Lemon Picnic Cake

Inspiration for this cake came from several different places. It all started with a gift from my mother-in-law, the cutest lemon apron…also, my mother had just bought me a nifty little lemon juicer! How sweet of them, and I love them both so much! ❤ So with that inspiration, I began a hunt for the perfect lemon recipe and what better place to look, but my grandmother’s recipe scrap book. Like me, she made great notes over whether a recipe was a flop, or great! After some searching, I came across a Lemon Picnic Cake that looked intriguing. I made a few modifications, such as less sugar, substituted buttermilk and instead of a cooked granulated sugar glaze, I made a quick, confectioner’s glaze.

Let’s begin!

Ingredients:

For Cake:

4 eggs, separated
1 ½ cups sugar1 cup butter, softened3 cups all-purpose flour2 tsp baking powder1 cup buttermilk (can substitute whole milk)2 tsp grated lemon peel1 tbsp lemon juice1 tsp vanilla extract

For Glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1/3 cup lemon juice1 tbsp grated lemon peel

Optional for topping:

Fresh berries
Whipped cream

Instructions:

Start by preparing a 12 cup Bundt or 10 inch tube pan by greasing and lightly flouring. Preheat oven to 350℉ / 175℃.

Separate your egg whites from yokes.

In small mixing bowl, beat egg whites at high speed just until stiff peaks form, scraping sides of bowl often, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, cream together the 1 ½ cups sugar and the butter at medium speed, until creamy, about 1-2 minutes.

Add egg yolks and continue beating until creamy. In medium bowl, stir together flour and baking powder.

Beating at low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture, alternating with the milk, until blended well.

Add lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla. Continue beating until well mixed.

By hand, gently fold in the egg whites.

Pour batter into prepared bundt or tube pan. Hit bottom of pan on counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles and even the batter out. Bake 50-60 minutes. Check with toothpick for it to come out clean or with a few crumbs when inserted in center of cake. Cool on rack for 15 minutes before unmolding cake and putting on serving plate or rack to continue cooling.

Glaze instructions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together sifted confectioners sugar, lemon juice and water until smooth. If you want a thinner consistency, add more water. Then pour or spoon over completely cooled cake.