Lemon-Buttermilk Cake

Well, the other day I was in the mood for something kinda tart. So I looked through one of my Culinary Institute of America (CIA) cookbooks and I found a recipe for Lemon-Buttermilk Cake. The cookbook this recipe is from is called Cooking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, CIA cookbooks are the best by the way, and I would really recommend this cookbook to anyone serious about baking. Oh, and thanks to my older sister, Willa, for taking this picture of my cake.

Ingredients:

flour and shortening for greasing the cake pan

2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour plus

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup (two sticks) of unsalted butter at room temperature

1 3/4 cups of sugar

1 tbsp of grated lemon zest

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups of buttermilk

(Here is a substitute for buttermilk if you don't have any on hand: 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar and 

1 1/4 tsp cream of tarter mixed with 1/2 milk and 1/2 of cream. Makes about 1 cup. Note: this mixture is called "sour milk.")

5 tbsp of lemon juice (3-4 large lemons)

3/4 cups of powdered sugar

1 tbsp of very hot water plus extra as needed

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease and flour a large Bundt pan (9 to 10-inches) with shortening and flour. Next sift the flour, baking soda and salt together into a bowl and set aside.

Grate enough lemon peel to equal 1 tbsp. Next, juice the lemons. Set the juice and zest aside.

If you are substituting sour milk for the buttermilk, go ahead and mix it up and set it aside.

Cream the butter until light on medium speed and add the sugar. Add the sugar in slowly over three minutes and then mix in the lemon zest. Continue mixing on medium speed for two more minutes and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl in between each addition. 

Important note: after each addition of flour or milk, mix on low speed only until just combined. Add half the flour mixture, then all the buttermilk or sour milk, and then the last of the flour; mix between each addition. Increase the speed to medium and mix the batter until light and smooth in texture, this should take 2-3 minutes. Add 4 of the 5 tbsps of lemon juice and mix about 30 seconds.

Pour the batter in the Bundt pan and put it in the oven and cook it until the center springs back when touched and a skewer that's inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, this should take about 65-75 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven to a wire rack and cool it in the pan. When the cake has cooled, loosen it from the sides of the pan with a knife or thin metal spatula and then invert the pan over a plate.

Combine the powdered sugar, remaining tbsp of lemon juice and the 1 tbsp hot water in a small sauce pan and whisk until very smooth. The glaze should be about the consistency of honey, if it is not, add more sugar or water as the need may be. Spoon or brush the glaze on the cake, give it time to firm, and then slice and serve the cake. 

Hope you all enjoy this recipe, it's pretty tasty. Let me know what you think.