Old Fashioned Lemon Buttermilk Cake (Plus Major Giveaway)
My husband & his buddies take paintball VERY seriously.
Lemon cake is one of those decadent treats that I try not to make too often, mostly because I can’t stop eating it. But my husband is participating in a two-day paintball game this weekend and I thought to myself: this would be the perfect time to make that cake I can’t resist. No, not because he’d be out of the house I’d have the cake all to myself (though that thought did cross my mind). My thinking went more along the lines of slicing the cake into several pieces, putting one aside for myself, then sending the rest off with my husband before I changed my mind and ate two three pieces. Paintball guys don’t mind it when you send baked goods to them and they don’t care how much butter is in a cake. They’re too busy running around the woods and torching calories at an inhuman rate. I’ve considered playing paintball for these calorie-burning benefits alone… but then there’s that whole dodging paintballs thing and well, I’d rather limit myself to that one piece of cake.
There is a lot of butter in this cake. Like, a lot. But this is also the best lemon cake I’ve tasted and it will fill your home with an aroma so alluring you’ll be tempted to sit next to the oven while it bakes. Or do a happy dance, clapping your hands in anticipation of glazing this bad boy with lemon glaze. That’s right, more lemon flavor. Love it.
I dare you to resist a slice of this moist, lemony cake in all its glazed splendor! I'm told an army Master Sargent ate 3 pieces of this cake at the game yesterday. Told you, no one can resist.
The cake recipe comes unaltered from In The Sweet Kitchen but the glaze is my “recipe” if you can call a simple combination of confectioners sugar and fresh lemon juice such a thing. The glaze originally paired with this cake was just… off to me. It used butter, sugar and lemon juice in a way that, while insanely delicious, also had a curdled appearance that didn’t live up to my usual standards in the baked goods department. Still, In the Sweet Kitchen is a great book. The flavor pairing and ingredient substitution charts are worth their weight in gold if you’re interested in writing your own recipes. In fact, these charts were instrumental when writing my recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Maple Muffins.
Want one?
By this point you’re probably wondering where the “major giveaway” is right? Enough with the cake already, we get it, it’s awesome. Well I won’t keep you waiting any longer, though the giveaway is actually on my NEW blog (!!) called The Vegetarian Family Table. Hop on over to the site and check out the left-hand sidebar on the homepage for details. I’m giving away a Le Creuset French Oven, an ice cream maker and two copies of The Berry Bible. Have fun with the giveaway, good luck and please feel free to let me know what you think about the new blog, which will feature all my non-baking recipes from now on. I’ll still continue to post baked goods here on Baking and Books and will likely begin posting more book reviews too.
Old Fashioned Lemon Buttermilk Cake
Reprinted with permission from In The Sweet Kitchen, by Regan Daley
Ingredients: Makes 1 cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Grated zest of 2 large lemons
- Juice of 1 large lemon (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)
For the Glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- Juice of 1 large lemon (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Great a 10-inch Bundt pan and set aside. Using a wooden spoon, or the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until fluffy and pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Don’t overmix; just fold gently until the batter looks well blended. Fold in the lemon zest and juice. (The batter may appear curdled with the addition of the lemon juice – don’t worry!)
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.
For the glaze: in a medium bowl add the lemon juice to the 2 cups of confectioners sugar, mixing vigorously to get rid of any lumps of sugar. If the glaze isn’t thick enough to coat the cake, add more sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well between additions. The glaze should be thick but pourable.
Invert cake onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Spoon the glaze over hot cake and allow to cool completely before cutting. Best the day it is made, it will keep fairly well, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
24 Responses to “Old Fashioned Lemon Buttermilk Cake (Plus Major Giveaway)”
Recent Posts
Yummy looking cake…looks soft and fluffy perfect!!
A wonderful cake! It looks so delicious. Great giveaway too.
Cheers,
Rosa
looks delicious
yumm 
great giveaway..i need ice cream maker
I love lemony cakes…this one looks especially delicious.
that`s awesome cake!
Wonderful cake – i drizzled it with fresh boysenberry puree!
Sounds like a really tasty recipe. I love In the Sweet Kitchen. It’s a great book to have around. Your photos are beautiful!
The sad thing is, I’d probably slather more butter on a nice big warm slice of this. Seriously though, it looks exquisite! The photo is absolutely beautiful.
Headed to your new blog now
I love lemon, especially in the summer. And seriously, you can’t beat the taste of lots of real butter in baking.
I was about to say what “great” timing this deliciously decadent recipe had, just as my wife and I were getting into a good routine of healthy eating… but then I saw reference to your vegetarian family blog and decided that THAT really was good timing–I’m looking forward to checking that out, giveaway or no gi
perfect! i have buttermilk in the fridge that needs to be used up, plus a whole bag of lemons. thanks!
I just used the last of my buttermilk today to make buttermilk pancakes with bananas in them…..but will get more so I can try this yummy sounding recipe. I love lemon anything!
Promise to check out the new blog too.
Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!
I think there’s nothing better than a lemon cake.
No problem with butter here! I figure that avoiding sugar and butter on a daily basis gives me a free pass every once in a while. And I’m so excited to check out your new blog, because as delicious as the baked goods are, I simply don’t have very many occasions to bake.!
I’ve heard many good things about In The Sweet Kitchen. I think that’s next on my list of books to buy! The crumb on that cake is so drool-worthy!
Not sure what to do first…bake this cake or check out your new blog
This cake looks and sounds delicious. I love lemon anything
You were smart to get that cake out of the house right away. It looks waaaaay too tempting.
Mouth is totally watering!
What a delicious looking cake!
So does your new blog mean your old blog is going away? Or are you doing both?
Lemon cake is a family favorite at my house too! It usually ends up being bundled up and crammed into the freezer to prevent us from finishing it in one evening. Can’t wait to try it with buttermilk.
That cake looks to die for! I’m also a user of the “I’ll bake it, have a little and then send it away…” plan, though I imagine it would be difficult watching that cake (and your husband) leave. ha ha. I hope he had fun paintballing!
It looks like I will be up early tomorrow morning, to beat the heat and to make this wonderful cake.
Mmm! I’m the same way about lemon cakes. I’m liable to eat half of it in one go if I make one.