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August 24, 2005
Lemon, fresh
When I have an evening or afternoon at home, I love to bake. This habit is met with such delight by so many of my friends and co-workers that I almost never have to eat the whole thing myself. Not that I wouldn't, mind you.
So when life hands me lemons, yadda yadda yadda. Specifically this time, we're talking about that most fabulous of Northern California delicacies, Meyer Lemons. These little miracles are lemons, only better. Way way better. The taste is hard to describe, but trust me when I say that once you have them, all other lemons start to taste like dish detergent in comparison.
A gal at work brought in a bag of these lovelies the other day, and I snatched up a supply. See, my favorite thing to do thus far with Meyer Lemons is to bake them into a recipe I found in Everyday Food, Glazed Lemon Pound Cake.
A shout out to Everyday Food is appropriate here, as it really keeps things simple and delicious, my favorite kind of cooking and eating. Pick up this digest-sized magazine at your local grocery store and you won't be sorry. Every issue is a gem.
I cranked out two delicious, moist, dense-but-not-too-dense loaves of this cake in no time last night. It's a great feeling to get home, take out your eggs and butter to come to room temp, open the mail, change your clothes, turn on NPR, and start greasing pans. By the time it's time to make dinner, you'll have the cake out of the oven, and by the time dinner is done, you'll be able to drizzle them with the simple glaze and eat eat eat.
Take note, young'uns: stay out late dancing while you can. Some day you'll actually look forward to an evening in with a stand mixer and All Things Considered. I'm just saying.
Glazed Lemon Pound Cake
Makes 2 loaves
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 3 hours
For best results, bring all the ingredients up to room temperature before getting started. When zesting and juicing lemons, grate the zest first, then squeeze out the juice. Meyer lemons work beautifully with this cake. Note: The batter can also be baked in a 12 cup buttered and floured nonstick Bundt or a tube pan; the cooking and cooling times are the same.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1. Preheat oven to 350°, with rack in lowest position. Butter and flour two 4.5 x 8 inch (6-cup) loaf pans.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine buttermilk with lemon zest and juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each.
4. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two, beginning and ending with flour; beat just until smooth (do not overmix).
5. Divide batter evenly between pans; smooth tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes (tent with foil if browning too quickly). Cool 15 minutes in pan. Turn out cakes onto a rack; cool completely before glazing.
Lemon Glaze
Covers 2 loaf cakes or one Bundt/tube pan cake
2 cups confectioners' (powdered) sugar
3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1. Place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl or a liquid measuring cup (sugar may be sifted to get rid of lumps, but this isn't always necessary).
2. Stir in just 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The glaze should be thick, but pourable. Add more sugar or more juice as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
3. Set rack with cakes over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Pour glaze over cakes, letting it run down the sides; let dry, about 30 minutes.
Posted by kyle at August 24, 2005 3:15 PM