Meyer Lemon Bundt - Day #12 - I Like Big Bundts

Day 12 of I Like Big Bundts: 30 Days of Bundt Cakes

Oh, the Meyer lemon. A treat from the Citrus Gods. My parents have a tree but all the lemons are gone now. I found a bunch at my local Farmer's Market and scooped them up faster than a trick-or-treater meets full-size Snickers Bar!

The book, Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers is a great collection of birthday cakes from bakers such as Flo Braker, Julia Child, Alice Waters, and this Meyer Lemon Pound Cake from Stephanie Greenleigh.

Logo design: JustJenn of JustJennDesigns

It's Day 12 of my I'm-never-doing-this-again 30 Days of Bundts extravaganza! :) National Bundt Day is November 15th and I hope you make a Bundt!

I used my Nordic Ware Chrysanthemum Bundt pan...it's really a pretty one! (Although I hold my breathe hoping it will come out of the pan!!) After baking, you poke holes in the cake to allow a Meyer Lemon Syrup to soak into the cake.

Sorry for the quality of the photos. I was in such a hurry I took them in the library! This cake relies on the Lemon Syrup for the lemon flavor. The batter only has lemon zest. I think I might add some lemon juice to the batter next time.

Here are some facts of life:
1. Meyer Lemons rock.
2. Bundts rock.
Enough said.

Meyer Lemon Bundt
Adapted from Stephanie Greenleigh's Meyer Lemon Pound Cake in Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers

2 c cake flour
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest

Syrup:
1/2 c fresh Meyer lemon juice
1/2 c steeped herbal lemon tea (I didn't have this and added 1/4 c water instead)
1 c sugar

Stephanie Greenleigh suggests using a 6-cup Bundt (smaller Bundt). I used my Chrysanthemum Bundt pan.

Here is what I did:

1. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, soda, salt in a bowl and set aside.
2. Using a Dorie Greenspan technique, rub the lemon zest and sugar until slightly damn. Cream together butter and sugar with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
3. On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. Don't overbeat.
4. Bake for 40-50 minutes at 325 degrees, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Syrup: Bring the syrup ingredients to boil and cook until the syrup thickens. Stephanie says 5 minutes or so, but mine went for 10 minutes. Let cool.

After the cake is baked, let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Pierce the top of the cake to let the syrup get absorbed. Stephanie suggests pouring the syrup on the top and down the sides. I didn't trust that the cake would come out with "wet sides" (sometimes these intricate Bundts are difficult to get out of the pan), so I pour the syrup on the top of the Bundt pan (which will eventually be the bottom of the Bundt cake) and allowed the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. I unmold the cake onto a wire rack and use a brush to pour the syrup on sides of the warm cake. Let the cake cool completely.

You could use regular lemons as well...but Meyer lemons are so delicious try to use them!

This recipe is in Stephanie Greenleigh's book Baked from the Heart as well.

Come back tomorrow for another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

Original Recipe:
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
from: Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers by Kathryn Kleinman (2004, Chronicle Boooks)
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake, page 79

Find it in your library through WorldCat
Purchase here on Amazon

I Like Big Bundts recap:
The Food Librarian confesses: I Like Big Bundts
Day 1: Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing
Day 2: Chocolate-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Mocha Icing
Day 3: Pumpkin-Apple Spiced Bundt
Day 4: Cinnamon Ripple Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 5: Chocolate Zucchini Bundt
Day 6: Cardamom Vanilla Bundt
Day 7: Monkey Bread in a Bundt
Day 8: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 9: Coconut Bundt
Day 10: Sweet Potato Bundt
Day 11: Mom's Apple Cake Bundt