On most holidays and random weekends, my immediate family likes to get together for dinner. And in more cases than not, we dine in. My mom and dad provide the main dish (and then some) and I often bring a side and/or dessert – an approach that takes the burden off any one person. The meal is always a success and so much more meaningful than eating out, at least in my mind.
This Easter Sunday, my parents invited us kids over for ham and so I brought a potato salad and a sweet. My mom requested I bake a cake; a few weeks earlier she mentioned she had a craving for lemon bars. This “naked” lemon cake combines the best of both worlds.
I’d never made it before (as is the case with most recipes I recreate) so wasn’t sure how it would turn out. (Yes, I realize it’s probably not the best idea to test a new recipe on others, but I just can’t help myself. I never make the same dish twice, remember?) It was a winner! The cake was moist and refreshing, and paired surprisingly well with the Häagen-Dazs limoncello gelato my brother just so happened to bring. And because the sides are uniced, the cake is not cloyingly sweet as some baked goods tend to be.
The lemon cake apparently presents well, too. Unbeknownst to me, Food52 regrammed my photo of the cake this morning – how cool is that?
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2¼ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- lemon rind strips or kumquat slices (for decoration, optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare cake pans by first coating them with cooking spray. Then line bottoms with parchment paper and coat with more cooking spray. Finally, dust pans with flour, shake out excess and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stirring with a whisk.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Pour batter into the prepared pans and sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles.
- Bake cakes for 25-32 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans. Then let cakes cool completely on a wire rack before removing parchment paper.
- Combine the powdered sugar, butter, lemon zest and lemon juice in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth.
- If making a 3-layer cake, place one cake layer on a plate and pour ⅓ of the icing on top of cake, spreading it toward the edges. Top with second cake layer and pour another ⅓ of the icing on top of cake, spreading toward the edges. Top with the final cake layer and spread remaining icing on top. If making a 2-layer cake, do the same but divide the icing in half.
- Garnish with lemon rind strips or kumquat slices, if desired. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.
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