Lemon Bundt Cake

My ultimate baking goal for 2009 was to bake a variety of delicious cakes for Swara's monthly birthdays and also gradually master the art of cake decorating. While I had successfully completed Wilton's course 1, I wanted to practice cake decorating using different tips before I registered for Course 2. I also wanted to spend some time trying out some traditional coffee cake recipes. While I was hunting for a cake recipe to bake for Swara's 8 th month B'day, I came across this lemon bundt cake recipe in my 'The Cook's Encyclopedia of Baking' book. This is a ring shaped coffee cake that’s baked in the traditional bundt pan. I was having a hard time finding a reasonably priced bundt pan. But after looking around for sometime, I finally found the best looking bundt pan at Marshalls and at less than $10, I think it was quite a bargain. Anyways, back to the cake.

This is certainly a laborious cake to make especially if you don’t have a kitchen aid and are relying on a hand blender. The cake requires beating the egg whites till they form hard peaks and is very time consuming. But it was worth the effort, as the cake turned out to be very delicious and moist. The lemon zest and lemon glaze gave it a very refreshing taste. This is a perfect cake to have with a cup of coffee.

Serves 12

Ingredients -

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

11/2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature, separated

2 tsps grated lemon rind

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup plain yogurt

2 cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

FOR THE GLAZE -

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsps fresh lemon juice

3-4 tbsps plain yogurt

Method -

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 12 cup bundt or tube pan and dust with flour.

2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Add the lemon rind, juice and yogurt and stir to blend.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until they hold stiff peaks.

5. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, the fold in a dollop of egg whites. Fold in the remaining whites until blended.

6. Pour into the pan and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 mins. Let stand 15 mins, then unmold and transfer to a cooling rack.

7. For the glaze, sift the confectionary sugar into a bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and just enough yogurt to make a smooth glaze.

8. Set the cooled cake on a rack over a sheet of wax paper or a baking sheet. Pour over the glaze and let it drip down the sides. Allow the glaze to set before serving.