Lemon Cake

Lemon Cake is one of my favorite. This lemon cake recipe is adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Parties. This cake is very lemony and has a light texture. I halved the recipe since the orginal one yields 2 loaves and I wanted only one.

Ingredients:
½ cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 ½ tbsp lemon zest (3-4 lemons)
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp buttermilk at room temperature
½ tsp vanilla extract

For glaze:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 ½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Grease a 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pan with butter and flour. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl untill it is light and fluffy(This may take about 5-10 minutes). With the mixer on medium speed add eggs, one at a time and the lemon zest.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine 1tbsp of lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter beginning and ending with flour. Pour the batter into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour , until a cake tester comes out clean. (I did not have buttermilk so I added ½ tsp lemon juice to 3 tbsp milk and left it for 5 minutes and then used this as buttermilk)
• Combine ¼ cup granulated sugar with 2 tbsp of lemon juice in a saucepan and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves and makes a syrup. When the cakes are done let it cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert them onto the rack, and spoon the lemon syrup over the cake. Now allow the cake to cool completely.
• For the Glaze, combine confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice in a bowl with a whisk until smooth . Pour over the top of the cake and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Note: The first time I made the cake I did not make the syrup or the glaze, still it was very good. If you don’t want to make the syrup and glaze you can omit both of these but add the entire 1 ¼ cup sugar and 3 tbsp lemon juice while making the cake batter.

I am sending these to Jhiva for Ingredients: Lime/Lemon hosted by Coffee of The Spice Cafe.