by Sheila Connolly
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| Lots of lemons! |
Once upon a
time I lived in a small house in California, with a scenic view of a BART
station—very convenient for commuting to San Francisco, which I did for several
years. If you stood on the roof of the house, you could see the Golden Gate
Bridge. There were really only five rooms plus bath, but they were
nicely-sized, and the kitchen was surprisingly roomy. It had a wonderful
vintage stove that our Siamese cat loved to doze on—the pilot light kept her warm.
It had a
lemon tree in the back yard. Somehow I had never thought I would have a lemon
tree. The tree smelled wonderful when it was blooming, which was most of the
time, and produced a wealth of lemons. We got very good at making lemon meringue pies.
This is not
that recipe. Somehow, though, lemon seems a hopeful flavor. Maybe spring will
arrive one of these days. There’s still very little on anything in my yard, but
I did see a bunny yesterday.
This recipe
comes from Patricia Wells’ Bistro Cooking,
from 1989. It’s a copy I bought at the United Nations in New York, when I was
chaperoning one of my daughter’s class field trips. It has a definite French
bias, but that’s fine with me. This cake is light and tart—a nice accompaniment
to a cup of tea in the afternoon. If you like, you can add whipped cream.
Lemon Cake
2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
5 large eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup crème fraîche (or substitute heavy cream)
7 Tblsp (3-1/2 oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
Grated zest of 4 lemons
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| Juice and zest of four lemons |
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-1/2" loaf pans
(this is meant to be a slender cake, so you will need the two).
Combine the flour and baking powder.
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs and sugar and mix
until well blended.
With the mixer at low speed, slowly add (in the following order): the crème
fraîche, the flour mixture, the melted butter, the lemon juice, the vanilla,
and the lemon zest. Beat until very smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans. Place them in the
center of the oven and bake until golden and a toothpick comes out cleanBabout 1
hour. (Keep an eye on them so they don’t get too brown.)
Remove the pans from the oven and cool in the pans on a rack.
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| Okay, it's a little bit brown around the edges, but the inside is still nice and moist |
Garnish with whipped cream or fresh fruit or both. The cake improves
in flavor over a day or two.
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| Time for tea! |
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