When I visit my mom, as much as I love preparing her meals, I don’t want it to be too time consuming. Years ago, I...
“You Know That’s My Favorite”
Written by Zana Billue
President and Founder at Zana Cakes, Inc.
Studied Culinary Arts at The Culinary Institute of America
August 3, 2020
Last week, I finally went to visit my mom in NY. Since the Pandemic hit in March I struggled with how I could visit my mom without spreading the virus. With less than 24 hours to spend with her, I had to be strategic and prepare some foods she could enjoy. The night before my visit, I baked a large lemon cake to take.
A couple of years ago, when my mom was in a nursing home she asked me to bring one of my Zesty Lemon cakes for dessert to share with the ladies at dinner. As a child I remember my mom having a sweet tooth. Every Sunday she baked a dessert that would last for the remainder of the week. When there’s a dessert available, she enjoys eating a slice of cake or pie with tea every night.
The first thing my mom asked after telling me how happy she was to see me, did you bring any cake and if so was it lemon cake. She continued, “You know that’s my favorite”. My heart melted after hearing her request for a couple reasons. One because she still knows how to ask for what she wants and two, she remembers me.
Later that evening, I portioned the cake in to single slices, wrapped in plastic and placed in storage bags to freeze or refrigerate for later. This keeps the cake from drying out. The slices can stay in the freezer up to 2 months. The next time she wants a slice for dessert, she can take out slice, let it come to room temperature and enjoy.
To minimize confusion, in my mind, pound cakes and Bundt cakes are the same. The Zesty Lemon is one of my popular cakes. During the summer it’s a light, sweet refreshing dessert.
Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 C Unbleached Flour
- 1 t Baking Powder
- 2 Sticks of Butter, room temperature
- 1/4 C Vegetable Oil
- 2 1/2 C Sugar
- Zest from 1 Lemon
- 1 t Vanilla
- 4 Eggs, room temperature
- 1 C Buttermilk
Lemon Glaze
- 3-4 Lemons
- 1/2 C water
- 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
Instructions
Prepare glaze while cake is baking.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray Bundt pan or 2 loaf pans with no-stick baking spray with flour.
Cake
Combine flour and baking powder in medium bowl. Set aside.
Add butter, oil, sugar, zest and Vanilla to a large bowl and mix well. While mixer is still running, slowly add eggs on at a time, until fully incorporated. Stop mixer and scrap the sides of the bowl. Add half flour mixture and buttermilk. Turn mixer on again for 30 seconds. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Test with toothpick for doneness. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Invert on to wire rack. Poke holes with toothpick and pour glaze over warm cake.
Lemon Glaze
Squeeze 3 oz of lemon juice. Strain juice to remove pulp and seeds. Set aside. Add water and sugar to small pan. Bring to a boil to create simple syrup. Measure 3 oz of simple syrup and add to lemon juice, stir until well mixed. Pour glaze over cake with a squirt bottle or a spoon.
Let cake cool before slicing. Wrap tightly to keep from drying out.
Tip: The cake absorbs more of the glaze when the cake is still warm.
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