{RECIPE} Quick and Zesty Lemon Cake Perfect for a Last Minute Thanksgiving Dessert
We needed a quick dessert to take to my husband's family tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and since lemon cake is his favorite dessert, and my mother-in-law's too, and we have a gorgeous lemon tree in our backyard with way too many lemons, we decided to make a lemon cake.
It turned out wonderfully! It's zesty and sweet and easy, what a perfect combination! I can't wait to share it tomorrow with his family.
QUICK AND ZESTY LEMON CAKE
Ingredients:
- 2 sticks (1 cup) butter
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 yolks
- Zest of two medium lemons, or one large lemon - about 2-3 loose tablespoons
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup of powdered sugar for decoration
Preheat the oven to 350. Cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom of a 9" round or 8" square cake pan. Grease the parchment and sides with a little butter.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl. Stir and set aside.
Add the butter (room temperature), sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a large mixing bowl. If you like sweeter cakes, you can add an extra 1/2 cup of sugar. Beat on high with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the buttermilk.
Mix in the dry ingredients in 2-3 batches. Stir until just it just comes together; you don't want to over mix.
Pour the batter into the pan, and cook for 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick, and take it out of the oven when it comes out clean.
Let it cool for 10 minutes, then flip it over onto a wire rack. If you are going to frost it, let it cool completely.
If you want something with that extra lemony punch, this cake goes great with a lemon glaze. All you need is 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a tablespoon of hot water. Whisk together and drizzle over the cake. You can add additional water or sugar to adjust the consistency.
I wanted to try something more decorative, so I pulled out my Cricut Mini and cut out a flower shape to use with powdered sugar.
I placed it on the cake.
Sprinkled powered sugar on top.
Removed the paper flower and added just a touch more powered sugar. I loved how it turned out.
And here's the cake ready to eat!
And the first piece!
I wish you and your family a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!! I can't wait to see what you do. Please add your celebrations to our site so I can show them off.
And here's our lemon tree. Told ya we had a lot of lemons. Any recommendations for recipes we should try?
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