Not everyone likes chocolate, and this is a simple, elegant cake. Bake it in a heart-shaped pan.
2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Meyer Lemon Syrup:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
1/2 cup steeped herbal lemon tea
1 cup granulated sugar
Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Brush a 6-cup heart-shaped cake pan with butter and dust it with flour. You can also use a 6-cup Bundt pan. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; set aside. Cream the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer set on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
On low speed, gradually beat in the dry ingredients just until the batter is evenly mixed. The batter will be stiff. Pour the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.
In the meantime, make the syrup. Combine the lemon juice, tea and sugar in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until the syrup thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and let the syrup cool.
Let the cake cool in the pan 10 minutes. Pierce the flat side of the cake all over with a toothpick to help it absorb the syrup and slowly pour the syrup over the cake and down the sides. Let the cake cool in the pan 10 minutes more. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let it cool completely. Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar and serve. Serves 12.
Note: According to the cookbook, the Meyer lemon is a fruit whose juice is less acidic than lemons'. We couldn't find Meyer lemons in our local store -- we substituted an equal amount of regular lemon juice.
"Baked from the Heart"
Thursday, February 08, 2001
