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Recipe: Lemon Bundt Cake 22 April 2010 2:54 pm

Posted by Tracy in : America's Test Kitchen,baking,cooking,dessert,friends,kitchen gear,recipes , trackback

I think this cake might be the very first one I ever made from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe (it’s either that or the fabulous huevos rancheros also in this issue, January & February 2006). In any case, I am not much of a baker or even a huge cake fan, but for whatever reason this recipe captured my imagination and I had to try it. Maybe it was the buttermilk? I don’t know, but I’m pretty darn sure that does not hurt the deliciousness of this one bit. Anyway. I dedicate this post to Ansley, who has been awesome at reminding me that she really, really wants to know how to make this delicious dessert.

Notes

This recipe is super-wordy because I am not a baker and lots of instructions are helpful to me, but I have cut it down to size on Twitter, like so:

Lemon bundt cake! 9oz butter, 2c sugar, 3 eggs+1 yolk, 3 lemons’ juice+zest, 3/4c buttermilk, 3c APF, 1 tsp powder, 1/2tsp soda, 60min 350F.

7:23 PM Sep 7th, 2009 via web

That’s a little misleading on the lemon juice, but otherwise right on. Also, it leaves out 1 tsp vanilla (oops).

The only other really important thing to know is that in addition to these ingredients you’ll need an extra tablespoon of buttermilk and 2 cups (8 ounces) of confectioner’s sugar, to make a light glaze of super-deliciousness. Armed with that information, experienced bakers can probably feel fine to ignore all my directions.

Last thoughts: the last time I made this recipe I used demerara sugar (Sugar In the Raw, to be exact) and the cake turned out a little crumblier than usual, but still delicious. I think this cake is even more delicious when it’s a day or two old; like many other baked goods, it gets denser and crumblier with time, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

What You Need (Ingredients and Equipment)

What You Do

First, zest all three lemons and mince said zest to a fine paste (it should yield about two tablespoons, but a little more or less is fine). Put the zest in a small bowl along with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to soften (this probably won’t take all the lemons, but juice the rest anyway; you’ll need some for the glaze and I believe in your power to find a use for the rest).

Let the lemon juice work its magic on the lemon zest for at least 10 minutes; there’s plenty to do in the meantime. For starters, adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Also, prep the cake pan in the manner of your choosing (Cook’s Illustrated highly recommends nonstick baking spray with flour for this application, or you can try brushing it with a mix of melted butter and flour but that turned into an awful mess for me, so I say just grease the pan liberally with butter and powder with as much flour as you can get to stick).

Next, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix together the eggs and egg yolk in a separate bowl. Now, if your butter is at a satisfactory temperature, you’re almost done with prep.

So start making cake! Cream the butter and sugar together with the mixer at medium to medium-high speed, until light-colored and fluffy, about 3 minutes. I bet 10 minutes have passed by this point, so combine the lemon juice-zest mixture with the buttermilk and vanilla extract in yet another bowl. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.

Turn the mixer to medium speed and add about half of the eggs, letting them mix until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Add the remaining eggs and let them mix for another 15 seconds, then turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl again (as someone who keeps trying to wrangle the bowl with the mixer running, I feel okay writing out that extra “no, seriously, turn it off” step because hoo lady is it ever easier without getting the spatula/my fingers caught in the mixer paddle as it spins.)

Turn the mixer to low speed and add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients (flour and such). Wait five seconds (don’t over-mix), then pour in about half the buttermilk mixture. Repeat with the next 1/3 of the dry ingredients and remaining wet stuff. Stop the blender, scrape the bowl, then mix in the last of the dry ingredients, again at low speed, about 15 seconds or until the batter is well-combined. Stop the mixer, and fold the batter once or twice with a spatula just to make sure you haven’t missed any pockets of under-mixed wet or dry stuff.

Finally, it’s time to scrape the batter into the pan and put it in the oven. Bake the cake until golden grown and inserting a toothpick pulls out (almost) no crumbs (the recipe says 45 to 50 minutes, but my silicone baking pan says that’s more like 55 to 60, so start testing after about 40 minutes and go with the toothpick test over the timer). Rotate the cake halfway through baking if your oven likes to cook things unevenly.

While the cake is baking, put the confectioner’s sugar in a liquid measuring cup or other container good for stirring in and pouring out of (gravy boat, mixing bowl with lip, whatever). Whisk it together with 2 tablespoons of the remaining lemon juice, plus a tablespoon of buttermilk to create a smooth, pourable glaze, adding extra lemon juice, maybe a teaspoon at a time, until it’s sort of honey-like in consistency; drips off your whisking implement (I like using a fork) should still be visible on the mixture instead of blending right in.

When the cake is done (again, toothpick over timer), let it cool in the baking pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack. Set the rack on a baking sheet, then pour on about half the glaze and let it cool on (and be absorbed into) the cake for about an hour. Pour on the remaining glaze and let the cake cool for another 2 hours, or until room temperature.

Makes 1 cake suitable for 8-16 servings, depending on how big you slice the pieces.

  • Ansley

    Hallelujah- THANK YOU.

    Everyone, this is the nummiest cake ever.