subtlety.

we all know by now how much I love bacon, eggs, and butter, which by definition are the opposite of subtle (the only possible argument I could make for subtlety would be butter. but even if light in flavor, never in calories or richness). so I guess you could say I love bold flavors, rich mouthfeels and rich tastes, the foods you can eat a small plate of and afterwards feel completely satisfied. and on top of that I'm not quite sure anyone would ever describe my personality as such.

well, my first installment of Andrew's Birthday Dinner posts is going to be on subtlety, and how it is wooing me by its place in baking. my first experiment with subtlety was the Swan Wedding Cake when they asked for "white cake with a hint of lemon. so barely a hint that people will have to sit there thinking about it and finally identify the taste of lemon zest ten minutes later." Okay, subtlety. my next big experiment was the hint of lavender I baked into the Bedenbaugh Wedding Cake. you taste it in cookies, or in cake when you have to ask yourself, is that coconut? and you never really know anything substantial beyond that it makes for the tastiest bite of anything ever.

So today I am playing with that little fleck of flavor in a Lemon Curd Layer Cake from Epicurious.com. I have never been a huge fan of lemon because I have always felt it was the flavor that rivaled Chocolate the most (and don't mess with chocolate). I really enjoyed the combination of vanilla cake with lemon zest mixed with raspberry preserves back at the Swan wedding, and on our anniversary Andrew got a Spanish Lemon Cake at Last Resort Grill & Bar and it was TO DIE FOR. I had an amazing tiramisu cake that night, but I found myself getting jealous of someone else's dessert for the first time ever. So at this point, I do love the flavor of lemon in baked goods. Andrew's favorite, I had to make his birthday cake a lemon cake, and it is proving to be yet another lesson in subtlety.

I am just going to talk about the frosting today, because it absolutely deserves its own chapter in my accidentally thematic self-cooking lessons. Last night I prepared a homemade lemon curd (fresh lemon juice, corn starch, sugar, butter; whisk on medium heat until thickened and boiling; cool and keep up to 1 week) and today mixed some of the curd with confectioners sugar which I then mixed into the whipping cream to make a frosting for icing and layering. oh. my. gosh. I have never tasted something so sweet yet so light, so refreshing, and I have never enjoyed the aromatic hint of flavor on the back of your throat that lingers with the taste of cream. please someone make this recipe, even if just the curd and the whipping cream to get that amazing whipped cream. It is going to be such a perfect addition to a denser cake and the richness of the curd layered twice.