Easter thoughts for the Notebook

Easter has come and gone but I will share some of our family's Easter Sunday.

In our home a Cointreau Cake is a tradition. I found this recipe many years ago in a cookbook by Camille Glenn, The Heritage of Southern Cooking. I believe it is still being printed and now in a paperback edition. It is a book that I refer to often but this cake is quite simply outstanding and different. The cake and the frosting have Cointreau in it along with some orange juice. The cake is like an angel food cake, very light and the texture is delightful.

This year I also made some cupcakes for the grand children. The recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks,The Barefoot Contessa by Ina Garten. This was Ina's first book and I made her Coconut Cupcakes.

The favorite of the grown ups is still Cointreau Cake and I decorated the cake and the cupcakes with pansies from my garden.

Easter Sunday was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze so I decided to serve our dinner on our screened porch with another table set on the adjoining patio. I think my family enjoyed the casualness of the holiday.

The green of my tablecloth of choice seemed to scream casual and Easter. I used napkins of the same fabric but had gold bugs and butterflies as napkin rings. Each napkin ring was a different bug or butterfly. The salad plates were some I bought from Nell Hills in Atchison, KS and some have butterflies and some have birds but all in black and white and they were perfect sitting on my plain white Vilroy and Boch plates. My silver ware is Hotel silver that I have collected and use for everyday use.

A close up of the bird salad plates in black and white.

We ended the day with not one but three Easter Egg Hunts. The grandchildren never tire of hunting Easter Eggs. I hope you all had a memorable Easter as I have. Here is the recipe for my favorite cake and that of my family.


Golden Cointreau Cake

8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. Cointreau
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Separate the eggs. Put the yolks in one large mixing bowl and the whites in another large mixing bowl.

3. Beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer until they have thickened and are smooth. Beat in the sugar slowly, then continue beating until the mixture turns a lighter shade of yellow and is smooth. Add the orange juice and blend thoroughly.

4. Measure the flour, then sift it twice. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the egg yolk mixture and gently fold it in by hand with a whisk or a rubber spatula, or with the electric mixer on a very low speed. Fold in the Cointreau and vanilla.

5. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat until they begin to turn white and foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until the egg whites hold a stiff peak but are not dry and grainy, about 4 minutes more.

6. Fold a few sthingyfuls of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Then add the remaining egg whites to the batter, gently folding them in.

7. Sthingy the batter into a 10 X 4 1/2-inch ungreased angel food cake pan (a tube pan with a removable bottom). The pan should be no more than three-quarters full. Place the cake pan on the middle shelf of the oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, or until the cake springs back at once when lightly touched, about 1 1/4 hours.

8. Remove the cake from the oven, turn it upside down on the tube pan legs, and allow it to rest overnight before frosting.

9. Loosen the cake with a thin sharp knife and unmold it. Put the cake on a plate or on a flat surface covered with waxed paper or foil. Spread the frosting over the cake.

COINTREAU FROSTING

8 tablesthingys (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/8 teasthingy salt
1 large egg yolk
6-8 tablesthingys Cointreau, or more as needed

1. Put the butter in a large mixing bowl.
Add the confectioners' sugar and salt. Beat well with an electric mixer. Add the egg yolk, then slowly add 6 tablesthingys of the Cointreau. Continue to beat the frosting until it is smooth, thick, and pliable, 3 minutes. Add more Cointreau as needed; it usually takes at least 8 tablesthingys. This frosting must be thick.

2. Frost the cake generously in a swirl design. Allow the frosting to firm for 30 minutes, then lift the cake to a serving platter.

This is also lovely garnished with half slices of oranges. It is a delicious cake and I think something really special. There is also a side note that it freezes beautifully even frosted. She also suggests that the frozen slices are quite good served as is with coffee. This I've never tried.