Buttermilk blueberry layer cake is a crowd pleaser.By Liz Pearson
Now that we're heading into the holiday potluck and party season, it's time to think about developing that perfect casserole, dessert or special drink for which you're going to become known. You need a signature, go-to dish that everyone will request when you say "what can I bring?"
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My mother makes Swedish meatballs to die for, my husband always brings a vat of perfect, lime-spiked guacamole to a party, my sister is famous for her baked macaroni riddled with fresh goat cheese, and my friend Celeste keeps a bowl of unapologetically rich cookie dough in the fridge for all manner of seasonal emergencies. Each specialty inspires whispers when the cook walks through the door: "I hope she brought that (insert dish name here) this time …"
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Everyone needs at least one recipe under their belt, no matter their cooking prowess, and a trademark dish should hit these high notes:
1. A dish for which you don't mind becoming known. (Meaning that you'll have to make it again and again.)
2. Something comforting, wholly satisfying and decadent.
3. Food that is relative to your own skills in the kitchen.
4. A use for affordable ingredients, most of which you can easily keep stocked.
5. A choice that travels well and can be made ahead.
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Bourbon Apple Cider
This cocktail is equally lauded at a party or a sick friend's abode. Maybe a smaller batch is in order for the sick friend, but then again, maybe not.
Ingredients
2 quarts apple cider
6 cinnamon sticks
6 star anise
4-inch piece of ginger, unpeeled and thinly sliced
3 or 4 wide swaths of orange peel, removed with a vegetable peeler
A small palmful each crushed cardamom pods, whole cloves and whole allspice
1½ cups bourbon
Directions
Put all ingredients except for bourbon into a large pot and bring just to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover, set aside off the heat to let cool until just warm, and then strain through a fine sieve, discarding the solids. Add bourbon (use 1 cup instead if you're a recovering teetotaler) to a 2-quart Mason jar and top off with the spiced cider. Drink up the smidge that doesn't fit, and then close the jar with a tight-fitting lid and chill until ready to serve, preferably over ice.
Buttermilk Blueberry Layer Cake
This is the quintessential birthday cake. Years ago, I started with the vanilla birthday cake recipe from New York City's Magnolia Bakery and I've since turned it into a fruit-pocked buttermilk number. The blueberries are killer, but omit them if it suits you. If you use frozen ones, the cake will take slightly longer to bake.
Ingredients
1 pound (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened, divided, plus more for the pans
1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans and blueberries
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract, divided
1½ cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 pounds plus 1½ cups confectioners' sugar, divided
½ cup whole milk
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper and then butter again and coat with flour, tapping out any excess; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat 1 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar and beat again until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a large bowl, whisk together flours and ¾ teaspoon salt and then add to butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk, until well combined. In a medium bowl, toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour and then gently fold into batter.
3. Transfer batter equally to prepared pans, spread out evenly and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Set aside to let cool.
4. In a large bowl, beat remaining 1 cup butter with about half of the confectioners' sugar, whole milk and remaining 1 tablespoon vanilla and ¼ teaspoon salt with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Continue to beat, gradually adding remaining confectioners' sugar, until very fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes more.
5. Once cakes are completely cool, loosen edges, remove from pans and discard parchment paper. Stack cakes on a large plate, frosting in between each layer, and then around the top and sides to cover completely. (If you like, trim the cake tops before frosting, and stack them upside down to ensure a more even, level cake.)
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Zester Daily contributor Liz Pearson is a writer, consultant, food stylist and contributor to the Los Angeles Times, "Every Day With Rachael Ray" and Saveur. She lives in Texas.
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