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.

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