour in the original recipe one time, and ended up with an amazing, buttery rich cake that received more compliments even than the previous version. This is my adaptation, “mistake included” since I think it’s even better this way! This is a great cake too because it uses basic ingredients you almost always have around your house. It’s a great cake for afternoon coffee on it’s own, or after dinner with ice cream or whipping cream with berries.

1 cup + 2 Tbl softened Butter
¾ Cup Sugar
3 Eggs
1 ½ C flour
1 ¼ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp salt
3/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
(Optional: Needles from a 4” stalk of rosemary, chopped coarsely, about 2 tsp.)
4-5 Tbl milk
2 Tbl brown sugar

Preheat Oven to 350 F. Line a loaf pan (for bread) with a sheet of parchment or foil.Cream the butter, adding sugar when it’s very soft. Cream together until pale & smooth & light. Beat in eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flower between each egg. Add the vanilla & beat well. Fold in the rest of the flower with a rubber spatula. If you are adding rosemary, add it and mix well with the spatula. Fold in the 4 Tbl of milk. You should have a soft drooping consistency. If the dough is a little hard, go ahead and add an extra 1-2 Tbl of milk. Pour/scrape into your loaf pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top (it will seem like a lot, just go for it!) and bake for 55 min to 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack in its pan. Serve warm or completely cool. This cake keeps quite well for several days. It also freezes very well- I often make 2 at a time & stick one in the freezer- I never have to wait too long before I find an occasion to pull the 2nd cake out for!