Twitter reunited me with this cake. I first made it nearly 8 years ago for my weekly new Moms group. Our meetings rotated through each other’s houses, and each host provided the requisite snacks and drinks. As neurotic new mothers, we were all on different diets, sometimes to address colicky kids, sometimes to address our stretched-out waistlines. I knew I should offer something healthy, but for whatever reason, that day I just wanted something warm and comforting. The rosemary bush in my garden was growing unruly, and I’d just read somewhere that the herb was traditionally thought to be good for improving memory. I remembered a recipe for rosemary cake in Nigella Lawson’s “How to Be a Domestic Goddess” that had intrigued me but I’d never tried. Given that new mothers have notoriously addled brains, rosemary cake seemed perfect. It got the best possible type of feedback from a group pre-occupied with diaper changing, nursing, and conversation: it was all eaten save for a slice or two. And it absolutely lived up to my expectations. This was an aromatic cake whose flavor pleasantly lingered, and I thought about it for days after the last slice was gone. While I considered making it many times over the next several years, the constant urge to try something new meant I chose other recipes and didn’t bake it again.
Enter Twitter. I follow lots of local food lovers with my account. I find it’s a wonderful way to peek just for a moment at what other people are eating, cooking, and reading. One day I saw a tweet about a food photography workshop offered by the gracious and talented Viv (@bonnevivante) and Helen (@sweettartelette–forgive the Twitter-ese). I signed up for the class, and when it came time to bake something to photograph, the rosemary cake was the first thing to pop into my head. So after nearly 8 years, I again shared this cake with new friends. And with Helen’s styling help, I took a better picture of it than I ever would have been able to at home.
I won’t wait 8 years to bake the rosemary cake again, and if you want to try it as well, here’s the recipe. I love this cake on its own, but it would also be lovely with some lightly sweetened whipped cream, maybe with a bit of lemon zest grated in.
Rosemary Butter Cake
Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s How To Be a Domestic Goddess
I cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/3 c. cake flour*
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla extract
2 t. chopped rosemary needles (small, but not too fine, you want a little texture and lovely green flecks)
4 T. whole or 2% milk
1-2 T. granulated or raw sugar for sprinkling
A 6-8-inch piece of rosemary (optional)
Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, and line it with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350. Cream the butter with an electric or stand mixer, and when it’s smooth, add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, folding in a spoonful of flour after each egg. Add the vanilla. Turn off the mixer, fold in the rest of the flour with a rubber spatula, then fold in the rosemary. Mix in the milk to thin the batter, then pour into the pan. The batter will be gloppy rather than runny and smooth. Sprinkle with some sugar, and if you are using the rosemary branch, lay it down the center of the cake. Bake for an hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cook in its pan on a wire rack, and when it’s completely cold remove it from the pan and wrap it in foil until it’s ready to eat. It will last several day, and gets even better on the second or third day. Oh, and if you’ve used that rosemary branch, remember to take it off the cake before serving.
*King Arthur makes unbleached cake flour, which works well in this cake.
Ginger Kitchen 