meyer lemon olive oil cake

We had our house inspected by the fire department so we could make it safer during wild fire season, which is now several months of the year in California. One of the suggestions was to remove several large ornamental grasses from the front yard because embers from a wild fire could start a fire inside the grasses and they were all too close to the house. The large grasses actually die completely back in the winter and were just starting to leaf out again when we ripped them all out, good-bye 👋 The good news is I don't miss the decorative grasses at all but the other news is the front of our house now looks like my Meyer lemon 🍋 olive oil cake photo, very simple, less is more. Preparing our surroundings for fire season or even just thinking about fire season sucks but lemon cake will help with that. This cake is simple and definitely delicious with the lemony glaze, make it before the red flag 🚩 warnings start.

Ingredients and Recipe for Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake
makes an 8" square cake

for the cake

2-3 Meyer lemons

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk, well shaken

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1&1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

for the lemon glaze

1 lemon

1 cup confectioners sugar

Pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350F

Butter or coat with baking spray an 8" square pan, line the pan with a strip of parchment paper that fits in the pan and hangs over the edges.

Make the cake: zest at least 2 tablespoons of lemon zest into a large bowl, add the sugar and rub together with the zest. Whisk in the eggs until lighter in color and foamy, about 1 minute. Pour in the buttermilk, oil, lemon juice and sea salt.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda, add to the lemon zest mixture and stir until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tapping gently on counter to release any air bubbles and smooth the top. Bake the cake for about 35 minutes or until puffed and golden colored. Cool the cake for about 15 minutes before removing using the parchment paper lift the cake out of the pan, continue cooling on a metal rack.

Make the glaze: zest about 1 teaspoon of lemon zest into a medium bowl. Add the confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoons lemon juice and salt. Whisk until smooth, adding more lemon juice if needed to make a thick pourable glaze.

Pour the glaze over the cool cake and spread with an offset spatula, let it set for at least 30 minutes before slicing. I like to serve an 8" square cake on a large square cutting board lined with parchment paper, you can cover this setup with plastic wrap for transport.

Comments

springtime chamomile tea cake with strawberry icing

Good grief, Easter is in the rear view mirror and we are deep into this new year. And once again it's tea time at my house. This chamomile tea cake is a beautiful sweet addition to any tea ritual, especially my favorite, chamomile tea, which I rediscovered in my hotel room in Carmel earlier this fast moving year. I highly recommend a slice of chamomile tea cake with strawberry 🍓 icing with a cup of chamomile tea to just take a moment and slow this year down. Baking with tea is both creative and fun. Earlier this year I made Earl Gray sugar cookies which are made using the same method of infusing the butter with loose tea. For my tea cake I also rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar -another way to lend a pop of citrus to your baking. The strawberry icing is made using freeze dried strawberries, I pulverize them in my spice mill and then they are pressed through a fine sieve into the confectioner's sugar. In addition to using lemon zest rub...

braised romano beans with heirloom tomatoes and purple leaf sweet basil

Romano beans braised in heirloom tomato sauce, shallots and garlic make an easy summer side dish -excellent served with grilled fish and potato purée. I know because that's what we had for dinner last Saturday night. I happily used purple basil from my own herb pots that are now watered with leftover shower water. We have many more months of drought ahead of us in California and apparently mask wearing when in public, no not in the car. I appreciate our farmers markets more than ever, thank you farmers for romano beans and heirloom tomatoes and also myself for the fresh purple basil. Such a treat to find fresh romano green beans at the farmers market; they hold up to a fairly long, about 20 minute braise and become tender in the tomato broth from the heirloom tomatoes. 🍅 This is one of those simple good veg recipes. Ingredients and Recipe for Romano Beans with Heirloom Tomatoes and Purple Leaf Sweet Basil Serves 2-4 1 pound fresh romano beans, washed...

artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade

artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade serves 6 We spent last weekend with friends at their country home. They made dinner at home one night so I brought a couple of appetizers to share. My tapenade is easy to make, just spoon the blended artichoke mix into a terrine then pack in an ice chest for a short road trip. I like to serve it spread on small crisp crackers but toasted sliced baguette works well too. Save a sprinkle of capers for the top of your tapenade before serving and enjoy. recipe for artichoke, green olive and caper tapenade serves 6 One 14 ounce jar of artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and cut into quarters 1/3 cup pitted green olives, I like Castelvetrano green olives 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons capers, plus extra for sprinkling on top 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 cloves garlic, minced Aleppo pepper to taste, I use a scant 1/4 teaspoon Sea salt to taste Place the artichokes, olives, olive oil, capers,...

Tarragon and Chives

Search This Blog