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Buttermilk Cake

I usually have some leftover buttermilk at the end of the week. I love buttermilk pancakes and waffles but don’t make enough to use up an entire jug of buttermilk. I try to find something useful and/or interesting to do with at least part of the remaining buttermilk. This time, I tried the buttermilk cake recipe from Dr. Oetker’s cookbook. Dr. Oetker is a big baking supplier in Germany; I would say that he is the German Betty Crocker except that he is a guy and not a homemaker.

The sponge is very simple and with no added sugar. It is spread thin over a greased baking sheet. It is then blind baked for 10 minutes. Despite its simplicity, it gave a very rich aroma as it baked.

Here is the sponge out of the oven. Although I tried to spread the batter evenly, I didn’t do a good enough job and it didn’t redistribute itself fully in the oven.

The topping is sugar, butter, and nuts. I used the hazelnuts from my Seattle trip. I concentrated the topping on the areas where the cake was thicker.

Here is the result. This makes one heck of a breakfast. The huge amount of butter in the topping infuses the cake during baking, making for a very rich cake. The Washington state hazelnuts are very fresh and flavorful. If you doubt whether farm-to-table makes a difference to your food, try buying an ingredient from a local producer and using it. Freshness means more flavor

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