CAKE - Old Fashioned Lemon Butter Cake

By Aemelia

Ingredients

• 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)

Details

Adapted from bakingandbooks.com

Preparation

Step 1

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.