A few weeks ago one of my fabulous friends hosted a casserole night. That night a few of us got together to cook dinner together. The twist? We would be making casseroles and enough for us to eat one that night and have one to take home.

Brilliant! Built in leftovers for everyone.

So, that night we made massive amounts of tuna noodle casserole. At first I was rather terrified by the idea, not being one who is big on fish and have always been frightened by the idea of tuna noodle casserole, but I am a convert. I loved the casserole and am very pleased that I now have a spare in my freezer for a cold, lazy night. In fact, I’ve decided that I am in love with casseroles and even bought a casserole cookbook that I can’t wait to try.

However, the item I was most excited about was the lemon cake.

Mmmmm…. Lemon Cake

If you could hear inside my head you would know that was in my best Homer Simpson voice followed by much drooling.

Ina Garten has a Lemon Cake that will knock your socks off. I’ve made it a time or two with my aunt and mother around the holidays, but the thing is that it is the kind of recipe you need a group for. It isn’t something that I’m going to whip up on a Sunday afternoon. I find there are only so many lemons I can zest alone before I want to start zesting someone.

You know what I mean.

Anyways, we made 4 beautiful loaves of lemon bread that night and I am still savoring my last remaining slices. (we doubled the recipe) I highly recommend getting some girls together and making this recipe. We even took pictures of all the steps!

Lemon Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Glaze

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.

Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.(I did it by hand.)

With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

(That’s a lot of zest)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to thebatter, beginning and ending with the flour.

Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray orsheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

And then?

Then you enjoy.

Thanks to Smallz for taking the pictures. 🙂