Ultra Lemon Cake

Ultra-Lemon Cake, recipe available in Baking By Flavor by Lisa Yockelson. The cake's soft and fine, with a delightful and refreshing lemony tang. I've made adjustments such as reducing the sugar and the amount of topping and I think the only improvement needed is more lemon rind. This is an awesome cake for tea.


Ultra Lemon Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt (I omitted this)
1/2 double action baking powder (my addition)
1 3/4 sticks (200g) unsalted butter, softened
2 T shortening (I used Crisco)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar* (reduced from 2 cups)
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk (I used regular fresh milk + a squeeze of lemon)
1/8 t cream of tartar
3 T granulated sugar*

* the recipe calls for lemon-scented granulated sugar but I didn't bother with that

Lemon Rind Soak
1 1/2 T (increased from 1 1/3 T) freshly grated lemon rind
1 1/2 t pure lemon extract
1 T freshly squeezed & drained lemon juice
--combine and set aside for 15 minutes.

Lemon Soaking Glaze
1/2 cup freshly squeezed & strained lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar (reduced from 1/3 cup + 2 t)
1/4 t pure lemon extract
--combine everything in a glass pot and set over moderate heat to dissolve sugar completely, about 5 minutes. Use warm or hot over warm or cool cake.

Lemon Pouring Topping (this is half the recipe amount; double it as desired)
1 cup icing sugar
2 1/2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T unsalted butter, melted & cooled
--Mix everything in a bowl and whisk until well-combined and smooth without any lumps of icing sugar. The topping should be thick but pourable. Adjust the consistency by adding more icing sugar or lemon juice.

1. P! reheat o ven to 180 C. Grease a 10 inch/23 cm Bundt pan.
2. Sift flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Cream butter and shorteningusing an electric mixerat medium speed, 3 minutes. Beat in the 1 1/2 cups sugar. adding in 3 additions. Beat in the egg yolks and then the lemon rind soak.
4. On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. The batter will be thick.
5. Beat the egg whites, add the cream of tartar, then the 3 T sugar, and beat until stiff peaks stage.
6. Lighten the butter mixture by mixing 1/4 of the beaten egg whites, then fold in all the remaining egg white, making sure the egg white is incorporated well.
7. Spoon the batter into the Bundt pan, shake to level it and place into the preheated oven. Bake 50 to 55 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
8. Let cake stand 10 to 15 min, then invert onto a cooling rack.
9. When cake is still warm, you can spoon the soaking glaze over it. After at least 15 minutes (so that the glaze has permeated the cake), pour the topping over the cake. Cool cake completely before serving. No need to chill.