Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tuesdays with Dorie - Lemon Loaf Cake


I love lemon anything, and the tarter the better, so my first impulse was to jump right in and bake this cake.  I had planned to bake it for Easter and serve it with fresh berries, but something kept telling me to wait...

and it's just as well that I did.  Life got in the way, as it has a habit of doing, and I got crazy busy with work projects, school work, and the garden.  Meanwhile, I kept pulling out BWJ and rereading the recipe.  It was pretty straight forward but it just didn't sound like it was going to be very lemony.  I knew the zest of three lemons would provide a lot of lemon flavor, but the only way to get the bright lemon flavor and tartness I wanted would be to add some lemon juice.  So I decided to reduce the sugar by 1/3 cup and add an equal amount of freshly squeezed lemon juice with the pulp strained out.  The other substitution I thought might add some tang was 1/2 cup of creme fraiche in place of the heavy cream.

Once I had the substitutions worked out my only decision was which zester to use.  This one from The Pampered Chef makes pretty, long strips perfect for a garnish, but too big and chunky for the cake...
The Microplane zest was too fluffy and fine and I wasn't sure it would impart enough lemon flavor...


The Oxo hand-held grater gave me something in between the two that was just perfect...

I didn't variate from the mixing and combining instructions and got the split, domed top the recipe promised.

Et voila!  Lovely lemon loaf cake.

Lessons learned:  Trust your instincts after reading a recipe and don't be afraid to play around a little if you think you can improve on it.  The lemon juice added the bright, lemony flavor I was looking for.  This cake is similar in texture and density to a pound cake, but I think it would be even better, and a little lighter in texture, if the eggs and sugar were beaten a little rather than just whisked together.  A lemon soaking syrup or lemon glaze would put this cake over the top.  A mixture of macerated berries along with a dollop of creme fraiche would make a nice accompaniment.

Visit Truc at Treats and Michelle at The Beauty of Life where you'll find the recipe or buy the book by clicking on the cover over here -->.  Check out the TWD-BWJ blogroll here to see all the other glorious versions of this cake.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Looks great, good idea on adding lemon juice!!

Karen from SoupAddict said...

Good call, adding all the extra lemon. Love the split top on the cake!

Strychnine said...

Yeah, i was worried it wouldn't be lemon-y enough, too. Luckily, the lemon curd I made from the de-frocked lemons did the trick!

smarkies said...

Agreed! the more lemon the better!
I had mine with some lemon curd.

Cher Rockwell said...

Very nice and I love the zester dilemma!

Julia said...

I added some juice as well and was very glad that I did! Your cake looks delicious.

Melissa said...

I agree! The lemon could have been a bit stronger -- I didn't add any lemon juice and would add some next time. Great reviews of the graters too. I served mine with lemon curd and whipped cream.

Cathleen | My Culinary Mission said...

Beautiful presentation! Sounds like you had a winner.

Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...

Your loaf came out nice. Like the different ways of using zesters.

~Carmen
http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com

Catherine Daugherty said...

Lovely loaf and nice pictures along the way. It is good to bake with you. Blessings, Catherine at www.praycookblog.com