This blog post started off roughly, as both my camera battery and the overhead lights in my kitchen were dead, so pardon any even-worse-than-usual pictures, but I couldn’t wait any longer to try this cake! And luckily batteries and bulbs were good to go by the time it came out of the oven. (But then another down-turn in luck for this post, as I put in the date for it to post yesterday, but hit ‘save draft’ not ‘schedule’. Whoops.)

This cake is tasty but mild, until you douse it with a lemon glaze that soaks lemon flavor all the way through. Even then, though, it’s the optional lemon icing that really provides the seriously lemon-y zing, even though it’s only got a fraction of the lemon juice of the glaze.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• pinch of salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

If you get 2 lemons you should be good for all the juice you need, but if they’re only ~50 cents, it can’t hurt to buy a third to make sure you have what you need without running back to the store.

To make the cake, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the baking powder and flour in a medium bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Especially if you’re using a hand mixer, give it a few more minutes than you initially think, until the color has lightened.

Had to buy a new hand mixer that morning, mine died back in Wyoming!

Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each.

Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating until combined after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest.

Grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan well, then gently transfer the batter to the greased pan and smooth the top. Bake 45-60 minutes, until the cake passes the toothpick test. (Mine was done at 45.)

While the cake bakes, combine the lemon juice and sugar of the glaze. Heat, in the microwave or over the stove, just enough to dissolve the sugar without cooking the lemon juice. I microwaved 30 seconds, stirred well, then microwaved another 20. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top.

When the cake is fully baked, run a thin knife between the cake and the pan to help it separate. Invert onto the cooling rack, and remove the pan if the cake comes out. If the cake doesn’t come off, let it rest 5 minutes, then try again, giving it up to 10 minutes before you really start prying/jiggling.

Didn’t come out 100% perfectly, but I’ve done worse…

Once the cake it free from the pan, brush the glaze all over the still-hot cake, on both the top, outside, and inside. As the glaze is absorbed into the cake, add more until it has all sunk into the cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely.

Once the cake is cooled, in a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar and salt. Beat in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, adding just as much of the additional tablespoon as necessary to create a thick glaze.

Drizzle over the cake, then serve or let sit for an hour to let the glaze set before serving.

Lemon Bliss Bundt

From King Arthur Flour.

Cake:

• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup whole milk
• zest of 2 medium lemons

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

Icing (optional):

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• pinch of salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

To make the cake, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the baking powder and flour in a medium bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating until combined after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest.

Grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan well, then gently transfer the batter to the greased pan and smooth the top. Bake 45-60 minutes, until the cake passes the toothpick test.

While the cake bakes, combine the lemon juice and sugar of the glaze. Heat, in the microwave or over the stove, just enough to dissolve the sugar without cooking the lemon juice. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top.

When the cake is fully baked, run a thin knife between the cake and the pan to help it separate. Invert onto the cooling rack, and remove the pan if the cake comes out. If the cake doesn’t come off, let it rest 5 minutes, then try again, giving it up to 10 minutes before you really start prying/jiggling.

Once the cake it free from the pan, brush the glaze all over the still-hot cake, on both the top, outside, and inside. As the glaze is absorbed into the cake, add more until it has all sunk into the cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely.

Once the cake is cooled, in a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar and salt. Beat in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, adding just as much of the additional tablespoon as necessary to create a thick glaze. Drizzle over the cake, then serve or let sit for an hour to let the glaze set before serving.