Candied Lemon Cake with Vanilla Icing

I am very, very pleased with how this cake turned out. It is bright, sweet, sticky, and so pretty. A most ladylike cake. It’s a good thing I never, ever defenestrate cakes any more. It all started on my twenty-first birthday. Malcolm and I had been dating for two months. I, naturally, had never had a drink before that night, and yet, managed to comport myself with complete decorum and grace. Somehow, my feelings ended up hurt, because of some perceived transgression. Boyfriends are hard, you guys. And so, back in my fourth-floor dorm room, I very deliberately opened my window and pushed a perfectly round, lovingly decorated, homemade birthday cake to the ground. Thus, a tradition was born. Throwing a cake from the window on your birthday is a great way to get over any birthday angst that may be building. I’ve always had a tendency to become a bit of a birthday brat, and a quick defenestration breaks the tension. It’s cathartic. Nobody gets hurt. It sends off the old year with a thud and prepares the window of your soul for what lies ahead. I wouldn’t advocate doing that with this cake, as it is far too delicious to destroy. I would recommend serving it in the afternoon with tea or coffee.

Candied Lemon Cake with Vanilla Icing
Adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus more for the pans
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 sticks unsalted, softened butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 2 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons dark rum

For the vanilla icing:

• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4-6 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare 2 8-inch cake pans with butter and flour.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Incorporate eggs and yolks, one at a time, then 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour mixture. Don’t overmix! Pour batter evenly into pans. Bake 30-35 minutes.

While the cake bakes, prepare candied lemons. In a small saucepan bring to a boil 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Add lemon slices, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, 25 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice and rum. Remove lemon slices to a wax paper covered plate. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn onto cooling racks. Use a toothpick to poke holes in both cakes. Spoon them with syrup. When the cakes have cooled completely, drizzle with icing and arrange candied lemon on top.

For the vanilla icing:

In the bowl of a stand mixer cream coconut oil, then add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Spoon in the milk and add remaining sugar until desired consistency is achieved.

Tagged as: cake, dessert, lemon, vanilla

About the Author: Jillian Bedell

Jillian grew up in Connecticut, went to university in Boston, college in New Haven, did some post-grad soul searching in New York, exiled herself to Mexico, married her longtime sweetheart, and lived in a house on the ocean. She suspected Maine might be the perfect place to raise a family, so she came back home to New England two years ago. Now a mom to Violet Maeve and living in Rockland, where she hopes to settle for a good, long while, Jillian reads, writes, walks, and practices Nia, when not watching Malcolm photograph sandwiches.