Every February, we have a themed lunch party at work. I remember Mardi Gras particularly fondly. This year was a moon party! I decided to make a recipe I've had my eye on for a while, and fit it into the theme. Hey, the moon is round, cakes are round, it isn't that hard.
This recipe is an adaptation of Nick Malgieri's recipe for Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake, found in
Lemon-Scented Olive Oil Cake
4 lemons
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups pure olive oil
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grate the zest from the lemons and place in a large mixing bowl.*
3. Add the eggs to the orange zest and whisk well to mix. Whisk in 1 cup of the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture lightens, about 1 minute. Whisk in the oil, followed by the milk.
4. In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar with the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the dry mixture into the egg mixture in 3 separate additions, whisking smooth after each addition.
5. DIvide the batter equally between 2 prepeared 9-inch round pans, well oiled, and lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake the cakes until they are well risen, deep golden, and firm in the center when pressed with a fingertip, 50-55 minutes.
7. Cool the cakes on racks for 5 minutes, then unmold, turn right side up again, and cool completely on racks.
*The original recipe, made with oranges, includes directions on cutting the oranges up to use for garnish. This wouldn't work very well with lemons (too sour!) but maybe some candied lemons would be nice. Frankly this cake is so delicious plain I'm not sure I'd put anything with it. Whipped cream is nice, but not necessary.
Categories: Cake, Lemon
