Mrs. Regueiro's Plate: Nathan's Lemon Cake

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Nathan's Lemon Cake

I came across this recipe because I was searching for a recipe to use up the rest of my buttermilk. My search included pancakes, Fried Chicken, Waffles, Mashed Potatoes....but I had to make something extra special because it was my CW's birthday, too. This was perfect, light and moist, and a great way to use up my lemons, too! I love the sweetness of the frosting and taste of lemon cake...it's just heavenly. TIP: I used up the rest of my coconut cream cheese frosting (From my Tropical Carrot Cake) for the layer in between the cakes to add a little bit of more flavor, and it was great!
Nathan's Lemon Cake
Adapted from Cooking Light
Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Icing:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Lemon rind strips (optional) *I just did lemon zest*

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare cake, coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray. Dust pans with 2 tablespoons flour, and set aside.
3. Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
4. Place granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and nonfat buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in 2 tablespoons lemon rind and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack; remove wax paper from cake layers.
6. To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar and the remaining ingredients (except lemon rind strips) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread half of icing on top of cake. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining half of icing over top of cake. Garnish with lemon rind strips, if desired. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Review: I dropped this by work in the morning, and had to leave because I attended a conference all day. I came back to work in the afternoon, and there was a small sliver left for me!Everyone loved it and couldn't believe it was a Cooking Light recipe.

Yield: 16 generous slices

Nutritional Information
Calories: 317 per slice
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