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#1 Recipe- Ina Garten's "Lemon Cake".........

Monday, May 5, 2008

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Ina Garten, aka., the "Barefoot Contessa". Ina is the author of a series of wonderful cookbooks & is host of her own show on the FOOD NETWORK. Her recipes are among some of my very favorites!....I'm not sure if I've cooked anything of her's that didn't turn out perfectly! ...very fresh, seasonal ingredients made into simple, but incredibly beautiful food!.....That brings me to my next "announcement",..... With this blog I am going to begin a list of some of my best "tried & true" recipes,... some of my own ( yes, I love to cook!!), as well as great recipes from well-known chefs who you may be familiar with, but whose recipes you may not have had a chance to try. I know I am always on the lookout for a new dish, so I think this might be fun!... I will be adding a recipe every Monday & Friday, starting tonight...something that has worked well for me, here in my kitchen! Please let me know how you do & what you think of the featured dish!...Happy Cooking!!!............


Ina Garten...looking pretty all in "white", carrying a luscious bouquet of hydrangeas.....

Ina Garten's "Lemon Cake"....This cake is just amazingly good!!!....you make the "cake" itself, then pour a lemon "syrup" over the cooling cake & then top it off with a lemon "glaze"....The perfect recipe for the "Warm Weather Days of Summertime".....Let me know your thoughts!!

Lemon Cake

Ingredients
1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the glaze
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans.
2. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
4. Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves and makes a syrup. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then invert them onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon the lemon syrup over the cakes. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
5. For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

12 comments:

Heidi May 6, 2008 at 12:27 AM  

This looks so wonderful and luscious! A spring feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. I have a Dutch recipe for an orange cake where you poke holes through the finished cake with a knife and then pour a homemade orange syrup over it also. I love that one so I think I will love this too. I have to try it...

You asked about how I came to live here? My husband worked in Ohio for a short time many years ago and we met while he was there. Within a couple of months, I took the plunge and immigrated to Holland. This fall it was 22 years ago. It seems hardly possible that it was so long ago. I was very young and did not even think twice about my decision. Now I am very intergrated into life here. Many of my friends tell me I am more Dutch than they are. :)

Hugs ~
Heidi ..... who has a question too. How did you become a Heidi? It is not a common name and often there is a story behind why our parents named us Heidi. I love the name...do you?

Carol May 6, 2008 at 2:07 AM  

Oooh that cake does sounds yummy, We love Lemon cakes.
Ina has some beautiful Hydrangeas there!
Have a super week and I will remember to check out your Friday 'tried & tested'.
Carol xx

Tonya May 6, 2008 at 6:16 AM  

I am going to have to try that Lemon Cake. I love anything lemon, so fresh and yummy!

Thanks for commenting on my blog : ) As for my list of sewing for the week, it is mostly an in my head sort of thing LOL And rarely do I ever finish my list, but it is a goal, usually the list kind of goes over into the following week, unless a new and different project catches my eye LOL

Anyway, I will be back, can't wait to see more recipes and I love looking at all of your beautiful pictures : )

Ragged Roses May 6, 2008 at 10:35 AM  

I love lemon cake, it has to be one of my favourites! thanks for sharing the recipe, when I make it I'll let you know!
Kimx

jodi May 6, 2008 at 6:38 PM  

That sounds delicious. Maybe serve it with freshly picked strawberries!!

prettyshabby May 7, 2008 at 4:05 AM  

hello..can't remember whether or not I had left a message ..I know I have been over for a visit to your lovely blog already! I think I'm going to have a go at making your cake, it will have to be adapted to a UK version as I think my local shop will look at me funny if I ask for kosher salt and buttermilk! looks gorgeous though.. yum!!

cammy May 7, 2008 at 6:57 AM  

I absolutely agree with you about Ina's recipes. They are easy and always delicious. Her cookbooks are really the only ones I use anymore.

Her Lemon Cake is one of our favorites!!

Unknown May 7, 2008 at 12:47 PM  

this looks devine! I'm going to have to give it a try!

Jennifer Paganelli May 7, 2008 at 5:33 PM  

I'm with you I'd said I'd spend the rest of my life home and be so happy puttering...

Anonymous,  May 8, 2008 at 4:45 AM  

Heidi,
I love your lemon cake, i am going to try this!
What an amazing house you have, drool.....love reading your blog!

Anonymous,  May 8, 2008 at 4:51 AM  

I am going to try the lemon cake, it looks very yummy! thank you for sharing the recipe.
What a beautiful house you have....I am droooling...
love reading your blog!

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