We have a little Meyer Lemon tree at the back of our garden, which unfortunately isn’t bearing fruit at the moment. I was covered with little lemons in December when we moved to his house, but we used them all and, I guess the tree needed a break. It’s also planted in a shady section of the garden, which is another reason I think it’s bare at the moment; when I walk the dog around the neighborhood, I see citrus trees bogged down by the weight of lemons, grapefruits, and oranges. I’m so envious.
That doesn’t mean I’m not going to make this great Meyer Lemon Pound cake for Easter. I found the original recipe in Domino Magazine last year, and I think it’s still the best version of this cake I’ve tried so far. I skipped the glaze and the candied lemons from the original recipe; by sifting the powdered sugar over the cake, I think I got a much lighter dessert.
Sweet Meyer Lemon Cake
(adapted from Domino Magazine’s recipe; makes one 9-inch cake)
- 8 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. Meyer lemon zest
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 325° F.
Melt butter in saucepan. Cool and set aside. In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks with 1 cup of the sugar until thick and light in color, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in buttermilk, Meyer lemon juice and zest. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Then add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold half the flour mixture into egg-yolk mixture, followed by half the egg white mixture—so you don’t deflate the batter. Repeat with remaining flour and egg white mixtures. Take about 1 cup of the batter and stir it into melted butter. Gently fold butter mixture into the rest of the cake batter. Pour into a buttered and floured 9-inch cake pan or Bundt pan, and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes until cake is lightly brown and pulling slightly away from the edge of the pan.
When the cake is baked, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then invert onto a cooling rack. Sift confectioners’ sugar over the entire cake.
Because I love baking and decorating cookies, I made little bunny and egg cookies, which I first covered with royal icing, then sprinkled with colored decorative sugar. Once the icing had hardened, I gently brushed off the excess sprinkles and placed the cookies around the cake’s edge.
This is the cake I presented at last year’s Easter table, and what I’ll be making again this year.
