Lemon Cake with Lemon Icing

I don't discriminate--I love cake of all sorts. BUT I must say...lemon cake with lemon icing is the way to my heart (well, at least at the moment, it is!). This cake has the perfect balance of sweet-to-tartness that will tickle your taste buds. It's soft, not overly-sweet, and has a very soft crumb. Your family and friends will go nuts over this one!


INGREDIENTS:

6 EXTRA LARGE eggs (separate the egg yolks from the egg whites)

2 sticks (1 cup) of softened unsalted butter

2 cups of caster sugar (may sub for granulated sugar)

8 ounces of sour cream

3 cups of sifted cake flour

1/2 tsp of baking soda

3/4 tsp of salt

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp of lemon oil or lemon extract

The zest from 2 lemons

cream of tartar

FOR THE LEMON SYRUP:

1/4 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of water

The juice from two lemons

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE:

2 cups of sifted powdered sugar

2-4 Tablespoons of lemon juice
(I use about 1 1/2 lemons for this)

A bit of lemon oil

Pinch of salt

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

A 10-inch aluminum tube pan

a skewer or something to poke holes with all over the finished cake

softened butter to grease pan



INSTRUCTIONS:

PREHEAT OVEN TO 325 degrees F.

1. Butter your tube pan all over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Generously coat the whole pan with cake flour and then tap off the excess. Set this aside.

2. Sift your cake flour, salt, and baking soda together. Set this aside.
3. Separate your eggs; place your egg yolks into a small bowl.

4. In a large mixing bowl, add in your egg whites along with some cream of tartar and beat until stiff. Set this aside.

5. In your stand mixer, cream together your butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

6. "Stir" in your sour cream just until combined.

7. Alternate adding in your flour mixture and egg yolks until fully combined with your creamed mixture.

8. Add in your lemon oil, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.

9. Fold in your egg whites (by hand) just until combined.

10. Pour cake batter into your tube pan, give it a little jiggle to evenly disperse the batter, and bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes. Check after 1 hour for doneness using a skewer.

11. While the cake is baking, make your syrup. Place sugar and water into a small saucepan, bring it to a quick rolling boil, and remove from heat. Add in your lemon juice. Mix well and allow this mixture to cool down.

12. Make your lemon icing: place sifted powdered sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Add in your lemon juice. For thicker glaze, start off with only 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and add more from there. Add in a small squeeze of lemon oil. Mix using a wire whisk. Add more or less powdered sugar to control consistency. Cover until ready to use.

13. When cake is done, allow it to rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen up the cake from pan and set it on a wire rack.

14. Using a skewer, poke holes throughout the whole cake. Using a spoon, slowly pour the lemon syrup all over the cake.

15. Once the cake has cooled down, pour your lemon glaze all over the cake. Allow for glaze to set (about 15 minutes). ENJOY!



NOTES:


-For best results, use extra large eggs.
-To make caster sugar, place white granulated sugar into a food processor and pulse until smooth.
-Love pound cake? If you do not separate the eggs and just beat them in whole, the cake will be much denser and taste like a pound cake!
-If you do not separate the eggs, the cooking time will be a bit longer.
-Add a little lemon zest to the lemon glaze for a little kick!
-I highly recommend purchasing some lemon oil (I use the Wilton brand) if you can find some! I found mine from my local craft store, Michaels. If you really want to splurge, Lorann makes a good lemon oil, as well.

Lemon Bars

I was on the search for a good lemon bar recipe for a while...all came up short. Most had too little crust, or not enough lemon filling, or waaaay too much sugar! Even the amount I use in this recipe is the most that I've ever used! BUT that's the price you pay when you're dealing with desserts that require fresh lemon juice; hashtag, sorry-but-not-sorry!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CRUST:

2 sticks (1 cup) of softened, unsalted butter

1/3 cup of sugar

2 cups of all purpose flour

the zest from 2 lemons

1/4 tsp of salt

FOR THE LEMON FILLING:

6 LARGE eggs

2 cups MINUS 2 Tablespoons of caster sugar

3/4 cup of sifted all purpose flour

1/4 tsp of salt

3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:
PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350 DEGREES F.

1. Place your butter into a large mixing bowl and beat it until it has dispersed all over the bowl, about 20-30 seconds. Add in your granulated sugar and beat for 30 seconds more. Add the flour, salt, and lemon zest and mix until combined and crumbly. Pour your shortbread mixture into a 13x9 inch glass pan and firmly press the mixture down, making a nice even layer. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges have turned slightly golden brown. When there's about 10 minutes left, gather all of the ingredients for the lemon filling.

2. Into a large mixing bowl, whisk together your eggs, caster sugar, sifted all purpose flour, and salt. Finally, add in your fresh lemon juice and whisk until smooth.

3. Pour your lemon filling onto the hot crust, LOWER THE OVEN TEMP TO 325 DEGREES F. and bake for about 20 minutes, or until there's a slight jiggle in the middle of your pan when you wiggle it.

4. Remove the pan from the oven, allow it to cool to room temp. and then place a piece of saran wrap over it. Refrigerate until lemon bars have fully set, about 3 hours, or even better, overnight!

5. Remove lemon bars from the fridge, and allow them to come to room temp before dusting with powdered sugar. Cut into squares and serve immediately!

NOTES:

-Make these ahead! Place lemon bars into the freezer after you're done baking and pull them out whenever you want some! Make sure you allow it to come to room temp before dusting with powdered sugar.

-You may use any 13x9 inch pan, but I love the results the glass pan gives me.

-Dip your knife into some hot water before cutting into your lemon bars to get those perfect squares!

-I usually get 3/4 cup of lemon juice from the larger lemons. If you use Meyer lemons, they are less acidic and require less sugar. If you use the tiny lemons, those are REALLY acidic, and I'd recommend using the full 2 cups of sugar.

-To make caster sugar, just pulse granulated sugar in a food processor until smooth.

-Different pans yield different cooking times, so I'd recommend checking on your lemon bars after 15 minutes.

-Make sure your crust is fully baked before adding in your filling.