TGIF guys! Despite the fact that we’ve had yet another winter storm lingering over us for the past 2 days and woke up to many more inches of snow this morning, I’m just so darn glad it’s Friday π
I started this week off telling you how much I love buttermilk and sharing a treat made with it, and I thought it’d be fitting to end the week with another recipe to help you use up that carton of buttermilk. Oh, and can I just tell you, I was so glad to read your comments on Monday’s post and see that I’m not the only one keeping buttermilk around past its expiration date. That little date on the carton is merely a suggestion as far as I’m concerned (though for the record, I’m generally more careful with other dairy products).
I always go through a citrus phase in the middle of winter. When the days are gray and dreary, as they have seemingly been for the past month, lemons always make things seem just a little more bright and cheery! This winter I’ve even had great luck finding Meyer lemons, which I just adore. In years past I feel like only one local grocery store had them and even then it was for like a week, but I’ve been seeing them everywhere lately! I can’t stop buying them, and consequently I actually have quite a backlog of lemon desserts to share with you so keep an eye out for those in the coming weeks.
This Meyer lemon buttermilk bundt cake recipe comes from Cooking Light, so it’s a little less indulgent than many others I’ve made. In other words, easier to justify for breakfast π Just kidding, I really am eating healthier lately so no cookies, cakes or pie for breakfast… I love that this cake is packed with lemon flavor in the form of lemon zest, juice and extract, not to mention the lemon glaze on top. The buttermilk helps keep it moist, it really is a great combination of two of my favorite ingredients.
I hear rumors that we might actually see the sun again this weekend, but if not, I’ll just have to keep baking with lemons. There are certainly worse problems to have!
Glazed Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake
adapted from Cooking Light, August 2007 (via MyRecipes)
{Note: I halved this recipe and baked it in a 6-cup bundt pan. The baking time for my mini was 25-30 minutes. Also, you can definitely make this cake with regular lemons if you can’t find Meyers.}
Cake
3 cups (13 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons Meyer lemon zest
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
Glaze
1 cup (4 oz) confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons low-fat buttermilk
3-4 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub them together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter to the bowl and the cream the butter and sugar mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add the dry ingredients in three additions and the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and beating just until combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan. Allow to cool completely.
To make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, buttermilk and 3 teaspoons of the Meyer lemon juice. I like my glaze super thick but if you want a thinner consistency add some of the remaining Meyer lemon juice until you reach your desired consistency. Drizzle over the cooled cake and allow to set before serving.
Wow – so beautiful, Tracey!!! TGIF for sure! π
Oh yum. I am not looking forward to the end of Meyer lemon season now that I found where to buy it. As for keeping things like buttermilk past it’s expiration date, I am also bad about yogurt too. I’m sure there’s plenty of more things lingering in my fridge that I’m unaware of.
YUM!
Gorgeous cake! Perfect for spring too!
Yes! I also am loving the citrus these days as you know. I need to whip out my bundt cake again- badly! This seems like a wonderful option!
A slice of this would definitely cheer up my snowy – snowed in day!
This sounds so delicious! Awesome cake recipe!
Stop it right now…bikini season is coming up. Not that I will be wearing a bikini, but all the same….oh, and this looks absolutely fantastic!
YUM! This bundt looks incredible!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.blogpsot.com
This cake is so pretty, Tracey! I love lemon desserts too! Have a great weekend π
Wow, this looks like absolute perfection! I sure need a slice before lunch. Or I can make this my lunch π
Love another use for buttermilk…this cake is gorgeous! And always nice to have options for using it up!
I know this cake has to be so moist because it includes buttermilk. It looks so sunny, bright, and delicious! Pinning this now to make in the near future!
I did quite a bit of meyer lemon baking also this winter! It helped to get me through. Now if only I could find the time to post all the recipes…
This cake sounds delicious and I’m going to have to add it to my to-make-before-meyers-disappear list…which means – SOON!
Beautiful cake! I know what I’m doing with my next batch of Meyer lemons!
I’d like to halve the recipe too. What did you do about the eggs? I
This cake looks so bright and refreshing, a perfect winter treat!
@Anonymous: I don’t know if you have a scale available to weigh your ingredients, but if so, that’s what I use. I crack the whole egg into a bowl and weight it (a large egg is usually about 50 grams), then beat it with a fork and when it comes time to add eggs I just add 25 grams. If you don’t have a scale you could probably do it by volume too. Hope that helps π
Oh my gosh. Yes, yes, yes! You know your other lemon bundt cake? I make that thing all the time. It’s definitely one of my favorite cakes. And now with buttermilk…. yum! I’ll have to try this.
And I’m with you on the lemon phase. It’s SO dark here that all I can do is get some lemons and pretend things are all sunshine-y and happy.
Oh yum, your cake looks gorgeous and sounds delicious!
It looks great, but I would also love to see how it looks inside π Yummi!! π
Mmm. That looks so bright & cheery. =) I love lemon cakes.
A beautiful cake Tracey. I have a mini bundt pan I’ve been wanting to try out and this looks perfect considering I bought a ton of Meyers at Costco today. And I love that it’s light.
Love this! I have a go-to lemon bundt cake but it is verrrry sinful, so I’m happy to find a less guilt inducing recipe.
I think im going to make this tonite for a friend’s birthday…
I assume its just a typo in the ingredients list. do you just mean 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract?
Thanks
@Unknown – Yep, that’s correct. I fixed the typo, thanks for pointing it out π Hope you guys enjoy!
Oh this looks beautiful! And yes, I keep buttermilk way past it’s expiration date, but I’m always a little iffy on when it’s ok to bake with it. I mean, it’s already sour, so you can’t really smell it to see if it’s ok to use :/ Buttermilk is sneaky that way.
This looks so good and spring-like. I really, really miss spring!
Such a lovely cake! Perfect for chasing away the winter blues!
I have a bundt pan, how do I know if it is a mini or regular size pan? It looks like a regular size pan to me. It easily holds 6 cups of batter, and maybe more.
Love this cake!!!
This looks amazing – I love citrus desserts!
I just stumbled upon your blog as I was searching for meyer lemon dessert recipes… and this sounds perfect.
Quick question, I don’t have lemon extract, do you think I just add maybe a little more lemon juice (and maybe decrease the buttermilk by the same amount)?
Thanks so much!
Baked this today – love it! It’s so light and lemony with that delicious icing. I used greek yogurt instead of buttermilk and as I had no lemon essence I added loads extra zest and a half teaspoon more of juice. I also used yogurt in the icing with a bit more juice to make it the right consistency. This is an amazing cake that I’ll be making again. Thank you!
Looks like a great recipe! I will be trying it for my friend’s birthday next weekend… I’m curious though, is lemon extract really necessary?
@X: No, you can skip the lemon extract if you want. I just added it to give the cake more lemon flavor.
This cake turned out AMAZING. For decoration I sliced a Meyer’s lemon up very thinly and put the round slices all around the top of the cake. It looked really simple and elegant. Everyone loved it!! Thanks π