Lemon Cake

For Chris’ birthday he wanted a lemon cake. :birthday: Since I’ve never undertaken a full from scratch cake before I decided I would skip the typical box mix and give it a shot. I also had buttermilk left over from some amazing oven fried chicken and wanted to use more up and sought out a buttermilk lemon cake recipe.

This one comes from Ina Garten – though I changed the lemon glaze recipe a bit (I’m not a big frosting / glaze person and find that usually the recipes make far too much.) As expected, I think the resulting drizzle was just the right amount.

I followed the cake recipe as written however. I was surprised at how thick the resulting batter was. Almost pudding like, where I’m used to the box mixes being closer to cake batter runny. I didn’t have 2 loaf pans, so substituted with pie pans, and a layer of parchment (love love love parchment).

Hubby liked it a lot and declared that despite having to wash the stand mixer (I cook, he cleans) that we would not be doing box mixes again. He did however request my standard buttercream frosting next time.

I thought that while light and fluffy, this could use a touch more moisture for my liking.

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (3-4 large lemons)
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:

1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.

Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.