I don’t do a lot of baking. It requires precise measuring. I don’t love that part of baking. I prefer cooking savoury dishes, but today I’m making a cake for my niece’s birthday. It will be a labour of love. She deserves to have a beautiful cake and it’s going to taste delicious. I love lemon in baking. The tart goes so well with the sweet.
I’m excited about using my new bundt cake pan for the first time today. I got it from my Secret Santa at Christmas.
You might notice in the picture above that my husband and I sampled the cake on the far side to make sure it was good enough to share with the family. ;0)
Ingredients:
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure lemon extract
3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
2 lemons, the juice and zest
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Cream your butter with a hand or stand mixer. Add the sugar and continue to mix until the butter and sugar are well combined and light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated
Sift the baking soda, baking powder and flour together.
Add the eggs one at a time, alternating with the flour mixture.
Add the vanilla, lemon juice and half of the lemon rind. (Save the other half of the lemon rind to decorate the top of the cake).
Add the batter to your well greased pan. I like to use butter, but you can use oil or cooking spray if you prefer.
Bake at 325 degrees for 60 to 65 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. If your toothpick comes out clean, it’s ready.
Allow the cake to cool at least 30 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Cool completely before icing the cake.
White Chocolate Ganache
3/4 cups white chocolate chips
5 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp pure lemon extract
Warm the cream in a double boiler. Add the white chocolate. Stir occasionally. When the chocolate has melted and the consistency is smooth, remove from heat. Add the lemon extract and stir.
Allow the ganache to cool a little before drizzling over the cake. Sprinkle the lemon zest on top. You’ll notice that the ganache in some of the photos is a little runny. It seems that white chocolate doesn’t melt like dark chocolate. I have adjusted the recipe to make a thicker ganache. Also, the longer you let the ganache cool, the thicker it will be.
Enjoy!
Serves at least a dozen.