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Friday, April 13, 2018

#GuestBLog w/ Love and Turmoil by @Luanna_Stewart @WildRosePress #recipe #historicalromance




Now that we’re into April and the days are turning balmy (the temperature will be +4 degrees Celsius today so I know I’m pushing the whole balmy thing but it’s been a heck of a winter) my menu planning is changing. I’ll put away recipes for all the hearty comfort foods that sustained us through the seemingly never-ending Nor’easter storms and start dreaming of fresh salads, tender juicy things on the grill, and fruity desserts. And since dessert is the most important part of any meal I want to share a delicious, simple cake recipe with you so you’ll feel better about the end of winter, too. Or maybe you live in one of the southern US states and your winter has been gone for weeks and you’re already scampering around in shorts and halter tops. In which case I might have to hate you just a little bit.  Or maybe you’re in the southern hemisphere and are looking forward to cosy evenings filled with hot toddies and bread pudding. (Ooh, maybe it’s not too late for more comfort foods.)

Here in Nova Scotia, we’re many months away from enjoying local berries. And, I’m sorry, but the things called strawberries available in the supermarket this time of year should be ashamed to call themselves strawberries. Having been raised on wild blueberries (my mum’s childhood home has a blueberry field in the backyard) I’m not a fan of cultivated blueberries. Now, we do have an abundance of locally grown apples, but in my head, apple desserts are more of an autumn/winter thing. Call me silly if you like.

So where does that leave us for fruity desserts in April? Citrus. Not locally grown (though with climate change that could happen) but abundant and relatively inexpensive. Also prevents scurvy. I came across this recipe a month ago and have baked this cake three times. So far. I took it to a family supper and it received rave reviews. And did I mention it’s dang simple to mix together and bake? The easy tart-sweet glaze finishes it off beautifully.

Does your eating change with the seasons? What are you looking forward to cooking in the coming months?

Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze
Recipe by Nagi at www.recipetineats.com

Wet:
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 eggs
1 ½ tbsp grated lemon rind (1 large or 2 medium lemons)
¼ cup / 65 ml fresh lemon juice
1 cup/250g plain yoghurt
1 1/4 cups / 275g caster sugar (superfine sugar, granulated ok too)

Dry:
2 cups/300g plain flour (all purpose flour)
4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Glaze:
1 3/4 cup / 210 g icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp plain yoghurt

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan/convection). Grease a 20 cm / 8” springform pan with butter.

2. Place Wet ingredients in a bowl. Whisk until combined.

3. Sprinkle over flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk until smooth few small lumps is ok.

4. Pour into pan it should be fairly thick but pourable. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

5. Remove metal ring and cool on rack then glaze.

Glaze:
1. Place ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Test down the side of the bowl to get the right thickness, using 1 tsp of yoghurt at a time to thin it out if required. Glaze should drip (slowly, because it's thick) but not be see through.

2. Place rack on a tray or baking paper.

3. Pour glaze over the middle of the cake, gently push towards the edges so it drips down the sides.

4. Let it set for 1 hour before transferring to a serving plate.

Here’s the link to the recipe on Nagi’s website so you can see a picture and read additional notes about preparation and presentation. Enjoy!




***

Title:  Love and Turmoil
Author:  Luanna Stewart
Genre:  historical romance
Publisher:  The Wild Rose Press


Book Blurb:

Six months after burying her wastrel husband, Lady Arabella Woodbridge has resigned herself to a lonely life in the countryside with only her two adopted nieces for company. Being a young, respectable widow is – frustrating. Then the charming and wickedly handsome Samuel Payn takes up residence in the neighboring manor house.
Retired explorer and occasional pirate Samuel Payn is on a two-fold mission – retrieve buried loot, and locate the father who abandoned his mother to a life of poverty. But a gang of murderous villains is also after the buried treasure. And someone is threatening to tear apart the lovely widow’s family.
Will Sam’s single-minded determination to uncover his true identity threaten Arabella’s happiness - and his life?
Excerpt:
“I hope my girls haven’t been bothersome, Mr. Payn.”
“Not at all. Edwards had the brilliant idea to search out the nets. I’d not noticed the wide variety of butterflies in the garden, not until we tried to catch them.” He chuckled. “I’m afraid the insects have outwitted us.”
She laughed, gazing up into his gorgeous blue eyes, almost silver in the bright light. She breathed in his spicy scent and every part of her came alive. She fought the urge to lean into him, wrap her arms around his slender waist, and bury her face in his chest.
Glancing away to gain time to recover from the onslaught of desire, she watched her daughters play. “They appear to be losing interest in a game they can’t win.”
Mr. Payn took her hand in his. She met his gaze, his eyes darkened. “Some of us don’t give up after the first attempt or two.”
       He was not speaking of catching butterflies. He was speaking of catching her.
Buy Links:


Author Biography:

Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. As soon as she discovered her grandmother's stash of romance novels, all plots had to lead to a happily-ever-after.
Luanna writes full time, concentrating on sexy romantic suspense, steamy paranormal romance, and spicy historical romance.
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Luanna has recently returned to the land of her birth with her dear husband and two spoiled cats. When she's not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious.
Under her previous pen name of Grace Hood she has two novellas published with The Wild Rose Press.
Social Media Links:

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/luanna-stewart




3 comments:

Luanna Stewart said...

Hiya! Thanks for letting me visit with your readers today. You've got a great blog - lots of good stuff to read.
Cheers!

Deb N said...

Yuuuummm on lemon cake. Lemon goes well in any season. But also makes you think of sun. Won't tell you your old home town in Maine hit mid 60s today, but now clouds rolling in for rain, ice, snow for next 4 days. Had a big nicoise salad for lunch today and grilled BBQ pork last night. Yes, spring and summer is on its way. But may be back to making a pot roast this weekend, as weather tries to decide what season it is in, and to keep house warm.

By the way ... loved this book and one that preceded it in this series.

Luanna Stewart said...

Hi Deb, thanks for stopping by! And thank you for your kind words about my books.

Alas, spring seems to take two steps back for every step forward. But the dog days of summer will be here soon enough - I hope.

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