There are three reasons to put the following recipe on your shortlist for the holiday season.
One: It’s a great recipe for a delicious cake. (And it works well at Denver’s altitude. Higher-ups might want to decrease the leavening a hair.)
Two: Wrapped in plastic, then parchment paper and a bow, it makes an excellent hostess gift for holiday cocktail parties. Because this recipe makes two loaves, there’s plenty to go around.
Three: No matter what people say about wanting to avoid excess carbs around the holidays, what they really want, as at any time of year, is cake.
Some tips about this cake: It tastes better the day after you make it, so let it sit before you eat it. It’ll keep fresh for about a week wrapped tightly at room temperature; if it starts to dry out, simply slice it up, toast your slices lightly, and slather them with cream cheese.
You can easily broaden the scope of this cake by substituting orange or lime zest, or both, for some of the lemon zest, or by tossing in a handful of chopped dried cranberries.
Lemon Cake
Recipe from “Barefoot Contessa Parties!” by Ina Garten, via . Makes two 8-inch loaves.
Ingredients
For the cake
1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans.
Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Combine 1/2cup granulated sugar with 1/2cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves and makes a syrup. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then invert them onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon the lemon syrup over the cakes. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.
