Lemon Cake

 It's my favorite cake flavor.

My only problem? Every recipe I tried was never as good as the way my mom made it - out of a box! Don't get me wrong, box mixes are great. (I'm looking at you, gluten-free brownie mix from ALDI.) But homemade lemon cake should taste better than a box mix!

So I got down to work to make the perfect lemon cake.

(Spoiler alert: I did!)

I chose 4 lemon cake recipes - all of which had marked differences - made them all, and then had a sampling party with some highly critical taste testers (AKA my family). I took notes, made more cake, took more notes, made more cake, etc. until finally:

Moist, flavorful, and the perfect texture.

If you like a lemon cake with just a hint of lemon flavor, this is not the cake for you. This lemon flavor is strong enough to punch you in the nose and taste buds.

So, in case you don't live close enough to order from my bakery, or just want to make it yourself, here's the recipe:

Cream together:

1 cup oil*

3 eggs

1 tsp lemon extract

Zest of 2 lemons

Juice of 2 lemons + whole milk to 1 1/3 cups

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Add to oil mixture and mix to combine. Pour into two 8-9" baking pans and bake at 325(F) for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. (Rotate the pans halfway through if your oven bakes unevenly like mine.)

* Use a mild flavored oil like canola, not olive! (I made that mistake for you.)

For the frosting:

Cream 2 sticks butter in a stand mixer, then add the following ingredients, switching between dry and wet ingredients as necessary:

7 cups powdered sugar (add 1 cup at a time)

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 generous tsp lemon extract*

1-2 drops yellow gel food coloring (optional)

*I like a very strong lemon flavor. If you don't, begin with less lemon extract and work your way up to your desired flavor.

Sometimes I try new cake decorating ideas. Sometimes they are less pretty than others. (But still delicious.)

Love and Lemons,
Leah Joy

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Check out this beautiful cake I made for my Dad's birthday:

Four layers of perfectly dark, moist chocolate cake, with raspberry filling between each layer.  The whole thing is frosted with a dark chocolate ganache and topped with fresh raspberries.

Available soon from The Blue Door Bakery. :)

Love and Raspberries,

Leah Joy

Our Door is Blue!!!

Isn't it beautiful??

If you look closely, you might notice that not all the hardware is back on.  You might also notice Caleb through the windows, trying to get it back on.  That was a week-long process.  :)

Painting the door was #56 on my 101 Things in 2014 list.  The color is Valspar's Starry Night and I love it SO SO SO much!

Oh and for reference, here's what the door looked like before:

Love and Blue!

Leah Joy

The End is Here!

Summer camp is over and I am back with some very exciting announcements!

(None of them involve offspring, so just stop thinking that, okay?)

First of all, my last day of camp work was this past Friday!  That's right, not just last day for the summer, but last day!  (Okay, I still have one day of training with my replacement, but still.)  Caleb and I decided it was time for a change, and with some nice signals from God that we'd be okay, I tendered my resignation. (What a grown-up phrase.) I left the camp on good terms, and hope to still be involved in some of their fundraising and outreach events.

Second of all, I have made it through our library's hiring process to be in the 'pool' of shelvers for hire.  I don't have a job yet, but when a shelver position opens up, I will!  That might not sound exciting to you, but to the girl who alphabetized her mother's extensive CD collection at age 10 (for fun, mind you), this is a really exciting thing!  Part of the interview process was to take a shelving test, and I had so much fun putting all the books in order.

And third and finally, I have decided to open up a home bakery!  I've had this idea mulling around in my noggin for months, since basically anytime I bring baked goods to someone, he or she usually responds with, "This is soo good! You should work in a bakery."  As Caleb and I started talking about needing to make a change, I thought about what I'd like to do for a job.  What do I love?  Books and baking.  It was pretty obvious to me, too.  :)

So, this fall, the Blue Door Bakery will get up and running as an order-only provider of baked goods: muffins, cakes, cupcakes, scones, truffles, cookies, and baby pies!  I'm so excited to get started!

Now I need to go paint my front door.

Love and Sugar,
Leah Joy

P.S. The Blue Door Bakery is on Facebook! :)  Click here!

P.P.S. I can also promise that you'll have posts 3 times a week for at least the next two weeks!  How crazy is that? :)