Description

Zingy, velvety, and light, this Moist and Easy High Altitude Lemon Drizzle Cake features a robust sweet-tart flavor with a meltingly delicious citrus glaze.

Ingredients

Scale

CAKE

1/2 lb (1 cup, 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup + 2 TB granulated sugar

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

2 TB fresh lemon zest from about 2 lemons (reserve the lemon juice for the glaze)

1 TB lemon curd

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

GLAZE

1 1/2 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice (avoid bottled juice which can have an “off” flavor)

2/3 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F – double check the temperature with an oven thermometer.
Butter a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a separate large bowl, using a hand mixer), cream the room-temperature butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
Add eggs, beating after each until they are thoroughly incorporated. Don’t beat further – you don’t want to add too much air.
With the mixer on low, stir in the sour cream, lemon curd, and lemon zest. Mix just until incorporated.
Carefully stir or fold in the flour mixture, mixing only until you can no longer see any dry flour.
Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spoon.
Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes, until the edges are golden and a cake tester comes out with no signs of raw batter. Avoid over-baking which will lead to a dry cake. Also avoid opening the oven during the bake, which can cause the cake to collapse.
Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes, then poke it all over with a cake tester, cocktail stick, or other fine, sharp tool, poking all the way to the bottom of the cake. Make lots of holes to allow for maximum seepage!
While the cake is cooling, make the glaze: simply whisk together the fresh lemon juice and confectioners sugar in a small bowl. The glaze should be thin enough to drizzle, so add extra juice or sugar as needed to achieve the right consistency. If the glaze hardens a bit while you’re waiting, just re-stir it until it’s liquid again.
Pour about half the glaze all over the top of the cake and use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to distribute it across the cake. If desired (and you really should do this), let the first coat set for a few minutes, then drizzle the remaining glaze over the top. You can glaze the cake in or out of the tin; I like to (carefully) lift the cake out of its pan using the parchment paper and then drizzle so the glaze drips pleasingly down the sides.
Slice and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Leftovers can be tightly wrapped or stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

… it’s important that your butter and eggs are at room temperature to ensure the right texture of the batter. If you’ve forgotten to take them out early, you can immerse your eggs in warm water for a few minutes to bring their temperature up.

… if you’re subbing Greek yogurt for sour cream, be sure to avoid flavored varieties, which contain sugar and will upset the ratio of the batter.

… if you don’t have or don’t wish to buy cake flour, sub an equal amount of all-purpose flour.

… If your loaf pan is smaller than 9″ x 5″, fill it no more than 3/4 full. The remaining batter can be discarded or baked in a mini loaf pan (which will need to be baked for less time than the large pan so watch it carefully).

… this cake can be frozen; however, I recommend glazing it after freezing rather than before. Simply bake the lemon cake as instructed, allow to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic and freeze in a sealed plastic bag for up to a month. When you’re ready to serve it, defrost the cake at room temperature (you can even warm it in a moderate oven), then poke it all over and glaze as instructed above.