Lemon Cake

by on 8:53 am in Dessert, Food

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There’s a well-known new book out there called The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. The premise? The narrator, when eating a dish, can detect the emotions of the person who prepared the dish.

Weird.

I haven’t read it, so I can’t really say much more about it. But since I heard about it, I’ve idly wondered what would pop up when people eat my food. Would people take a bite and know my emotions (“She’s gaga over some dude, it’s sickening” “Oh! I see… interesting… she is not sure she is okay with the not-making-money part of this not-having-a-job thing, but… yes! [chewing harder]… she is definitely enjoying it otherwise”) or would they just hear the often nonsensical bits and pieces that flitter through my head, especially when I’m in the baking buzz zone (“Huh, it’s weird how I *still* don’t fully know if a green olive is just an unripe black olive” “Is Todd Bridges dead or alive?” “I’m pretty sure that Journey lyric is ‘I’m forever yours, if you leave.’”

Not sure. While I was plating the big, moist, lemony-sweet squares of cake, I remembered the book, so I paid a little attention to my guy when gobbled down his piece. He didn’t take a bite and then look over at me, shocked, confused, or elated, so I guess he doesn’t have the gift. Or my Lemon Cake and I are not particularly emotional.

It’s really tasty, though. The subtle lemon of the exceptionally moist cake pairs perfectly, of course, with the tangy-sweet hit of lemon in the glaze. And it’s a cinch to prepare – you whip it all up right there in the baking dish. So easy.

Here’s the recipe. Think pure and good thoughts while making it, just in case!

Print this recipe Print this recipe

Lemon Cake

Adapted from the Lemon Snack Cake recipe from Land O’ Lakes

Ingredients:

Cake

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk (you can make your own: 3/4 cup milk + about a tablespoon lemon juice, let sit for about 10 minutes, done!)

Glaze

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and butter an 8×8 baking pan.
  2. Pour the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt directly into the pan, and whisk it all together well.
  3. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and the lemon zest.
  4. Using the back of a spoon, make two wells in the flour mixture.
  5. Pour the egg and lemon zest into one of the wells in the flour mixture.
  6. Pour the melted butter into the other well.
  7. Pour the buttermilk all over the top.
  8. Whisk it all together so that it’s well blended. There may be a few lumps – no biggie!
  9. Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.I tend to overdo it with the holes. It’s a sickness.
  10. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
  11. Make the glaze: Mix together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and melted butter.
  12. Pour the glaze over the cake.
  13. Serve with whipping cream or vanilla ice cream.

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14 Responses to “Lemon Cake”

  1. joudie's Mood Food August 6, 2010 at 9:38 am #

    Oh My what a clever way to make the batter in the dish… I literally just made a buttermilk lemon cake and it was sensational. As for knowing peoples emotions when they have cooked their dish… usally if the food is bad = bad mood, if good = good mood. But hey what do i know….. Love your blog. Have recently stumbled on it and will remain here!

    [Reply]

  2. Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen August 6, 2010 at 12:24 pm #

    I love a good lemon cake! This looks so good! Beautiful photo as well!

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  3. merry jennifer August 6, 2010 at 1:40 pm #

    You had me at lemon cake. :)

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  4. Aniko August 6, 2010 at 2:26 pm #

    Gnam-gnam: i copy this recipe immediately!!

    [Reply]

  5. sarah @ syrupandhoney August 8, 2010 at 8:04 am #

    Fabulously well written post! And the photos show how delightful the crumb of that cake must be.

    [Reply]

  6. Jessica August 10, 2010 at 3:31 pm #

    Oh yeah…this is definitely on my “to make” list! Delicious. As for food reflecting our feelings…let’s just say I hope that’s not true! ;-D

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  7. Mindy August 12, 2010 at 6:35 am #

    Hey Kare,

    I LOVE your blog. It’s one of my favourites. I will definitely be scrutinizing my eaters to see their reactions when they eat my food…

    Mindy

    [Reply]

  8. Kare August 12, 2010 at 8:17 am #

    Oh, don’t think I’m not thinking of making more of this stuff as soon as possible. It didn’t last long in our house!

    Jenn & Sarah, thank you so much!

    Mindy & Joudie’s Mood Food, so glad you are liking the HB! I love hearing that, makes it all worthwhile. Thank you, and I hope you come back and visit again soon. :)

    [Reply]

  9. Sonia August 17, 2010 at 12:30 pm #

    Making this right now….noticed a teeny, tiny discrepancy….. ingredients say use baking powder, but the directions say baking soda. I looked at the original recipe and figured it out. But, just thought you might want to edit that. :)

    [Reply]

  10. Kare August 17, 2010 at 3:59 pm #

    Sonia, thank you so much for letting me know! Fixed.

    Even though I triple check recipes after writing them, I’m sort of petrified I’m going to mess one up badly and completely screw up someone’s dish… so I’m really glad you figured it out (and I hope you loved it!)

    Thanks again. :)

    [Reply]

  11. Sonia August 17, 2010 at 9:12 pm #

    Doing the glaze right now…..will report back soon.

    [Reply]

  12. Kare August 17, 2010 at 10:51 pm #

    *fingers crossed*

    [Reply]

  13. Ilene May 11, 2011 at 9:36 am #

    I love lemon cake.
    This one looks delicious.
    I don’t see a way to print out the recipe so I can try it.
    Am I missing something?

    [Reply]

    Reply from Kare:
    May 16th, 2011 at 8:07 am

    Hi Ilene! There is actually a “Print this recipe” link at the top of the recipe, on the right. If you try it out, please let me know how you like it!

    [Reply]

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