My co-worker brought the most amazing treat back from her lunch at Walton's Fancy & Staple, it was a pastry called a Golden Egg. It is a nutmeg cake rolled in cinnamon and sugar. I really didn't think I liked nutmeg, but this is HEAVENLY! After sharing the one egg with three people, I decided I could eat about six more. I scoured the web for a recipe, and found one lone version. It was created by Gesine Bullock-Prado and featured in her book, Confections of a (Closet) Master Baker. She just happens to be Sandra Bullock's sister, and that makes sense, since she and Sandra own Walton's and Bess.
I decided I must make them, and I must make them that night. I was a little scared, because they are from scratch...like SCRATCH, SCRATCH. No mixes, no shortcuts. I had to use baking powder. And the recipe is very detailed. Butter must be room temperature. Butter and sugar must be whipped for 10 minutes. But I followed them exactly, while trying to let the kids help as well. She uses an egg mold, but since I didn't have one, mine are heart shaped. And while I am not sure mine are just as good, they are pretty darn close.
There are two places I found the recipe. It was posted on Epicurious, but her book version is so much better. She goes into detail on exactly how to make the "magic". She also has a bake along on her blog. I plan on reading her book as well. It chronicles her journey from running her sister's production company, to following her true passion of baking. Plus, it's full of little gems like this recipe.
Glorious, Glorious Golden Eggs
For the Cake:
- Nonstick baking spray
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups nonfat buttermilk
For dipping the eggs:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed together in a small shallow bowl
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Spray your molds with nonstick spray (I, obviously, use egg-shaped molds. You can use a muffin pan or any other small baking molds, I used heart shaped muffin tins.)
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In an electric mixer fitted with either the paddle or the whisk attachment, whip the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
This can take up to 10 minutes, depending on the temperature of your butter.
As you're whipping away, stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated into the sugar.
You can't make magic without a lot of patience. So keep whipping and keep scraping.
Add the eggs one at a time, whipping after each one until the egg is fully incorporated into the batter.
Scrape down the bowl every now and again as well.
Add the vanilla.
Once all the eggs are incorporated, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, mixing slowly.
After they are well incorporated but not overbeaten, take a rubber spatula and fold the batter a few times to make sure everything is evenly distributed and the batter is smooth.
Distribute the batter into your molds, filling each cavity a little less than halfway.
Bake for about 15 minutes. Baking time varies depending on the size of your mold, so check for a very light golden brown color and make sure the cake springs back when you touch it.
Unmold your little cakes and while they are still warm, dunk them quickly in the melted butter, then dredge them in the cinnamon and sugar.
From Gesine: "One warning: people are going to call you a stinking liar. They will not believe that these precious morsels aren't fried like a donut. But that's the cost of making magic."
And she's not lying, they taste like little fried pieces of heaven.
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