I’m not always about shortcuts…but some days, guys – some days you look at flour and sugar and think, “That is too damn much work!”
AND IT IS.
I was having one of those days the other weekend, but we had guests coming! Why, oh why, do these days have to come calling when friends are coming over!?!?!?! EVERY DAMN TIME! BUT I love this visitor, and she’s a cook like me…so it was time to do something nice, but also indulge in my lazy day ness!
So here we go…a shortcut to a really awesome cake:
Blueberry Lemon Shortcut Cake
1 yellow cake mix
½ cup butter softened
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon worth of zest (like a tablespoon-ish)
1 tbl of flour
1 cup of blueberries (frozen or fresh does not matter)
Mix cake mix and butter together until creamy, add eggs and buttermilk (alternating so that you don’t have so much splashing going on). Add the juice, zest and mix until well combined. Cover the blueberries in flour (this is so they don’t sink), and then add them to the cake mix. Using a spoon fold them gently into the batter.
Plop this into any kind of cake pan you’ve got…and follow the directions on the cake mix for time. Me, I used a round 9 inch pan and cooked it for about 35 minutes.
NOW with all the time you’ve saved using a cake mix you can make some frosting! BUT WHY PUT YOURSELF THROUGH THAT!?!?! Let’s shortcut that too.
I love Italian Meringue Frosting – but it is very fiddly and I am neither patient nor perfect at timing shit. SO, here is a foolproof way of making it:
Shortcut Italian Meringue Frosting
2 egg whites
Teeny tiny pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
In your stand mixer (if you have one) beat egg whites and salt at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
In small saucepan, heat corn syrup over medium heat until boiling (this stuff is forgiving, so if it starts to boil before the eggs are fluffy just turn down the head a bit. Seriously, it is all like, “whatever, I’m here when you need me.” Don’t I wish all recipes and some people were like that!).
With the stand mixer on medium low, VERY SLOWLY pour the boiling syrup in thin stream over beaten egg whites, beating constantly. Add vanilla, and beat until thick enough to spread – and don’t be afraid like my wife, you can’t really overbeat this thing. Let it get some volume, it will amaze you.
The disclaimer here is that you absolutely can’t leave this cake out overnight…the frosting will start to break down.
Also, this stuff is sticky as hell, so ya know…just be aware. Lol
