Nathan's Lemon Cake

When one thinks of cake, "refreshing" is probably not the first word that comes to mind. Usually, what makes cake, well, cake, a good drenching in buttery frosting, an uber-sweet filling, and a hefty sprinkling of something yummy, like toasted nuts. In fact, a mouth full of cake will most assuredly leave you reaching for a glass of milk…water...anything...to wash it down so you can clear your gob and go back for more.

Unless, of course, your cake happens to be comprised of two super moist and lemony layers that are delicately iced with a light, sweet, lemon icing and sprinkled with tangy lemon rind. Then, I guarantee that "refreshing" will ring with every bite.

Enter, the lemon cake, a cake delicious enough to line the store window of a good bakery, simple enough to make quickly at home, and refreshing enough to enjoy on even the hottest days.

Cake lovers, rejoice! Now, amid the wide array of tortes, pies and ice creams that pop up this time of year, cake can finally stake its claim in springtime. Now, I'm sure there are plenty of other dainty, fruity cakes out there, but this was my first time making such a treat, so humor me, please.

This recipe starts with simple lemon layers, which I have to say, turned out to be some of the moistest cakes I’ve ever eaten. So buttery, sweet and packed with lemony punch, you won’t believe it’s light. Just be sure to keep an eye on them while they bake. Mine were done a bit early.

Once the cakes are cool, a quick whip of powdered sugar, fresh squeezed lemon juice, lemon rind and melted butter equal a finger-licking good frosting. Although, I must have been a little too distracted on the finger licking part, because I read “1 cup” of powdered sugar, when it clearly said "3 cups."

So at first, my frosting was a clear glaze, paling in comparison to the bright white icing in the Cooking Light photo. I sadly dripped the watery goo onto the first layer, watched it immediately soak into the cake, and knew something was wrong. But too frustrated and sticky to reach for the measuring cups, I just added more powdered sugar until I had the right consistency. That’s the great thing about this frosting. You can wing it.

And you'd never know that I messed up. Frosting has a lovely way of covering up any mistake, making my final product almost too pretty to slice into...

With a major emphasis on the almost part of that sentence, because while I love looking at pretty food, I love eating pretty food even more.

Thank you so much to Meghan, fellow Cooking Light blogger for suggesting this delicious cake! It's sure to become a springtime-summertime-anytime-staple around here.

So, when you get a hankering for something citrusy and sweet to wash down those cookout burgers and dogs, skip the overly sugared lemonade and reach for something even better. A big 'ol bite of cake.

Nathan's Lemon Cake
Nathan Coulon, Cooking Light, MAY 2008
Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients:

Cake:
Cooking spray
2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
2  cups  all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1  teaspoon  baking powder
1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1 1/2  cups  granulated sugar
1/2  cup  unsalted butter, softened
3  large eggs
1  cup  nonfat buttermilk
2  tablespoons  finely grated lemon rind
2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
  
Icing:
3  cups  powdered sugar
1/4  cup  unsalted butter, melted
1  tablespoon  lemon rind
1/4  cup  fresh lemon juice
Lemon rind strips (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray. Dust pans with 2 tablespoons flour, and set aside.

Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and nonfat buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in 2 tablespoons lemon rind and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Pour batter into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack; remove wax paper from cake layers.

To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar and the remaining ingredients (except lemon rind strips) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread half of icing on top of cake. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining half of icing over top of cake. Garnish with lemon rind strips, if desired. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 317 (27% from fat), Fat: 9.5g (sat 5.6g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.5g), Protein: 3.6g, Carbohydrate: 55.7g, Fiber: 0.6g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Iron:1mg, Sodium:165mg, Calcium: 52mg. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------