January 12, 2010: Just About the Best Lemon Cake Ever

The plain-Jane appearance of this cake belies the richly intense lemon flavor you'll experience with your first bite. There are folks in my acquaintance who may not remember my name, but they remember the time they indulged in "that was just about the best lemon cake I ever ate!" It's not a fancy-looking cake, but you could dress it up a bit by baking it in a decoratively patterned bundt or rumtof pan instead of the standard, straight-sided tube pan. Next time I bake this gem, I'm going to experiment with using Meyer lemons instead of standard-issue. I'll let you know if this cake can get any better!

JUST ABOUT THE BEST LEMON CAKE EVER!
From Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts

Cake
Finely grated rind of 2 to 3 lemons (juice will be used below and later in the glaze)
3 T lemon juice
3 cups flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
8 oz. butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk

Glaze
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a tube pan, line the bottom with waxed paper, butter the paper, and dust all over with bread crumbs. Shake out excess and set the pan aside.

Combine the lemon rind and juice; set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. Mix in 1 cup flour, the baking soda and salt; mix until well blended. Blend 1/2 cup buttermilk into the mixture, then another cup of flour, then the remaining cup of buttermilk, then finally the last cup of flour. Make sure the batter is evenly blended after each addition. Stir in the lemon rind and juice. Turn into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Place on a rack in the bottom third of your oven. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and dry.

While the cake is baking, mix the juice and sugar together in a small bowl, stirring occasionally.

When the cake is done, let it stand in the pan for 5 minutes. Then, cover it with a rack, turn it over onto another rack. Remove the pan and the paper lining. Place the rack over a piece of foil. Using a pastry brush, brush the lemon glaze over the top, sides and tube of the hot cake. Let it stand until completely cool.

This is lovely to serve with afternoon tea!