Meyer Lemon Cake
/Summary: I adapted this from Ina Garten's Lemon Cake recipe. It's wonderfully moist and lemony!
Yield: one loaf-shaped cake
Ingredients:
- 1 stick salted butter, somewhat softened but still cold
- 1 cup unrefined sugar
- 2 eggs, room temp
- generous 3 tablespoons Meyer (or regular) lemon zest
- ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon fresh Meyer (or regular) lemon juice, divided
- ¼ + 1/8 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- 1 teaspoon St. Germain liqueur
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon lemon curd, optional
Instructions:
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit, and grease and flour a loaf pan (roughly 9x5").
In a standing mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and then the zest.
In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flours and then whisk in the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another small bowl, combine ¼ cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, crème fraîche, and St. Germain.
Add the dry and wet mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour (this is Ina's direction). Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 45-60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. My oven cooks hot, and my cake took nearly 55 minutes.
When done, let cool on a wire rack 10-15 minutes and then remove the cake from the pan to let cool further.
For the icing: In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 T lemon juice and powdered sugar. When well incorporated, whisk in the lemon curd. Add more lemon juice if the icing seems too thick. You don't want it overly runny!
Drizzle the whole amount over the cake, and serve.
