little vanilla cakes

Summer is officially here. It is hot. Hotter than hot. 

Last night around 8, the temperature still clocked in at 95 degrees. I'm going through ice like a crazy person. 

So with the heat making me so exhausted making something that required any effort was a bit out of the question. I had recently found some odd like cake pans at the thrift store so I decided to use them to make little cakes. A vanilla cake, that could be topped with anything. The coconut was my favorite. I brushed the whole thing with a thin glaze, just powdered sugar, milk and vanilla then threw a bunch of shredded coconut over. The flavor reminded me of those old school cake doughnuts. Not too sweet and a nice crunchy outside.

Fourth of July is just days away and for the first time in a while, I don't have to work the holiday. I am going to be in Sun Valley Idaho! Random, eh? My dad's hobby is entering contests. 1000 a week is the goal. Yeah. So he often wins. You have to right, with entering that many? When its trips, its always trips for two. Which is great for my mom and dad but not always so nice for their two daughters. So when my mom couldn't get the time off work, I lucked out. My dad asked if I could get it off, my response was I'll tell them I'm taking it off, not ask. And a bit of aggressiveness worked and I now get a little mini vacation. 

We are starting the drive on Wednesday, going to stay the night in Reno then finish the rest of the drive on the fourth. We get to go fishing, which hopefully should be nice for photos, then I don't know, explore the area I guess. Then make the drive back home on Monday. A nice little mini break. Much needed. I the screen on my new fancy phone, so I'll have to commender my dad's iphone so I can instagram the trip.

little vanilla cakes

375g AP flour

281g cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

245g milk

170g oil, something neutral, I used grapeseed

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

zest of one lemon

oven 350

one 9x13 pan or divide among smaller pans

Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) in one bowl.

set aside.

Mix wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and zest) in another bowl.

Pour wet ingredients over dry and whisk until combined and there are no lumps.

bake 25-30 minutes for smaller pans, 55 minutes for 9x13 pan.

cool on rack for 15 minutes, remove from pan then cool completely on rack.

finish with a dusting of powdered sugar, glaze (powdered sugar, milk and vanilla), glaze then cover in shredded coconut or anything of your choice.