Thursday, April 28, 2011

Lemon Cake

I made the most amazing lemon cake for a work event today.  The only problem was I iced the cake when it was too warm and the icing separated into butter and sugar.  It still tasted amazing though.  Here is the recipe from the original Silver Palate:

GLAZED LEMON CAKE
 
1/2 pound (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, stirred or sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 tightly packed Tbls. grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
2 Tbls. fresh lemon juice
Lemon Icing (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt (I just stir them together). Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternatively with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Add lemon zest and juice.
Pour batter into prepared tube pan. Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until cake pulls away from side of pan and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool cake in the pan, set on a rack, for 10-15 minutes, then gently loosen top edge of cake from pan all the way around. Invert onto a rack, then spread immediately with the Lemon Icing, using a pastry brush to smooth out if needed.  
 
Lemon Icing
2 cups (1/2 pound) confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 stick (4 Tbls) sweet butter, softened
2 Tbls. packed grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Cream butter and sugar thoroughly. Mix in lemon juice and zest; spread on warm cake. It helps to lay down some wax paper underneath the rack where the cake sits. This catches the drips from the frosting. You’ll definitely have some run-off.

No comments:

Post a Comment